A Little Bit About Me...

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I have many hats that I wear. I am a husband and father. I am pastor/teacher at my church. I am part of a team working on a large project at work. I am a friend. I am a budding visionary. I am a writer, an actor, and a director. I am an artist. I am a student of the Bible. I have a brain that comes up with some pretty crazy and interesting ideas, and I have a personality to match. I try to treat all people how I would like to be treated. I strive to be steadfast, immovable in my faith. I seek after the TRUTH, and I believe that it can be found, not just 'from my perspective', but for all people.

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Discipline....

Discipline.... such a large word, not in spelling, but in how it makes us feel. I asked about this at one of our Infuzion events, and the first thing that they came up with was that discipline is a punishment from your parents.  Some other definitions are: To discipline someone means to instruct them in something.  A discipline can be a field of study, like biology or something.  The one that we focused on at that Infuzion was like the way a drill sergeant trains his troops or like a coach pulls the best out of his team.  They use training that corrects, molds or perfects the mental faculties or moral character of their people.

We have all seen tv shows or movies where a drill sergeant yells and screams in peoples’ faces and makes them do really tough exercises to make their body stronger.  He is not doing it to be mean to the unit, he is doing it to train them for difficult situations.  He (or she) is stressing the bodies of the team to make it stronger, and to train them how to behave in a certain situation.  When they have completed the training, not only are they stronger... not only are they a team, but they know how to maintain their own body, and their duties.
Same thing if you think of all those sport movies where the team is against an insurmountable opposition, but somehow when the coach works with them, and trains them they are able to overcome the other team.  One of my favourites is Facing the Giants... a good football movie.  There always seems to be a point where the team learns to trust their coach and then they rally.  In the end though, they are able to move forward together because of the time that was put into training.

I compared this to Infuzion.  We have something called Fire Academy where each young person should be learning to spend time with God each day through Bible reading and prayer.  We have puppet projects  that we work together to perform for others that also ministers to them.  We have events where we minister to the poor, times where we reach out to our friends... and the list is still to be added to, and is still continuing.
The big key though, is that through the training, if young people plug in, and follow the training, they will be learning to become self-disciplined.  They will be responsible for their own walk with God, and eventually they can be used to help train others.

Hebrew 13:17 says “Obey your spiritual leaders, and do what they say. Their work is to watch over your souls, and they are accountable to God. Give them reason to do this with joy and not with sorrow. That would certainly not be for your benefit.”
Part of learning to be disciplined is learning to obey those in authority.  They have gone through it.  They know how to pull the best out of you.  While they are training you they are responsible to make sure that you do what you need to do.  But what happens when they have trained you?  You have to go out and use the skills and do it yourself.

1 Corinthians 9:24 -27 says, “Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.”
This is also tough to do.  I know that I find being disciplined with my body to be tough, but God still says we should do that.  But as Paul (the writer of 1 Corinthians) says, that we must be careful in our walk with God.  We can do all the stuff...  going to church, singing the songs and all that, but we have to make the decision to follow Jesus.

Here is another great passage in 1 Timothy 4:7-13, “Do not waste time arguing over godless ideas and old wives’ tales. Instead, train yourself to be godly. ‘Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.’ This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it. This is why we work hard and continue to struggle, for our hope is in the living God, who is the Savior of all people and particularly of all believers.
Teach these things and insist that everyone learn them. Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity. Until I get there, focus on reading the Scriptures to the church, encouraging the believers, and teaching them.”

This passage is an excellent passage to have young people memorize, especially verse 12!

We have to learn to take responsibility for living the life of a Christian.  It is ours to do.  No one can do it for us.  We will be successful at some points and not at others, but we will learn and get closer to God the more we spend time with him.  As 2 Timothy 1:7 says, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” We must live the life, walk the walk, and step out in faith for ourselves.

This is what Infuzion is about.... Training up in Christ, so that when the time comes you can use your gifts, both physical and spiritual to serve God and others.

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