For the last few weeks we've been hearing what the word has to say about the disciplines of Jesus. What's so amazing is the simplicity of adopting the disciplines in our own lives.
If you've been privileged to be part of our recent gatherings at CentrePoint, I hope you have been being challenged to go beyond the disciplines you've developed on your own. It's so easy to fall into disciplines that do us no good at all. Disciplines can be developed one of two ways - "Hard or easy." You guessed it, the easy way is not the best way. The way that requires hard work is the only way to see the fruit of the disciplines of Jesus come to pass in our lives.
One thing I know is that there are no short cuts to success in life. Every person has to pay the price. The good thing is that the price is not all required at once. When we have a set of disciplines that we consistently practice, we eventually see the success we desire.
Which disciplines have you put into practice?
Let's take a moment to look over the disciplines we've been hearing about the past two Sundays:
1. Compassion
2. Obedience
3. Prayer
4. Leadership
5. Honor
6. Listening
7. Giving
8. Humility
9. Worship
Of the nine disciplines we've been hearing about, is there one or more that is making a major difference in your life? Take a moment and think about how your life would be as you practice the disciplines mentioned above. Notice I said would be. That means you would be thinking in terms of having practiced them already and seeing the fruit of your labor.
As I write these blogs it is my intention to actively involve you in searching the scriptures so that you can internalize what you are learning. As much as you search the scriptures and internalize the knowledge of the word you gain will only make your life better.
Disciplines are not easy to master - at least not in the natural. If there is one thing I can tell you about Jesus, He wants us to succeed and He has left us clues so that we do succeed in life as believers. As we follow His lead we will discover that success in the kingdom is so much different than success in the world. It's not about what we acquire or where we live or who knows us. It's about who we become in the process of serving the Lord.
Just remember this as I close. Somebody is watching you. The disciplines you display are being emulated by somebody and my hope is that you (me too) are demonstrating disciplines that are worth copying. If you'll remember what I said I heard a man say, "It's OK to be a copy cat as long as you're copying the right cat."
I guess the real question is are we the "right cats?"
Stay blessed,
Pastor Cedric
2 comments:
I am curious if anybody is really able to get these disciplines down to a science. Jesus was a perfect man. Can we be perfect like He was?
Just a thought...
Good question. Getting these disciplines down to a science is not actually our goal. Our goal in all this is to honor the Lord through the love we show towards him by our actions towards others and ourselves. We have to admit that we'll never be perfect in this lifetime however as our hearts are fixed on Jesus we'll extend His love to a lost and dying world. I believe these disciplines are just a way for us to look at His life and realize we can be disciplined if we choose to be.
Thanks for your thoughts,
Pastor Ced
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