When life gets difficult, maintaining discipline makes life doable.
Effective living means putting first things first. Effective self-management requires discipline to carry out those priorities. These days of “shelter-in-place” are precious days that will require daily personal rhythms to make them meaningful.
Yesterday on the neighborhood app “Next Door,” this conversation was posted.
“I was just driving down my street and saw a friend driving from the other direction. We slowed down, stopped, rolled down our windows, and spoke for a moment (all while maintaining a social distance).
He looked at me and said, “I finished Netflix.”
I asked him, “Which one?”
He said, “All of it.”
I like movies as much as anyone, but when this COVID-19 pandemic ebbs away eventually, I want to look back not at a gigantic “Watch it Again” list on Netflix, but rather a fruit-filled season of serving the Lord daily with good discipleship practices. Here is my personal list of Seven Daily Disciplines. What are yours?
1. What have I heard in the Word today and what am I going to do about it?
“Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path.” Psalm 119:105
2. What can I be grateful about today? Who can I tell?
“Be thankful.” Col. 3:15b
3. Who can I reach out to today? Be kind.
“I give you a new command: Love one another.” John 13:34
4. What expectations of normalcy can I give up today? Be flexible.
“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Look, I am about to do something new…” Isaiah 43:18-19
(Thank you, Brooke Anderson, for this question and the idea for a daily list. greatergood.berkeley.edu)
5. How can I get out and get some exercise today? Stay fit.
“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit… Therefore honor God with your bodies.” 1 Cor. 6:19-20
6. Have I stayed on beat with my daily life rhythms? Stay on beat. Rest, work, eat and drink, serve, pray, etc.
“There is an occasion for everything and a time for every activity under heaven.” Eccl. 3:1
7. What gospel opportunity has opened up for me today? How did I do?
“Come, follow me [Jesus] and I will make you fishers of men.” Matt. 4:19
All Bible passages are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible.
Read More
The Gateway Journal of Theology Inaugural Issue
Read all new articles in the inaugural issue of The Gateway Journal of Theology.
Lessons from Twenty-Five Years of Preaching God’s Word
I am unashamedly an expository preacher. My first sermon, however, was not.
Listen
Jonathan and Sarah Edwards with Nathan Finn
Dr. Nathan Finn came to Gateway to give a talk on Sarah and Jonathan Edwards’s Marriage during a Night Life Event. He joined Tyler Sanders on the podcast to give a brief overview of the meaning of Sarah and Jonathan’s Marriage, the four major interpretations of their
The Blank Bible and Jonathan Edwards’s Biblical Typology with Cameron Schweitzer
Dr. Cameron Schweitzer joins the JEC Podcast to discuss his work on Edward’s Typology and the ‘Blank Bible’ and to talk about his book, “Towards a Clearer Understanding of Jonathan Edwards’s Biblical Typology: A Case Study in the ‘Blank Bible’
Watch
Jonathan Edwards and the Asbury Revival
Chris Chun and Chris Woznicki discuss the signs of true revival, signs of the work of the Holy Spirit, and why it is important to critically assess the characteristics of revival in a spirit of charity.
Jonathan Edwards and the Baptists | Douglas Sweeney, Nathan Finn and Chris Chun
Dr. Douglas Sweeney and Dr. Nathan Finn joined Dr. Chris Chun for a panel discussion on Jonathan Edwards, recorded live at the SBC Annual Meeting in Anaheim.