The one-step secret to discipline

I need you to be intentionally observant of yourself for a minute.  What thoughts, feelings, or facial expressions come up when you hear the word: DISCIPLINE ?

I’m not talking about getting in trouble or receiving punishment.  I’m talking about training that is expected to produce a specific character or pattern of behavior, especially training that produces moral or mental improvement.

So, with that definition in mind, I need you to be intentionally observant of yourself again.  What thoughts, feelings, or facial expressions come up when you hear the word: DISCIPLINE ?

Did your face wince or grimace?
Did you feel shame?
Did you remember that New Year’s resolution you gave up mid-January?

I’d bet that whatever reaction you had, it was negative.  When it comes to discipline, we immediately think of all the ways we are not cutting it.  We may even flashback to the many times we’ve wanted to do something, tried to do it, and then let it fall by the wayside.  We think of things like:

We know we should eat better – but generally don’t.
We know we should exercise – but don’t feel like it today.
We want to start a business – but have only talked about it.
We want to read the Bible more – but haven’t picked one up in a while.
We want to speak more kind words to our family – but our default is to snap at everyone.
We know we’re supposed to be the hands and feet of Jesus – but we haven’t volunteered at church or in the community.

If you search the internet for “how to have more discipline,” you’ll find pages of websites and blogs and books telling you how to “get it together” and how to “add discipline to your life.”  And that’s what we always try to do isn’t it?  We want to add discipline to the behavior or task we wish to perform.  We want to add some discipline to our eating habits, or add some discipline to our Bible reading plan…that’s the way to do it, right?

Well, the wisest man ever would disagree.

You see, I was reading through King Solomon’s proverbs recently, and, as you can imagine, he had a lot to say about discipline.  One particular proverb jumped out at me:

Proverbs 23:12
Apply yourself to discipline
and listen to words of knowledge.

Just 10 words.  Seems rather straight-forward.  But what struck me was the first half of the proverb: Apply yourself to discipline.  When studying the Bible, it’s important that we pay attention to the order of people, places, and things.  Order can indicate priority – and in this case, I realized that we might be thinking backwards about discipline.

We often want to add discipline to our tasks and behaviors to try to make them successful…but Solomon is putting it the other way around.  Too often, we treat discipline like it’s deodorant…let’s apply a little to our lives and hope it lasts and keeps us from stinking.  And then apply again.  And again.  And again.  Instead, Solomon says we don’t bring discipline to us, instead we are to apply ourselves to discipline. 

Discipline is something we put ourselves into.  If you read the articles and blogs about discipline, you’re likely to get information about systems and avoiding temptation and steps to make you more self-controlled.  However, no matter how many systems we put into place, whether or not we do the task or behavior comes down to one thing – we must choose to do it. 

That’s the one-step secret to having discipline – Do it.  Whatever it is, choose to do it.  Apply yourself to the task.

Even when you’re tired.  Even when you crave the junk food.  Even when you don’t want to read your Bible.  Even when you’d like to bite someone’s head off.  You don’t have to want to.  You don’t have to feel motivated.  You just have to choose to do it.

Systems and steps and self-awareness can help…but you still have to choose.  That said, making the disciplined choice repeatedly will eventually make that choice easier to choose. 

Want to be more disciplined?  Then let’s apply ourselves to it.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Skeleton key: Wisdom calls out

Imagine this scene with me:

After taking up the challenge to find the Book of Life, you’re on a plane for Tel Aviv.  Ever since leaving the old man in the bookstore, you’ve been mulling over the “skeleton key” he gave you:

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and discipline.

Shortly after takeoff, you settle into your seat and drift off to sleep.  In your dream, you find yourself in a small ancient city.  As you watch the townsfolk ago about their business, you notice a beautiful woman moving amongst the crowds.  Somehow, you know her name is Wisdom.  Her face conveys a warm confidence; her voice is clear and strong.  At various points in the city – the busy streets, the shopping district, the city’s main entrance – she stops to call out:

“How long, inexperienced ones, will you love ignorance?
How long will you mockers enjoy mocking and you fools hate knowledge?
If you respond to my warning, then I will pour out my spirit on you and teach you my words.”

