Discpline Yourself for the Purpose of Godliness

I have heard it said, "If it says it once in the Bible, it's important. If it's in the Bible twice, it's meant to get your attention. If it's in the Bible more than twice, you better be paying attention." We know all Scripture is God-breathed (2 Tim. 3:16), and that we had better listen to it all. But the saying makes a good point. God doesn't repeat himself needlessly. How many times did God speak through a burning bush? Once.

I might miss something if I only read it once, but if I read it a second time the wheels of my mind start turning. If I read it a third time, I break out a pen and begin taking notes. Something similar to that happened to me yesterday.

I was studying for a class I'll be teaching in the spring (2014). The material I was looking through referred to a book I had previously read, and I decided to get it out and start reading it again. The book is Don Whitney's Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life. As I begin to read I was confronted with 1 Timothy 4:7, "Discipline yourself for the purpose of Godliness."

My life has been less than disciplined lately. I have been struggling for a long time to pull everything together. I had just about lost all interest in trying to right the ship, so to speak. As I prayed and studied Saturday evening, the Lord confronted my laziness. Then on Sunday, I was confronted with 1 Timothy 4:7.

After mulling that verse over for a bit, I went on with my studies. I had picked up a different book to look at a couple familiar passages, and guess what greeted me. It was 1 Timothy 4:7. Different author, different context, but it was the same truth, applied in a new way. So I got my pen out, and started taking notes.

I was reminded that I am a disciple, a learner of Christ. The core of disciple is discipline. If I want to be like Christ, I have to pursue it. I'm prone to forget that truth. He has given me every means necessary to accomplish the task, but he expects me to use those means to do it. What is my goal? Godliness. How am I going to get there? Discipline.