Was at Safeway a few weeks ago. It was dark and the parking lot at Safeway on Steilacoom Blvd is not very well lit. Came out of the store with the things Helen asked me to bring home when I noticed an SUV driving in with its tailgate up and lights out. They stopped by the pumpkins that were piled up outside and I heard a mom yelling at the kids to hurry and get out to get the pumpkins in the car. Three kids jumped out of the car and started putting the pumpkins into the back of the SUV and they sped off the parking lot. Not sure how many pumpkins they managed to steal.

As I saw the whole thing taking place, the first emotion I felt was anger. Why do people resort to stealing? What are they going to do with all those pumpkins anyway?

And then, the more I thought about the incident, I was just saddened by the whole thing.

• What kind of a mom brings their kids to steal pumpkins?
• What desperate situation must the family be facing that the mom would resort to doing something like that?
• What kind of a society have we become where brazen things happen?

We are a society that doesn’t know how to take care of one another. We are a society where values and morals do not matter. We are a society that desperately needs to turn to Jesus. We need to repent and we need to return to God.

Every great empire faced its end by moral corruption from the inside. Very few empires were destroyed by a foreign foe. As great as America is, the moral trajectory we are on mirrors the downfall of the great empires of the past.

More than ever, what our country needs is Jesus.

“But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver” (Malachi 3:2-3).

Back in the day, the refiner’s job was to burn away the impurities found in silver and gold. The refiner would take the ore or the silver and gold and burn it in the fire. The fire would burn away the impurities. The refining process was complete when the refiner was able to see his face reflecting back at him.

God’s word is like the refiner’s fire. God uses his word to burn away all impurities. When we are refined by God’s word, God’s holiness, God’s truth, we too will reflect God’s character in our lives.

Because we are repeat sinners, before God’s word builds up and encourages the saints, God’s word corrects and rebukes us. That’s what the burning and refining process is. It starts with confession and repentance. And as the refiner continues his work of burning away our impurities, will God’s word move to build up and shape his children.

So, Christian, do you find yourself daily confessing and repenting? If we do not start there, the Christian life goes nowhere.

“For lack of discipline they will die, led astray by their own great folly” (Proverbs 5:23).

“Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent” (Revelation 3:19).

“Blessed is the one you discipline, Lord , the one you teach from your law” (Psalm 94:12).

“Listen to advice and accept discipline, and at the end you will be counted among the wise” (Proverbs 19:20).

“Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father?” (Hebrews 12:7).

Have you guessed what the theme of today’s Verse of the Day is yet?

Not going to say much other than encouraging you to read and meditate on the verses above. Let me close with something I read online recently. I don’t know who wrote it, but it resonates with me.

Everyone must choose one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret.

Choose your pain.