LIVING BY THE RULES 6

DISCIPLINE AND SELF CONTROL

II Timothy 2:1-5 Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. (2) And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also. (3) Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. (4) No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. (5) And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully.

The Athlete must practice discipline and self control both on and off the playing field. They diet, exercise, and avoid activities that will harm their bodies.
Spiritually we too must practice discipline both in our church families and out in the world. Remember that you are the only Bible that some people ever read. If you are not in control of yourself what are they going to think of the relationship you have with Christ? People watch us. I know as a pastor that they watch me closely and I realize that I am usually held to a higher standard than the average church member. That's okay but I firmly believe that every Christian should not compare himself with the pastor but should strive to be more like Christ.
If you can control yourself to act Christlike in church as well as in the world you will definitely be a benefit to the spiritual team.
Please feel free to contact me by email at shilohkosciusko@gmail.com with questions, comments or even suggestions for further devotional studies.
If you know of someone new to the Kosciusko area and would like for our church to visit them please let us know. Our prayers are that this devotional ministry will be an outreach to bring people into a closer relationship with Jesus. I do appreciate you taking the time to read these devotionals and please keep us in your prayers.

BE DISCIPLINED

James 1:12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

If we are really going to be faithful to the Lord we must learn to discipline ourselves. Undisciplined Christians do not accomplish very much. They mostly do what they want to do or feel like doing regardless of the consequences to their spiritual growth or their Christian testimony.
Self control and restraint must be practiced. Every time we show restraint it strengthens us. When we make a strong effort to resist temptation (and to stay away from situations we know will tempt us) we become all the more strong in resisting future temptations. If we resist them enough eventually they will not even be temptations.
We must set rules for ourselves and set limits if we are to Glorify God. We must learn self control, over our tempers, our tongues and our attitudes. If we learn to discipline ourselves it will increase our faith, multiply our blessings, and enlarge our service to the Lord.