Tag: discipline

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I Ran a Marathon

Daily Reading

Hebrews 11-13

Daily Thought

The Greek Games were a spectacular display of the Roman world. Cities had stadiums, and stadiums were filled with spectators cheering the chariots and the runners, the fighters and the tossers of javelins. The writer of Hebrews lifts this familiar Olympic imagery to heavenly heights, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:1-2). The spectators, the cloud of witnesses, include Old Testament titans of faith such as Abel and Noah and Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, Moses and Rahab, David and Samuel. They have run their races, inspiring our efforts, and now cheer us on.

But I hate running.

When my wife turned 40, she decided running a marathon would be a good idea. I already told you I hate running, but I love Debbie, so we bought a book–The Non-Runner’s Marathon Trainer–and did what it said. A 16-week training guide to run 26.2 miles, but the book said before we could even begin we had to run 3 miles. I couldn’t run 3 blocks. Took me a month to get to the point where I could start the training.

During the next 16 weeks, we worked our way up until we were taking 18 mile runs, but the week before the marathon, our bodies need to rest. The book says to take it easy, only 3 mile runs. 

“For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” ~Hebrews 12:11

Run 3 miles? Piece of cake! 

Daily Prayer

Lord God, You began a work in me that You promise to complete. Do whatever it takes. I will, too. I’m not saying I will like it, but I want it. There is this joy in front of me, and I will endure whatever it takes to reach it.

Right now it seems like a lot of work to live rightly. Someday, it will come naturally. God, I will continue to throw off whatever is holding me back and keep my eyes on Your Son Jesus Christ. He is my goal. I want to look like Him.

Amen

Daily Question

How easy is it for you to live a godly life?

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By All Appearances

Daily Reading

2Chronicles 21-24

Daily Thought

Joash, descendant of King David, became king at seven years of age, and Jehoiada the priest stood by his side, a godly advisor and teacher. Things looked promising when Joash gave orders to restore the temple of the Lord. “And Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord”–if only the sentence stopped there, but it continued, “all the days of Jehoiada the priest” (2Chronicles 24:2). By all appearances, Joash was following God’s ways, but that was the problem. It was all appearances. The long life of Jehoiada (130 years) was God’s mercy to Joash and the nation, but when Jehoiada died, so did God’s good counsel, and the king listened to new voices.

Joash’s godliness was borrowed godliness, he had neglected to develop his own, so he was only as good as those who surrounded him. “Now after the death of Jehoiada the princes of Judah came and paid homage to the king. Then the king listened to them. And they abandoned the house of the Lord” (2Chronicles 24:17-18).

Daily Prayer

Heavenly Father, create in me a clean heart and make it strong. Test me, discipline me, and develop in me a passion for You that I may stay focused and stand firm. You are my rock, my fortress, my salvation, and the final source of all that is good. You will be my strength, and I will delight in You so deeply that the fancies of this world will lose their power to tempt. I know, God, that I am weak; therefore, my strength comes from You. 

It is good for me to be around people pursuing godliness. May I set my heart and mind on Your thoughts and Your ways and surround myself with the good and godly. But even better is when it is good for people pursuing godliness to be around me. May my love grow deep and strong, that I might stand for You and with You no matter what comes.

Amen

Daily Question

Do you want others to behave the way you behave? Why or why not?

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Turning Back

Daily Reading

Lamentations 3:37-5:22

Daily Thought

God used Babylon as his hammer of judgment against Israel, but that does not mean the mallet was swung by God’s hand. God lifted his hand of protection and Babylon was eager and willing to crush Judah. Jeremiah describes this as “greater than the punishment of Sodom” (Lamentations 4:6). Sodom saw God’s fist, “then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the Lord out of heaven” (Genesis 19:24). Judah saw God’s back, and that is worse. God turned away from Judah. It was the back of God Jesus saw when, carrying the sins of the world on the cross, he cried, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). There is no greater hell.

God destroyed Sodom. Judah, he planned to save, and salvation requires a deeper pain. Judah must repent. To repent means to change direction, and change is resisted until the pain of staying the same is worse than the pain of turning around. Parents have tools of discipline: spanking, grounding, lectures (I preferred a spanking to my dad’s lectures, quicker and less painful). But, of last resort, they let go. The father gave the prodigal son his inheritance and turned away. He left his son to himself.

Judah cried out, “Why do you forget us forever, why do you forsake us for so many days?” (Lamentations 5:20). They were afraid God’s back meant he no longer cared. They were wrong, he cared more, enough to let his child go, to place Judah on the painful path toward repentance.

