But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others, I myself should be disqualified. 1 Corinthians 9:27 NIV

This is a repeat of last year when I attended the Strawberry Festival. Looking forward to having fun again this year. I hope we all are learning to say NO more often.

Jimbob finds that discipline is necessary for all areas of his life, especially regarding food. Rules help maintain self-control, but motivation comes from following a higher goal or purpose. A goal that captures your heart and mind will motivate you to follow your plan when no one else is cheering you on.

For Paul, aligning his life with his teachings about the freedom and truth found in Jesus was his drumbeat. The message has to find congruency with the actions within the messenger. Not living what you preach is all too familiar in religious circles, known as hypocrisy. We don’t like it in others, but we want to give ourselves a pass when we fudge our rules.

The devil wants you to believe that your imperfection makes you a liar. He accuses you of your failures so that you will be quiet about the freedom in Jesus Christ. If people find out who we really are or some of our thoughts that we think, we believe it would disqualify the goodness of the message of Christ.

The truth is, our relationship found in Jesus did not make us perfect, rather we are in constant, continual need of grace. We preach that our sins are forgiven, both before we are saved and after we become children of God. We have passed over judgment for our sins.

So where does the role of disciplining the body fit into the grace message?

  • Discipline is the battlefield where our faith is tested
  • Discipline uncovers the hidden motivations of your mind, you have lies that you have believed about yourself and your identity in Christ that need to be rewritten
  • Discipline allows our will to choose to follow freedom
  • Discipline engages training our thoughts before it improves our bodies
  • Discipline is the well-trodden life-giving path of those who have walked a more excellent way
  • Discipline finds its rewards after…
  • Discipline will reveal the need for more grace

Areas of Discipline

  • Discipline includes exercise and consumption of food.
  • Fasting addresses our dependency upon food or other things we feel we can’t live without.
  • Exercise keeps our body tuned for its optimum performance.
  • Sleep is the rhythm of rest, so we finish the race healthy.
  • Guarding what your eyes see and your ears hear will keep the wellspring of your heart flowing with purity.

There is profit in the discipline that does not negate the grace message.

Talk the Walk and Walk the Talk

Blessings Love y’all