But no one replied.  Hardly anyone even acknowledged that she was speaking.  After each stop, Wisdom’s countenance darkened, but grew more sad than angry.  After making her final plea at the city’s main entrance and having no one respond, she gave one last pronouncement:

“Since I called out and you refused, extended my hand and no one paid attention,
since you neglected all my counsel and did not accept my correction,
I, in turn, will laugh at your calamity.
I will mock when terror strikes you,
when terror strikes you like a storm and your calamity comes like a whirlwind,
when trouble and stress overcome you.”

And then she turned to leave.  As she started to disappear among the crowd, you decide to give chase.  After almost losing her down a busy street, you finally catch up to her.  Out of breath, the only words you can get out are “Don’t go”.

She looked at you with a disappointed frustration in her eyes and replied:

“They will call me, but I won’t answer; they will search for me, but won’t find me.
Because they hated knowledge, didn’t choose the fear of the Lord,
were not interested in my counsel, and rejected all my correction,
they will eat the fruit of their way and be glutted with their own schemes.

For the apostasy of the inexperienced will kill them,
and the complacency of fools will destroy them.
But whoever listens to me will live securely
and be undisturbed by the dread of danger.

Dread began to creep into your mind as you realized how much trouble the town was in because danger was coming…and they were willfully ignoring her warnings to prepare.  Wisdom stepped back into the flow of people, and then you lost sight of her.  You were left standing there, trying to process her warning, but a running child bumps into you – and a sudden jolt of turbulence shakes both you and the rest of the plane awake.

As you shake the cobwebs from your brain, Wisdom’s words are still running through your mind: Calamity was coming because they hated knowledge, didn’t choose the fear of the Lord.

-----------------------------------

How often does that happen for us modern believers?  We don’t prepare, grow, or invest during times of plenty – and when a real crisis hits, we’re not ready?

You can’t train for a 100 mile race by going out for a jog the night before.  It’s too late to prepare for the earthquake when The Big One hits.  You can’t mend fences after the other person has died.

Wisdom’s words listed above are from Proverbs 1:22-33.  Solomon’s warning to his son is clear: Dangers in life and hard situations will come, and you need to be prepared for them.  In order to be ready then, Solomon’s son needs to use the skeleton key now:

Proverbs 1:7
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and discipline.

Wisdom and discipline are the guides on the path God has set in order for us to skillfully navigate this world.  However, both wisdom and discipline are intentional choices – they won’t happen by accident or through wishful thinking. 

If we’re going to respond to Wisdom’s warning, if we want to live securely and be undisturbed by the dread of danger – knowing that the lady Wisdom isn’t going to just walk up to us in the grocery store – how are we to intentionally find what she teaches? 

James’ letter to other believers gives us the answer:

James 1:5
Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God – who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly – and it will be given to him.

We need to ask the source, because He promises to give it to you – and God always fulfills His promises.  Asking God for wisdom is a practical use of the skeleton key, because when you ask, you are going to Him out of respect and honor that characterizes the fear of the Lord.  But once you ask…be ready to be taught.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

I'm not that grateful

Growing up in the church, I can remember hearing the phrase “Count your blessings” numerous times.  There was even a song in the hymnal with the same title that the congregation would occasionally sing.  The chorus lyrics were “Count your blessings, name them one by one.  Count your blessings see what God has done.”

Throughout the years, I’ve heard various sermons on the importance of having an “Attitude of Gratitude”.  At least, I remember hearing the catchy little phrase in more than a handful of talks.  As texting and social media has grown from a novelty into an integrated part of our lives, we’ve shortened the phrase “Praise the Lord” to just “PTL” and we now add a “#Blessed” to our posts.

At any point along the way, if you had asked me if I was thankful or grateful, I would have likely responded with, “Of course I am!  Have you seen my family, my house, or my job?  They’re all good – nothing’s perfect mind you, but it’s better than how I grew up and it’s probably better than I deserve.”

But as for my day-to-day living and thought process?  I’m focused solely on getting the next task done.  Gotta get ready for work.  Gotta eat.  Gotta get the kids ready.  Gotta work.  Gotta run errands.  Gotta deal with people.  Gotta walk the dog.  Gotta do…Gotta do…Gotta do…

Managing the steps to getting stuff done takes up a different section of my headspace than when I am thinking about being grateful.  If you’re like me, I have to intentionally think about being grateful…and I’ve come to the realization that I haven’t spent much time there.  Sure, I’m surfacely aware that I have had many blessings in my life, but do I intentionally practice gratitude as a habit?  No, I don’t.

