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A Routine Checkup



[Athletes] believe the pleasures of the “wreath”... are superior pleasures to the pleasures of self-indulgence. 1 Cor 9:24-27

 We often chalk up our discipline failures to a lack of will power... Our will always obeys our wants... [but] once we experience the unpleasantness of self-denial, the inspiration evaporates... we didn’t really believe in it. It was a fantasy... It wasn’t a lack of will power; it was a lack of reward power.

 https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/the-secret-to-self-discipline

God demands our firstfruits, but when it comes to our mind, too often he gets the worn-out, haggard thoughts at the end of the day... We want to be like David.  We want all of the glorious victories, but we don’t want any of the tedious struggles.

 https://oxfordvalleychapel.org/sermons/focus-and-discipline-in-the-life-of-a-christian/

...the goal is to be be formed into Christ likeness, to be present with Christ... Getting a degree is good, but being formed into Christ likeness is a far better reward and should be the ultimate goal of your Christian education. 

 https://www.convergemedia.org/the-importance-of-spiritual-disciplines/

As usual, I've been noticing some things about myself that I don't much like. I saw a woman, haggard and talking to herself, and thought, "I used to really care about that kind of person". It has caused me to reflect on the devoutness of my pursuit of Christ. As I approach middle-age, I really may be coming to settle into some bad habits that are diffusing all into my mind and body. I think shit thoughts and I eat shit food. And I drink too much... it's just so easy to do. 

 Which is why I need to find some other things to do. 

 I began yesterday morning with coming up with a fitness plan. I pray that it is a step toward a wellness plan. I have many terrible habits of mind and body and I need to bring them into control so that I'm not living life amiss; living a life in pursuit of the world's pleasures. 

 I'm sure that I'm not alone in my folly. 

 Nonetheless, I don't feel good about it. I'm in need of reorienting to the real reason for Christianity... namely, CHRIST! I have, in all my seeking and doing, forgotten about the Lord. But something happened as I watched Jesus depicted in the Book of John pre-Easter and Easter. I was challenged. I saw a man who said very crazy (er, remarkable) things about who He was and where He came from. And I felt my spirit stir.

 And now I'm on today. 

 I read a few articles this morning on discipline and routine. My Google search was literally, "why routine and discipline are so important to a Christian". I am the better for it. There were some common themes I saw in the top 3 hits, about discipline and routine being about the pursuit of joy, more than stoicism. There was also a common theme of John Piper, which I will have to consider, and 1 Cor 9:27. Tangential to John Piper, I may pick up a book or 2 by Jon Bloom, co-founder of Desiring God. I've read a few things by him on these morning digs. I like his blend of heart and head. 

 This writing comes on the coattails of "The Thing That is Needed" post, where I discovered after much writing that I was Martha. And that I need to bring my focus and feeling to that of Mary. She didn't miss out.

 Heavenly Father, thank you for the abundance of clear writing on just about all things. We are not lacking in information. But we may be lacking in common sense. More accurately, we may be lacking in the pursuit of what common sense describes. We are lazy. In this information age when we just have to dream it up and then pay for that dreamt up thing to be delivered to our door the next day, it is hard to think that there are things that are worth working really hard for. Why work hard if everything you need comes so easy? But it is fiction, it is falsehood, it is not faith. Anyone who is worth their weight has been tested and has come out sharp and agile by means of practice at their craft (Heb 5:14). So let it be with me, let me become more practiced as a soldier of Christ.

 In Jesus Name,

 Amen





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