“I called on your name, O Lord,
from the depths of the pit;
you heard my plea, ‘Do not close
your ear to my cry for help!’
You came near when I called on you;
you said, ‘Do not fear!’
You have taken up my cause, O Lord;
you have redeemed my life” (Lamentations 3:55-58). 

Daily Prayer

Mighty God, I look to You each morning and anticipate the day, and each evening I give thanks. You are always there, always sovereign, always involved, always in love. It took me awhile to learn this; I thought my way better, and You let me wander, but You were always there to hear my call. Thank You for walking slow enough for me to catch up.

I love being part of Your good news, God. Thank You for salvation, for hearing my cry, for giving me life and life’s purpose. I still try to grab the controls. Don’t let me! Your way is much better.

Amen

Daily Question

What kind of discipline worked best on you as a child?

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Practice Comes First

Daily Reading

Psalm 119:1-88

Daily Thought

“The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” ~Philippians 4:9

Psalm 119 is the ABC’s of God’s Word. One hundred seventy-six verses broken into sets of 8, each verse of the first set begins with Aleph, the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, the second set, the second letter, and so on. The psalm speaks of God’s Word in my life, a Word to be known, to be studied, to be mastered and to master me, to be lived and to be played like a beautiful instrument. “Your statutes have been my songs in the house of my sojourning” (Psalm 119:54).

If you have ever put a guitar in your hands or brought a horn to your lips, you get this psalm. Practice comes first, before you can begin to play. The goal is to stop looking at your fingers on the frets, to forget even that you are holding a guitar, and just play the music; and there is no play without practice. 

Blessed are those whose way is blameless,
who walk in the law of the Lord!
Blessed are those who keep his testimonies,
who seek him with their whole heart,
who also do no wrong,
but walk in his ways! ~Psalm 119:1-3

Daily Prayer

Wonderful God, With pleasure I call You Master. You are the Lord of lords. You are the Lord of me. You are the King of kings. I pledge my allegiance to You.

May I be a worthy citizen of the Kingdom of God, an ambassador of Your grace. May I live for eternity by sharing and showing Your love today.

Amen

Daily Question

Do you have to think about being righteous or does it just come naturally?

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I Ran a Marathon

Daily Reading

Hebrews 11-13

Daily Thought

The Greek Games were a spectacular display of the Roman world. Cities had stadiums, and stadiums were filled with spectators cheering the chariots and the runners, the fighters and the tossers of javelins. The writer of Hebrews lifts this familiar Olympic imagery to heavenly heights, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:1-2). The spectators, the cloud of witnesses, include Old Testament titans of faith such as Abel and Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, Moses and Rahab, David and Samuel. They have run their races, inspiring our efforts, and now cheer us on.

But I hate running. When my wife turned 40, she decided running a marathon would be a good idea. I hate running, but I love Debbie, so we bought a book, The Non-Runner’s Marathon Trainer, and did what it said. A 16-week training guide to run 26.2 miles, but the book said before we could even begin, we had to run 3 miles, and I couldn’t run 3 miles. I couldn’t run around the block. Took me a month to get to the point where I could start the book.

During the next 16 weeks, we worked our way up until we were taking 18 mile runs, but the week before the marathon, our bodies need to rest. The book says to take it easy, only run 3 miles. 

Run 3 miles? Piece of cake! 

“For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” ~Hebrews 12:11

Daily Prayer

Lord God, You began a work in me that You promise to complete. Do whatever it takes. I will, too. I’m not saying I will like it, but I want it. There is this joy in front of me, and I will endure whatever it takes to reach it.

Right now it seems like a lot of work to live rightly. Someday, it will come naturally. God, I will continue to throw off whatever is holding me back, and keep my eyes on Your Son Jesus Christ. He is my goal. I want to look like Him.

Amen

Posted on

Turning Back

Daily Reading

Lamentations 3:37-5:22

Daily Thought

God used Babylon as his hammer of judgment against Israel, but that does not mean the mallet was swung by God’s hand. God lifted his hand of protection and Babylon was eager and willing to crush Judah. Jeremiah describes this as “greater than the punishment of Sodom” (Lamentations 4:6). Sodom saw the fist of God, “then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the Lord out of heaven” (Genesis 19:24). Judah saw God’s back. God turned away from Judah, and that is worse. It was the back of God Jesus saw when, carrying the sins of the world on the cross, he cried, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). There is no greater hell.

God destroyed Sodom. Judah, he planned to save, and salvation requires a deeper pain. Judah must repent. To repent means to change direction, and change is resisted until the pain of staying the same is worse than the pain of turning around. Parents have tools of discipline: spanking, grounding, lectures (I preferred a spanking to my dad’s lectures, quicker and less painful). But, of last resort, they let go. The father gave the prodigal son his inheritance and turned away. He left his son to himself.