A simple online search of “science and gratitude” reveals a ton of research in this area.  Overwhelmingly, the results point to an improved life for those who actively engage in gratitude activities – gratitude letter writing (whether sent or not), gratitude journaling, thankful prayer, etc.  The improvements observed in all studies almost reads like a “too-good-to-be-true” list: better sleep, less anxiety and depression, better recovery from traumatic events, more positive high-energy moods, decreased risk of drug or alcohol abuse, decreased risk of bulimia, lessening materialism and increasing in generosity, lower stress hormones and inflammatory biomarkers. 

That’s just a handful of the benefits found across all age groups: children, teens, young adults, middle-aged, senior citizens.  It honestly doesn’t matter where you are in life, what has happened to you, or how good/bad your circumstances are currently – the science repeatedly shows that intentionally chosen, routine expression of gratitude has a massive, lasting impact on our lives. 

When we look at Scripture, we find that gratefulness and thankfulness are everywhere.  Depending on your translation, the words “thank”, “thankful”, “thanks”, or “grateful” show up about 150 times.  However, further inspection shows that gratefulness is found in more than just spotting the words.  Think about the yearly feasts and celebrations God prescribed to the Israelites – they were set up to produce annual rhythms of thankfulness and remembrance of how good God had been to the nation of Israel.

In just one example of gratitude from the New Testament, Paul tells the believers in Thessalonica:

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in everything; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Ever wonder what God’s will is for your life?  Apparently, it is to rejoice, pray, and give thanks.  Regardless of circumstances, moods, or the amount of pain we’re dealing with.

I’m also reminded of the first verses my mom had me memorize (from the NIV84 translation):

Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.

If we acknowledge Him, which would naturally include expressing gratitude, then God will illuminate our next steps in life. 

It’s times like these that I think our modern-day science is simply catching up with what God has asked us to do – what He has wired us to do – all along.  Expressing gratitude to God shifts the focus off of us and our situation.  It causes us to become more God-focused instead of spinning our wheels in Me-ville. 

In the days after (finally) discovering this principle, I have asked my wife “What 5 things are you grateful for today?”  And you know what?  Each time I have asked, that has been the start of the best conversation of my day.  When we share what we’re grateful for, we’re revealing what we are thinking about, and saying it out loud helps to both frame and affirm how blessed we are.

I intend to ask my wife this question every day, because I think it’ll be a good way for us to connect, communicate, and get all the benefits that science has discovered…and especially the ones that God promises as well.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Flashback Favorite - Take this step to be like Jesus

I still do this. I’ve memorized, applied, and been able to share a lot of Scripture because this is something I practice.

I highly encourage you to do this, too.

Take this step to be like Jesus
originally posted on November 24, 2016

I’ve heard that a person’s character is defined by who they are when no one else is around.

I’m not 100% sure about that definition…instead, what we do with our time when no one else is around is how we develop our character.

When no one is looking, the choices we make will shape us.  Even the passive choice to “do nothing” has a sculpting effect.  Think of our time as spending cash.  How we spend it – either wasting or investing it – will shape who we are.

Paul knew this quite well, which is why he told Timothy:

1 Timothy 4:7-10
But have nothing to do with irreverent and silly myths.  Rather train yourself in godliness, for,

the training of the body has a limited benefit,
but godliness is beneficial in every way,
since it holds promise for the present life
and also for the life to come.

This saying is trustworthy and deserves full acceptance.  In fact, we labor and strive for this, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of everyone, especially of those who believe.

We understand that musicians practice for hours when no one is looking so when it comes time to perform, they do it perfectly.  We get it that basketball players shoot 100s of free throws a week so they’re ready when they’re fouled late in a game and have to step up to the line.

Training happens when no one is looking – it’s intentional work.  Now, earlier in his letter to Timothy, Paul equated godliness with being like Jesus.  But I think we Christians don’t see how important it is for us to labor and strive to be like Jesus.  So, let’s take an intentional step in that direction and see what God does with our time investment.

