March Forward into Inward Spiritual Disciplines

March Forward into the Inner Disciplines of Worship, the Word, and Prayer and Fasting

Oh just the word, Discipline sounds so…..Disciplined. 

dis·ci·plined/ˈdisəˌplind/

1. showing a controlled form of behavior or way of working.

And though it sounds dreary, or in my mind unspontaneous,

it is the disciplines of the faith that determine the direction of our lives.

“Only the disciplined ones in life are free. 

If you are undisciplined, you ARE A SLAVE to your moods and your passions”

Everyone who has been great in their expertise has been disciplined. 

Hemingway on the English Language who had angst if he used the right word. 

Michelangelo had millions of sketches and created the skies of the Sistine Chapel. 

Churchill’s deliberation over speeches helped his with impromptu speeches during the war.

Kobe Bryant known to be disciplined to be the first in the gym and work his craft continuously.

So, my question is are you disciplined in your Inner Spiritual Disciplines?

Reading the word?

Journaling?

Prayer and Fasting?

Worship?

And what is you used 2022 to become that?  And how do you do that.

I think of the spiritual giants I look up to, David Wilkerson, Corrie Ten Boone, Hudson Taylor, William Wilberforce, and George Muller and they all have one thing in common, daily, consistent disciplines.

I think of eating, mostly because I often think of eating. 

And then I think of the super good and yummy meals.  The ones that you talk about to other people.  For instance, New Year’s Eve we went shopping with our kiddos and went to Baton Rouge, and ate out. As prices have gotten more expensive, we don’t often eat out so it was a real treat.  As a family, we voted on wings. 

So I did what all people do and google search best wings near me, and it took us to this gas station type place (and I knew we had hit the jackpot).  Gas station restaurants are the best, we had eaten at one in Tennessee for vacation, and it was the best BBQ I have ever had.

So we walk in there are eight flavors to choose from, not 27 million just 8, they allow you to pick four and so we pick mild, hot, lemon pepper, and spicy garlic parmesan.

And my goodness….we are going back!!  That in my mind is the principle of gathering together.

We have to March Forward into gathering corporately together.   

These are corporate disciplines.

Those are the service and times that we talk about. 

Dnow, Men’s Conferences, Womens events, Prayer and Praise Nights, Sunday Service

But then the next day, because it was January 1^st, and I am just trying to eat healthy and disciplined, fix something from fridge for the kids, and the next day we do a big Asian meal, and then I do some mixed greens and cauliflower rice, and then red beans and sausage…and noodles….because my family is Asian. 

It is the discipline of eating.  Not every meal is Wing and Things. 

But every meal is important and sustaining.

But every meal does determine the direction of my health life.

So is it with disciplines of the faith that determine the direction of my spiritual life.

And honestly the people that have made it well through the last two years are those who were disciplined in their faith before these two years even got started.

In 2022, it is time to March Forward into Inward Spiritual Disciplines.

By no means is this a comprehensive look into all of the spiritual disciplines…

This is a start to the “Inward Spiritual Disciplines”

1 Timothy 4:7  “train yourself for godliness”  -- takes on not only transcending importance, but personal urgency.  There are other passages that teach the discipline, but this is the great classic text of Scripture. 

The word train comes from the word gumnos, which means naked and is the word from which we derive our English word gymnasium.  In traditional Greek athletic contest, the participant competed without clothing so as not to be encumbered. 

Therefore, the word train originally carried the literal meaning “to exercise naked.”  By New Testament times, it referred to exercise and training in general.  But ever then it was, as it remains, a word with the smell of the gym in it – the sweat of a good workout.  “Train yourselves, exercise, work out!! for the purpose of godliness conveys the feel of what Paul is saying.

I cannot overemphasize the importance of this call to spiritual discipline. 

1 Timothy 4:7-8 “Train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.”

Whether or not we have disciplined ourselves will make a huge difference in my life.

But I would go as far to say…

whether or not we have disciplined ourselves will make a huge difference in the lives around me.

We are all members of one another, and we are each either elevated or depress by the inner lives of one another.  Some of us affect others like a joyous tide, lifting them upward, but some of us are like undertows to the body of Christ. 

Spiritual discipline, therefore, holds huge promise for this present life. 

As for “the life to come” spiritual discipline builds the enduring architecture of one’s soul on the foundation of Christ – gold, silver, and precious stones that will survive the fires of judgment and remain a monument to Christ for eternity. 

Some may minimize the importance of spiritual discipline now, but no one will then!!  “Godliness is of value in every way!”  The disciplined Christian gives and gets the best of both worlds – the world now and the world to come.

I have asked individuals from our church to share how they do that on a daily basis,

and then we are going to do corporately,

So that we can do this individually!  And do this individually daily!!

So today is January 9^th  and going by our church wide reading plan we should be hovering in around Genesis 29-31 and Psalm 9 (this is actually if you are going by the paper journal)

Praying asking God for guidance through His word and to get rid of other distractions.

Read the passage/chapter and find the one thing that you ponder on or jumps off the page as you read. 

Maybe proceed in a song of worship

S:  Scripture

Which scripture stuck out to you the most?  Write it down.  Feel free to make it a work of art.

O:  Observation

What do you think about the verse?  What does God seem to be revealing through it?  Do any words stand out?  Look them up in their original language?  Who is the author addressing?  What is the cultural context?  Who is the passage about?

A:  Application 

How do you apply this little truth to your life? Are there any areas in your life that do not align with the scripture and need to change?  Have you seen growth in any areas?

To just read and observe would make us a historian of the scripture,

but to change we would have to put it into application.

P:  Prayer

Write a prayer asking how to implement this verse in your life.  Pray for others who may be dealing with a similar issue. Praise God for his blessings and opening your eyes to his truth.

In my personal time of prayer, probably for the last three years or so I have coupled that with fasting most every Monday.  My fasting is typically specific for a certain person, problem, or ministry, event that we are attending.  But it has strengthened my walk and encouraged my discipline. 

Psalm 9

 To the choirmaster: according to Muth-labben. A Psalm of David.

9 I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart;
    I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.
² I will be glad and exult in you;
    I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.

³ When my enemies turn back,
    they stumble and perish before your presence.
⁴ For you have maintained my just cause;
    you have sat on the throne, giving righteous judgment.

You have rebuked the nations; you have made the wicked perish;
    you have blotted out their name forever and ever.
⁶ The enemy came to an end in everlasting ruins;
    their cities you rooted out;
    the very memory of them has perished.

⁷ But the Lord sits enthroned forever;
    he has established his throne for justice,
⁸ and he judges the world with righteousness;
    he judges the peoples with uprightness.

⁹ The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed,
    a stronghold in times of trouble.
¹⁰ And those who know your name put their trust in you,
    for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.

Sing praises to the Lord, who sits enthroned in Zion!
    Tell among the peoples his deeds!
¹² For he who avenges blood is mindful of them;
    he does not forget the cry of the afflicted.

¹³ Be gracious to me, O Lord!
    See my affliction from those who hate me,
    O you who lift me up from the gates of death,
¹⁴ that I may recount all your praises,
    that in the gates of the daughter of Zion
    I may rejoice in your salvation.

¹⁵ The nations have sunk in the pit that they made;
    in the net that they hid, their own foot has been caught.
¹⁶ The Lord has made himself known; he has executed judgment;

The wicked shall return to Sheol,
    all the nations that forget God.

¹⁸ For the needy shall not always be forgotten,
    and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever.

¹⁹ Arise, O Lord! Let not man prevail;
    let the nations be judged before you!
²⁰ Put them in fear, O Lord!
    Let the nations know that they are but men! Selah