Discipline. Such an Ugly Word. Or Is It?

Discipline. We hear that word a lot. We should be disciplined in our eating habits, or in our exercise. We discipline ourselves to get up and get to work on time. We discipline our children. In the case of our children, discipline seems to be most often equated with punishment.

What is discipline?

The Apostle Paul wrote about discipline in his first letter to Timothy. "Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness." (1 Timothy 4:7b NASB)

What does that mean exactly? How do we discipline ourselves for the purpose of godliness?

Let's begin with a definition. Here's what an on-line dictionary, www.dictionary.com, had to say:
1. training to act in accordance with rules; drill: military discipline.

2. activity, exercise, or a regimen that develops or improves a skill; training: A daily stint at the typewriter is excellent discipline for a writer. 

3. punishment inflicted by way of correction and training.

4. the rigor or training effect of experience, adversity, etc.: the discipline of poverty.

5. behavior in accord with rules of conduct; behavior and order maintained by training and control: good discipline in an army.

 

Do any of those definitions help you understand the verse better?  I think we most often associate discipline with the third definition - punishment.  For example, we think of parents disciplining their children, and generally that refers to punishment of bad behavior.

 

Perhaps for purposes of understanding this verse, the last definition is the best.....behavior in accord with rules of conduct. Or perhaps the second definition can also aid in our understanding......activity that develops or improves skill. Let's dig a little deeper.

 

According to the New American Standard Exhaustive Concordance, the Greek word for discipline (the word used in the original language of the New Testament) is gumnazo, which means "to exercise naked" (!!!) or "to train". The Complete Word Study Dictionary, New Testament, by Spiros Zodhiates, confirms this definition....."to train naked, as Greek athletes did; to exercise; to train." This is where we get our English word gymnasium, a place of exercising. Zodhiates goes on to say that metaphorically, gumnazo is used to mean "to train in godliness."

What we have here is an athletic image. We have the challenge to Christians to be as devoted to godliness as an athlete is to his or her sport. And to get rid of anything that hinders that devotion.

What's the conclusion, then, as we examine this word "discipline"?  We certainly understand the discipline of an athlete. We discipline ourselves to get up at a certain time and be to work on time. Or we discipline ourselves to eat this/don't eat that for purposes of health or weight loss. Why do we have such a hard time connecting discipline with our Christian lives?

I believe that being disciplined for the purpose of godliness is about devotion. It is not about drudgery.  Or about punishment. It is about our commitment to holy living. It's about training. It's about spending time in the Scriptures, reading and studying so that we know "the rules of the game". What Paul is telling Timothy, and us, is that discipline for godliness comes from "being nourished on the words of faith and sound doctrine" (Kay Arthur et al, Walking in Power, Love, and Discipline). And this comes from spending time in the Word of God. Consistent time. Quality time. So that we know and live the truth.

Discipline isn't an ugly word, after all! It's a beautiful word. One that reflects love and devotion. A word that portrays a deep and abiding commitment to live for the One who gave His life for us.

"exhorting and encouraging and imploring each one of you as a father would his own children, so that you would walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory."  (1 Thessalonians 2:11-12 NASB)
 

 

 

Refreshed

We all need it from time to time. To be refreshed. To be renewed. 

Life can be stressful. Whether it's because of health or financial concerns or for some other reason, I think we can all agree that just living life in the 21st century can be a cause for stress. We all experience it to some degree. We’re living in a world that seems to have gone crazy.

Add to that my very busy schedule over the last few weeks. Lots of appointments. Some medication changes that have had adverse effects. Just feeling too busy. My brain has felt so overloaded I couldn’t even sit and enjoy reading a good book.

All of that made our weekend getaway even more special. It was refreshing.

On Saturday mornin, we and our very dear friends took a trip down to Georgia to spend time with and worship with our dearest long time friends. It was a short visit, but filled with good food, good conversation, and laughter. And on Sunday morning, we worshiped together.

It was a time of rejuvenating.

It was a time of refreshing.

It was a time of renewing. 

My heart overflows!

"Refresh my heart in the Lord."  (Philemon 1:20 ESV)

With All My Heart

My earliest Valentine memories are of red construction paper hearts and white paper doilies and heart-shaped candies with messages like "Be Mine". Back in elementary school (way back in the 1950s!) we made our valentine "mailboxes" out of construction paper, or by decorating brown paper bags with construction paper hearts.

As I grew older, Valentine's Day came to be less about construction paper and more about flowers and chocolates that came in heart-shaped boxes.

Fast-forward to 1971, when I was a college student and was invited by a friend to attend a Valentine party at her church. There I met a young man who had just been discharged from his military service and had returned home. A little more than a year later, on a warm summer evening, I married that young man! We drove away from the church that evening singing along with Karen Carpenter......"We've only just begun....". For the more than fifty years we have been married, that has remained "our song".

But today, I have another song ringing in my heart.  On this day when all the world is thinking about hearts and flowers and chocolates and love, my thoughts have turned to what love is really all about. To that greatest expression of love. To the Savior who gave His life that I might have life eternal. Today, this is the song I'm singing......

With all my heart

I want to love you, Lord,

And live my life

Each day to know you more.

All that is in me

Is yours completely.

I'll serve you only

With all my heart.

(--Babbie Mason)

On this Valentine's Day, yes, I love my husband.......my sweetheart for all these years......and I'm so grateful for that party invitation all those years ago. He really is my Knight in Shining Armor, my very own Prince Charming!

But even more than that, I am so very grateful for my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who loved me, not because I was worthy of His love, but even though I am not. Who loved me enough to die for me! That's the best Valentine ever!

"We love because He first loved us."  (1 John 4:19 NASB)

Listen to “With All My Heart” here: https://youtu.be/Ah7DKbtLpL4

Waiting

 We’re not very good at waiting, are we? I would go so far as to say that none of us likes to wait. For anything. We live in a culture of instant everything. We want what we want, and we want it right now. It’s the American way, after all. We have instant access to weather information, news, any question we might have about anything. Instant coffee, instant oatmeal, instant anything. We live in a microwave society.

Even so, we are often called on to wait.

Some waiting is pleasant. A child waiting for Christmas or birthday is impatient, yet excited about what’s coming. We wait with anticipation for flowers to bloom, for the first robin who signals spring, for a baby to be born. We’re excited as we wait for family to arrive for a visit.

But some waiting is not so pleasant. Waiting for the phone call from your doctor about a diagnosis. The aging parents who wait in their loneliness for the phone call or visit from family members, but it never comes. Sitting in the medical office waiting for the procedure and wondering what the outcome will be.

Waiting can affect us in many different ways.

But for those who belong to Christ Jesus, there is one waiting that leaves us with a sense of great anticipation. Because we know what is coming. We know something much better lies ahead. We know that one day - although we don’t know exactly when - we will be with the Lord Jesus Christ, in His presence, seeing Him face to face for all eternity.  But right now we are waiting.

What are we to be doing while we are waiting?  The Bible gives us some clear instructions. 

Consider these instructions:

“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.” (Titus 2:11-14 NKJV)

“….Let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:24-25 NASB)

This is not an extensive list, of course, but you get the idea.

For now, we wait. But there is coming a day…….And what a day that will be!

What a day that will be when my Jesus I shall see;

When I look upon His face, the One who saved me by His grace.

When He takes me by the hand and leads me through the promised land

What a day, glorious day that will be.

- Jim Hill

Listen to “What A Day That Will Be” here: https://youtu.be/40lCmHvmcCY