Jesus was intimately connected to the Scriptures.  On a regular basis, Jesus would quote or reference God’s Word.  Here’s just a couple of ideas to put some of God’s Word directly into your life:

·        Use a verse as a password – every time you log in to an account, say the verse.  “John3:16” or “Psalm100:1” fulfills most password requirements to have a capital letter, lower case letter, number, and special character.  Perhaps your password at work is a reminder of being faithful or diligent, like Colossians3:23 or Proverbs22:29.  Maybe the password for your online bank account is about being wise with money, like Proverbs21:17 or 2Corinthians9:6. [Edit: My info-security friends will want me to tell you to mix it up a bit instead of just using a book of the Bible. Maybe add in a key word or first word from the verse to help you remember, like John3:16For or SkilledPrvb22:29]
·        Have a verse for when you start your car, a “key” verse you need to know.  Proverbs3:5 and Ephesians2:8 would be good choices.
·        Have a verse to repeat whenever you wash your hands.  I learned 1 John 4:7-8 in a tune when I was a kid.  The tune is burned into my memory, so I can “sing” those verses at any time.  As often as I need to wash my hands, I’m reminding myself multiple times per day that loving others is important, and God is the one who loved us first.

It’s ok to pull out your phone to look up the verse so you say it correctly.  And…you don’t have to implement all of these suggestions.  The point is to find one thing in your day that you do repeatedly, and attach a verse to it.  Actively invest your time.  God guarantees that this kind of training will be beneficial both in the present life and also for the life to come.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

How to clear the path

“But what does God want me to DO?”

Ever ask that question?  Yeah, me too.

We are now at the start of Hebrews 12.  From here to the end of the book, the author gives specific details about the doing of a Christian’s life.  And we’re prepared to fully understand what he recommends…because we have traveled with the author as he directed the orchestra of examples, warnings, and encouragement around the one central theme – the importance of our life choices now and how they affect our participation with Christ in the future.

We are ready to ask, “So what does this type of life look life?  What are we supposed to DO?”  Now that we have the context, the WHY behind the author’s direction to DO will make more sense than if we just plopped the Bible open to Hebrews 12 and began to read.  Even better, knowing the context always makes the text easier to apply.  So, let’s take a look:

Hebrews 11:39-12:1
All these [Old Testament heroes] were approved through their faith, but they did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, so that they would not be made perfect without us.

Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us.  Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us

The ancient heroes of the faith act as courtroom witnesses who testify that living for God now is worth the sacrifice.  We can, by our actions now, participate in the fulfillment of what the ancients longer for.  It is almost as if the author is asking:

If God sticks to His promises, why wouldn’t we want to avoid sin altogether…but also avoid anything that may hinder us in our pursuit of the life Jesus has laid out for us?

But that’s just hard, isn’t it?

Not only do we have to contend daily with the nagging desire to sin…there are a lot of things that clamor for our time, many ‘good’ things that can take up a lot of our day.

Social media, hobbies, app games on our phones, sports, TV shows, and movies can quickly take up our free time.  Let’s be honest – we watch a ton of TV, and if we’re not watching TV then we’re probably on our phones.  (Or maybe we’re doing both at the same time?  Yep, I'm guilty of this, too.)

We start ‘relaxing’ and oh-so-easily slide into indulgence.  Is it time to set a timer on our TV?  Is it time to delete that app? (You know the one.) How can we use our hobbies to invest in others and contribute to God’s purposes, not just our own?

It’s a mental shift.  It’s a purposeful decision.  It is a constant, day-by-day choice, which is why the author says to do it, we must run with endurance.  Endurance is only needed for hard things, but he says that it is worth it in the end.  Even if I have to give up a ‘good’ thing now, in order to do the ‘best’ thing for eternity future.

But we’re not left hanging with a simplistic ‘you should do this’ statement, either.  Not only does the author give us that WHAT to do, but the HOW to accomplish this lifestyle:

Hebrews 12:1-2
Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith.  For the joy that lay before Him, He endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

We end up where we look.  Our focus determines our direction.  We aren’t the first one to walk this path.  With Jesus as our example to imitate, we know what success looks like.  As we focus on Him – there is nothing that can deter us from our task, no earthly hindrance that will keep us from completing our race.

And as we are among those who complete this race, we will also participate with God when He fulfills the trust of the Old Testament heroes.

What an opportunity!

Keep Pressing,
Ken
 

Running away

We all had moments like this as kids.  We saw the danger coming, and it was coming in fast.  Maybe for you it was a schoolyard bully, or the neighbor’s large dog, or the owner of a property that you were not supposed to be on.  Whatever it was, the adrenalin kicked in and you instinctively knew what you had to do next…

RUN!

