DISCIPLINE YOURSELF

To discipline yourself means to control yourself, to instruct and educate yourself, to dedicate yourself to a certain purpose. To be disciplined requires commitment from you, and requires that you make choices from moment to moment AND keep them. As Christians we want to make decisions and choices according to God's will and according to His word. We do not live to satisfy our own desires, but we live according to the Spirit of God who lives in us.

We have to discipline ourselves to say no to our own desires (Rom 8:12,13), to put to death our earthly desires (Col 3:5), and to let the Holy Spirit control and direct us.

START YOUR DAY THE DISCIPLINED WAY

To get up every morning is a disciplined decision! What is the first thing you do when you open your eyes? Do you think just another day? It is so easy to just let go, and when you neglect the smallest thing it gets easier to neglect the more important things too, and eventually nothing matters anymore.

Why must I get up, why must I brush my teeth, why must I put make-up on or do my hair? To be disciplined is to do all these things anyway, even if there is no reason to do it today. To do it because you want to, not because you have to.

To let go of things is to open a door to depression in you life. Soon this big black hole will take over and you won't be able to see the miracles God creates in your life everyday, and you won't be able to hear His voice anymore. To get up in the morning and brush your teeth, do your hair and put your make-up on, is a start to live disciplined. You start with positive thoughts because to look good is to feel good.

Part of your disciplined acts will also be to read your Bible and pray - by doing this you can start your day God's way the right way! Then you will start seeing God in everything around you, wherever you are, whoever you are. Never let go of the small things because the bigger, more important things will soon follow. The result can be that you will forget who God is, what He is and how wonderful He is! That will be a miserable day don't you think?

Discipline your thoughts and discipline your acts and start your day the right way!

FOLLOW THESE GUIDELINES TO A DISCIPLINED LIFE

Discipline your thoughts Self-discipline starts with a thought. Behind everything you do there is a thought. If you change the way you think, you will be able to change your life.

Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts. (Prov 4:23); But God has given us His Spirit. That's why we don't think the same way that the people of this world think. (1 Cor 2:12); Let the Spirit change your way of thinking. (Eph 4:23); Don't ever stop thinking about what is truly worthwhile and worthy of praise. (Phil 4:8)

Discipline your mind Make a decision to fill your mind with only the right thoughts, thoughts controlled by the Holy Spirit, thoughts that are pleasing to God.

Those who live as the Spirit tells them to, have their minds controlled by what the Spirit wants. (Rom 8:5); Keep your mind on things above, not on worldly things. (Col 3:2); Do not conform yourselves to the standards of this world, but let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind. (Rom 12:2);

Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious--the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. (Phil 4:8)

Discipline your heart Make a decision to guard your heart - what goes on in your heart has an effect on your life. Guard your heart more than anything else, because the source of your life flows from it. (Prov 4:23); For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. (Luk 6:45)

The Lord wants to give you a new, clean and obedient heart. I will give you a new heart and a new mind. I will take away your stubborn heart of stone and give you an obedient heart. (Ezek 36:26)

Open the door of your heart to Jesus, and surrender everything to Him. Let HE be the centre of your heart. So let's come near God with pure hearts and a confidence that comes from having faith. Let's keep our hearts pure, our consciences free from evil, and our bodies washed with clean water. (Heb 10:22); You will seek Me, and you will find Me because you will seek Me with all your heart. (Jer 29:13);

Make a decision to serve Him with a pure, loyal and undivided heart. So love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. (Mark 12:30)

Discipline your emotions Control your emotions according to what the Bible prescribes. Love, joy, peace, a quiet mind, kind acts, well-doing, faith, gentle behaviour, control over desires (Gal 5:22,23); Friendly, gentle, sensible, kind, helpful, genuine, and sincere. (James 3:17); To conclude: you must all have the same attitude and the same feelings; love one another, and be kind and humble with one another. (1Pet 3:8)

.Discipline your tongue Choose to speak things that are pleasant, interesting, edifying and positive. Be gracious in your speech. The goal is to bring out the best in others in a conversation, not put them down, not cut them out. (Col 4:6); No insults or obscene talk must ever come from your lips. (Col 3:8); Gossip is no good! It causes hard feelings and comes between friends. (Prov 16:28); Do not lie to one another. (Col 3:9)

Do not criticize one another, my friends. (James 4:11); Do not swear by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Say only Yes when you mean yes, and No when you mean no. (James 5:12); If you do not control your tongue, your religion is worthless and you deceive yourself. (James 1:26)

Discipline your tongue to pray and to thank and praise God. Be persistent in prayer, and keep alert as you pray, giving thanks to God. (Col 4:2); So I will not be silent; I will sing praise to You. LORD, You are my God; I will give You thanks forever. (Ps 30:12)