Judah cried out, “Why do you forget us forever, why do you forsake us for so many days?” (Lamentations 5:20). They were afraid God’s back meant he no longer cared. They were wrong, he cared more, enough to let his child go, to place Judah on the painful path toward repentance.

“I called on your name, O Lord,
from the depths of the pit;
you heard my plea, ‘Do not close
your ear to my cry for help!’
You came near when I called on you;
you said, ‘Do not fear!’
You have taken up my cause, O Lord;
you have redeemed my life” (Lamentations 3:55-58). 

Daily Prayer

Mighty God, I look to You each morning and anticipate the day, and each evening I give thanks. You are always there, always sovereign, always involved, always in love. It took me awhile to learn this; I thought my way better, and You let me wander, but You were always there to hear my call. Thank You for walking slow enough for me to catch up.

I love being part of Your good news, God. Thank You for salvation, for hearing my cry, for giving me life and life’s purpose. I still try to grab the controls. Don’t let me! Your way is much better.

Amen

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God’s Smile

Daily Reading

Psalm 80-85

Daily Thought

God made the nation of Israel out of a promise to Abraham, raising her and caring for her, delivering her from Egypt and planting her in a land of her own. “I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves” (Leviticus 26:12-13). Israel was the family of God, and in all families, there are rules, “But if you will not listen to me and will not do all these commandments…” (Leviticus 26:14). Israel had broken a lot of rules, important rules like, “You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3), and now they were in trouble.

“No throwing a ball in the house,” was one of our rules. My son threw a ball. It broke a vase, so he hid the pieces, but he was 5 years old and 5-year olds do not hide well. “Go to your room,” I growled, holding the pieces in my hand.

I waited. Five minutes feels like five hours when you are five. Opening his door, I walked in with my mad face. He was sitting on the top bunk, frightened, but not of being punished. His damp eyes met mine with one question: “Are we still okay, Dad? You and me?” We were and I smiled and then he wasn’t scared anymore. He knew he was still in trouble, but trouble is okay as long as he knows Dad and Son are still okay.

Restore us, O Lord God of hosts!
Let your face shine, that we may be saved! ~Psalm 80:3, 7, 19

Daily Prayer

My God, though I turn away and do my own thing, and break rules, and wander off the path, Your grace is still before me. When I turn back to You and see Your love and say, “I’m sorry and I’ll stop,” You forgive me. Even when I do it again. And again.

God, I don’t want to take You for granted, and I’m sorry when I do. I do what I don’t want to do a lot, but less often as I grow in my trust and faith in Your goodness. I’m amazed that You still smile down on me, and forever I thank and praise You. You are my refuge, my strength, and my salvation.

Amen

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The Daily Walk

Daily Reading

Exodus 16-18

Daily Thought

Faith can be plunging forward into a future unknown, a leap of faith. But faith can be a walk, as well, one step after another, a daily discipline. God would teach Israel the latter faith as they wandered the wilderness, “Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not” (Exodus 16:4). Gather meat in the evening and manna in the morning, as much as you want, no more than you will eat. If you save some until the next day, it will not keep. Some saved some anyway, and “it bred worms and stank” (Exodus 16:20). Once a week, on Friday, gather twice as much, because Saturday is the Sabbath, the day of rest. There will not be anything to gather on that day. You can save half overnight on Friday; it won’t stink. Some did not gather twice as much. They went out on the Sabbath, “but they found none” (Exodus 16:27). They went hungry. 

Six days on, one day off. This is not daring to leap, it is learning to walk. It is a discipline of trust, gathering enough and only enough, believing God for our daily bread, a discipline of rest each seventh day. It is the discipline of living by God’s Word, being blessed in his care, that you might know the LORD is your God and you are his people.  

Following Jesus is not so much a leap of faith as an every day walk. 

Daily Prayer

O LORD my God, You and You alone are God, worthy of my devotion, my worship, my love, and my life. With all my heart, soul, mind, and strength, I love and adore You. You bring each day afresh and put a thankful expectation of Your grace and glory in my heart. As I live this day for You, may I see Your handiwork in this world. May I reflect Your grace to others. May I love the people You created with the same tender love that led Your Son to endure the cross.  

Fill my thoughts with the wonder of Your Kingdom and guide my steps toward righteousness. May I be so heavenly-minded that the world cannot help but see Your goodness shine. Teach me to walk in faith, to listen and obey all that You have commanded, because that’s the best way to live. I love You. 

Amen