Adrenaline is not called the “fight or flight” hormone for nothing.  When it starts pumping through our body, we are suddenly stronger, more focused, and significantly faster than we have ever been.  But we must decide, and decide quickly, how we are going to use our enhanced capabilities.  Some things aren’t worth fighting over, it’s best just to get away…and get away as quickly as possible.

As he was wrapping up his letter of direction and encouragement to his protégé Timothy, the Apostle Paul warns:

1 Timothy 6:9-11
But those who want to be rich fall into temptation, a trap, and many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge people into ruin and destruction.  For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and by craving it some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.

Now you, man of God, run from these things;

For Timothy to try balancing the pursuit of riches and being a man of God would have been completely futile.  Not only would he waste his time, but he would risk becoming trapped or falling into ruin and destruction.  A chasing after money leads to all kinds of compromises he would have never thought possible…it would lead him away from the faith and his reward would be many pains.

Jesus gave a similar warning:

Matthew 6:24
Not one can be a slave of two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other.  You cannot be slaves of God and of money.

No wonder Paul’s advice to Timothy was to RUN.

But Paul doesn’t leave Timothy hanging either.  God isn’t just handing out a set of rules “Don’t do this.  Don’t do that.”  Whenever you find a “don’t” in Scripture, it’s almost always accompanied by an alternative “do”.

1 Timothy 6:11
Now you, man of God, run from these things;
but pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness.

Earlier, Paul told Timothy that godliness “holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come” (1 Timothy 4:8). 

So, we see the contrast here: Paul says to run from what the world sees as lifegiving now and to pursue what God says is lifegiving both now and in eternity.

Timothy had to choose what he was going to run from and what he would pursue. 

We must make the same choice.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Take this step to be like Jesus

I’ve heard that a person’s character is defined by who they are when no one else is around.

I’m not 100% sure about that definition…instead, what we do with our time when no one else is around is how we develop our character.

When no one is looking, the choices we make will shape us.  Even the passive choice to “do nothing” has a sculpting effect.  Think of our time as spending cash.  How we spend it – either wasting or investing it – will shape who we are.

Paul knew this quite well, which is why he told Timothy:

1 Timothy 4:7-10
But have nothing to do with irreverent and silly myths.  Rather train yourself in godliness, for,

the training of the body has a limited benefit,
but godliness is beneficial in every way,
since it holds promise for the present life
and also for the life to come.

This saying is trustworthy and deserves full acceptance.  In fact, we labor and strive for this, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of everyone, especially of those who believe.

We understand that musicians practice for hours when no one is looking so when it comes time to perform, they do it perfectly.  We get it that basketball players shoot 100s of free throws a week so they’re ready when they’re fouled late in a game and have to step up to the line.

Training happens when no one is looking – it’s intentional work.  Now, earlier in his letter to Timothy, Paul equated godliness with being like Jesus.  But I think we Christians don’t see how important it is for us to labor and strive to be like Jesus.  So, let’s take an intentional step in that direction and see what God does with our time investment.

Jesus was intimately connected to the Scriptures.  On a regular basis, Jesus would quote or reference God’s Word.  Here’s just a couple of ideas to put some of God’s Word directly into your life:

·        Use a verse as a password – every time you log in to an account, say the verse.  “John3:16” or “Psalm100:1” fulfills most password requirements to have a capital letter, lower case letter, number, and special character.  Perhaps your password at work is a reminder of being faithful or diligent, like Colossians3:23 or Proverbs22:29.  Maybe the password for your online bank account is about being wise with money, like Proverbs21:17 or 2Corinthians9:6. [Edit: My info-security friends will want me to tell you to mix it up a bit instead of just using a book of the Bible. Maybe add in a key word or first word from the verse to help you remember, like John3:16For or SkilledPrvb22:29]
·        Have a verse for when you start your car, a “key” verse you need to know.  Proverbs3:5 and Ephesians2:8 would be good choices.
·        Have a verse to repeat whenever you wash your hands.  I learned 1 John 4:7-8 in a tune when I was a kid.  The tune is burned into my memory, so I can “sing” those verses at any time.  As often as I need to wash my hands, I’m reminding myself multiple times per day that loving others is important, and God is the one who loved us first.

It’s ok to pull out your phone to look up the verse so you say it correctly.  And…you don’t have to implement all of these suggestions.  The point is to find one thing in your day that you do repeatedly, and attach a verse to it.  Actively invest your time.  God guarantees that this kind of training will be beneficial both in the present life and also for the life to come.

Keep Pressing,
Ken