Don't worry, I'm not talking about anything that would have gotten your mouth washed out as a kid. The topic is discipline. I'll be quoting the apostle Paul quite a bit in this note, since he had tons to say about the topic. First, I will discuss the necessity of discipline as it pertains to life in general. Then, and much more importantly, how discipline pertains to our walk with Christ. Let's go...
I'm going to break up the discipline we need to practice and instill in our daily lives into 3 categories: words, thoughts and actions. Every aspect of our day falls into one of these buckets.
Words: Practicing discipline with our words is paramountly important. One of the quickest ways to get yourself in trouble is to lose control of your tongue with a person or in a situation. James 1:19 puts it quite plainly, "Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry." God gave us 2 ears and only 1 mouth. Maybe we should take that as a hint and practice listening more. Besides, asking pointed questions and investing in people's lives by just listening to them is an invaluable way to show Christ's loves to the world.
I'm the chief of sinners when it comes to this next point. God has really convicted me of speaking flippantly and thoughtlessly. Proverbs 10:19 pins me to the wall..."When words are many, sin is not absent." Speaking thoughtlessly can cause plenty of undue embarrassment, hurt feelings, relational consequences, etc. Proverbs 12:18, "Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing." As followers of Christ, we have an obligation to be disciplined in the words we allow to come out of our mouth. We will be held accountable for each and every one of them when we stand before God's throne on the day of judgment. King David echoes this sentiment with his prayer, "May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight oh, Lord, my Strength and my Redeemer." - Psalm 19:14.
Thoughts: This is an area where I believe Satan has a hay day with the body of Christ. Disciplining our mind is probably the most difficult and lifelong struggle we will ever face. The mind holds all the humanity and sin that pursuing a life that honors God tries to suppress. 2 Cor. 10:5, "...take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." There are an infinite number of ways that your mind can lead your astray and cause trouble in your life and the lives of those around you. We as believers are called to submit our minds to the authority of Almighty God. As men specifically, the largest area of struggle comes with women. We as men must foresee this attack and be ready for it. No one said living a life devoted to Christ was easy, but it is possible with His help. Paul encourages us in 1 Cor. 9:27, "No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize." Disciplining our thought patterns is possible, my friends. Once you have reigned in your mind, the body will follow with much greater ease.
Actions: Alright, now we come to the big one. Words and thoughts find their culmination in actions. Disciplining our actions is massively important. Losing focus in this area is the one of the quickest ways to lose your witness with the world. We have to stay on our game. Practically speaking, having our standards set in concrete right now is a great idea. Creating a set of expectations for daily life will make things easier. Get a daily planner and keep it full. Make a schedule of the day's requirements and stick to it. Work comes before play, people. It's definitely not any fun, but being disciplined requires it. Success only comes to those who set a goal and are disciplined to work diligently towards that goal, whatever it may be.
Paul tells us of his struggles to life righteously in Romans 7:15-24, "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.[c] For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. 21So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22For in my inner being I delight in God's law; 23but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. 24What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!
I find this passage to be incredibly encouraging! If Paul, one of the spiritual giants of the Bible faced these kinds of struggle...it makes all my trials seem much more bearable. We can learn a lot from how he approaches trials. Disciplining our mouth, mind and bodies just makes life go smoother. Even more importantly, it brings more honor and glory to our God.
Discipline as it pertains to the Christian walk:
Discipline when it comes to our relationship with God and Jesus is such a sweet thing. It's how you get past the baby Christian stages where you're simply learning the information and beginning to understand the who, what, where and when of the gospel and Jesus Himself. It's only through disciplined study of the scriptures and of the man Jesus that we can begin to really experience what the Christian walk is all about. It's not a bunch of regulations and rules set in place only for the sake of controlling us and turning us into well-behaved drones. Christianity is supposed to be an intimate, passionate vibrant relationship between us and the Creator of the universe, Almighty God, and His Son Jesus. This is all quite something to wrap your head around...but we can only get to this point through spiritual discipline.
It's really this simple, my friends. You have to treat your relationship with God like it's a marriage. You have to spend quality time with Him as much as humanly possible. Get to know Him intimately, through His word and through quality prayer time. You must get to the point that Christianity ceases to be something you should do and becomes something you do. Just do it. There has to be a transition made where we stop thinking about the actions that pertain to God as "have-to's" and "need-to's" and they become "want-to's" and "get-to's". It all sounds very Pine Covey, but it's really just a matter of perspective. Showing discipline to wake up early consistently, just so you and God can share some quality time together before the day gets in the way is essential. If you're not a morning person, then set aside some time each night before bed where you and God get time alone together. He is a jealous God, He desires our focus and our attention. Taking an intentional and deliberate approach to our relationship with our Heavenly Father is the only way it's going to work. We all know how things get if we don't create time for God. He doesn't get any time or focus at all. Life gets in the way.
Satan doesn't have to cause us to sin to render us useless for God's work. All he has to do is take our focus off of God and His plans. My friends, disciplining ourselves to consistently do God-stuff is an absolute must if we are to bring Him glory and fulfill our purpose for existing. Being undisciplined is like a train that jumps the track, a ski boat that leaves Line 1 and ventures into open and uncharted waters. The train isn't fulfilling its purpose, neither is the ski boat. My friends, our Heavenly Father stands ready and waiting to pour out all the good things He has for us. But first, He demands our attention.
Make time today for your creator. Crack open the Bible and read a couple chapters in 1 Corinthians or 1 Peter or James. Just get in the word and let God speak to you. Push out the world for a little bit and just have some quality conversation with your Savior.
Practicing discipline requires tremendous maturity and dedication. You will face difficulties unlike any other. However, you will learn so much about your Creator and His glory and majesty that it will all be worth it.
My friends, my heart yearns to know my God more intimately, and to become more like Jesus Christ each day. I stumble all the time, just like we all do. It's by God's grace and mercy alone that you and I can climb this mountain and practice discipline each day.
Remember: One day, one hour, one second, one task, one struggle, one thing at a time. Give it to God. Submit yourself to His authority and let His infinite power provide the strength to develop discipline in your life. Go. Get out there and live the life you were meant to live!
Be blessed...
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