Ben. This isn't all about you. The answer is simple. You're here for others. You're here to love, and to show me to the world. How are you going to do that today?
Well, how are you going to do that today?
Monday, September 12, 2011
Selflessness.
I find myself constantly asking God WHY ME? WHY AM I HERE? And He just takes me aside...and whispers,
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Discipline.
Whenever I think of this word....I think of some sort of punishment. The authoritative parents might say, "WE ARE DISCIPLINING YOU." In school they pound the thought into your head...discipline...discipline. Don't finish your homework? DISCIPLINE. Want to beat up a kid in the hallway? DISCIPLINE. And when you say it fast enough, it sounds like gullible.
However....I HATE that version of the word. Punishment should not be a synonym for discipline. It gives the other meaning of the word bad connotations. For example, you are very disciplined if you...
And quite frankly, those all sound like punishment to me. Not watching T.V. whenever I want to? No-carb diets?...No...more...DESSERT??? Will someone please stop the madness? Discipline sounds pretty scary, and kind of...sucky. I don't want to be disciplined, as in being punished by others OR myself.
I think that's a good definition for the way society views it, being a disciplined person is punishing yourself. And sadly...it's not true.
Am I really punishing myself if I don't eat that bucket of ice cream...? Am I punishing myself by reading the Bible everyday? Have I asked too many questions in this blog for you to care anymore? So what?
But how much happier would we be if we actually understood discipline, the non-scary kind? Good diet breeds better views on life, and getting enough sleep, instead of staying up late to write a blog, makes you feel less crabby and emotional. We know this to be true...it's happened at least once to us. Once in that blue moon, a teenager will get a full night's sleep...and they'll realize...hey, that was great. Unfortunately, advanced classes and teachers force the teen to stay up to the wee hours of the morning, stressing, and crying (for guys, on the inside) and we forget about that little taste of goodness.
I think a lot of us lack the will power to actually pursue any sort of discipline. I lack any efforts to even enter a gym. I lack motivation to care about what I eat. I lack the motivation to read my Bible, and spend time with God. But...what will it take for us to be motivated? Why do we live in the big ole' fat America? All I know is that I do NOT want to wake up forty years from now wishing I had chosen not to eat those buckets, upon buckets, of ice cream. And this all has a lot to do with sin nature. Naturally, none of us want discipline, it feels like we are losing some sort of freedom. However, once we receive the Holy Spirit, we begin to be convicted. God wants us to see the way things he sees them. He wants to change our lives, and how can we do that without discipline?
This is a response to my devotional today. God wants us all to live revolutionary lives, but how can we do that if we are so swayed by the wind?
James 1:2-8
2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. 6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.
My revolutionary living will begin with this, learning to listen to what God wants me to do, and learning to be disciplined. The two go hand in hand.
However....I HATE that version of the word. Punishment should not be a synonym for discipline. It gives the other meaning of the word bad connotations. For example, you are very disciplined if you...
- Work out on a regular basis
- Have self-control
- Use time wisely
And quite frankly, those all sound like punishment to me. Not watching T.V. whenever I want to? No-carb diets?...No...more...DESSERT??? Will someone please stop the madness? Discipline sounds pretty scary, and kind of...sucky. I don't want to be disciplined, as in being punished by others OR myself.
I think that's a good definition for the way society views it, being a disciplined person is punishing yourself. And sadly...it's not true.
Am I really punishing myself if I don't eat that bucket of ice cream...? Am I punishing myself by reading the Bible everyday? Have I asked too many questions in this blog for you to care anymore? So what?
But how much happier would we be if we actually understood discipline, the non-scary kind? Good diet breeds better views on life, and getting enough sleep, instead of staying up late to write a blog, makes you feel less crabby and emotional. We know this to be true...it's happened at least once to us. Once in that blue moon, a teenager will get a full night's sleep...and they'll realize...hey, that was great. Unfortunately, advanced classes and teachers force the teen to stay up to the wee hours of the morning, stressing, and crying (for guys, on the inside) and we forget about that little taste of goodness.
I think a lot of us lack the will power to actually pursue any sort of discipline. I lack any efforts to even enter a gym. I lack motivation to care about what I eat. I lack the motivation to read my Bible, and spend time with God. But...what will it take for us to be motivated? Why do we live in the big ole' fat America? All I know is that I do NOT want to wake up forty years from now wishing I had chosen not to eat those buckets, upon buckets, of ice cream. And this all has a lot to do with sin nature. Naturally, none of us want discipline, it feels like we are losing some sort of freedom. However, once we receive the Holy Spirit, we begin to be convicted. God wants us to see the way things he sees them. He wants to change our lives, and how can we do that without discipline?
This is a response to my devotional today. God wants us all to live revolutionary lives, but how can we do that if we are so swayed by the wind?
James 1:2-8
2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. 6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.
My revolutionary living will begin with this, learning to listen to what God wants me to do, and learning to be disciplined. The two go hand in hand.
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