Event Recap
At Women of Gold, we learned from Kayleen a lesson titled “Discipline,” emphasizing how discipline is a valuable tool God has given us to live out our God-given purpose (1 Timothy 4:7-8). Kayleen began the lesson by defining discipline as “the ability to live based on principle rather than impulses by putting off hindrances and having a determined investment to pursue godliness.” She then walked us through the “training essentials” necessary for discipline and how to apply them in our lives.
The first training essential is the heart. Drawing from 1 Corinthians 9:24, Christians should be driven to action out of a love that comes from a living, personal relationship with our Creator. Second, we need to be self-controlled—the word for “competes” in 1 Corinthians 9:25 is the Greek root of the English word “agony” and conveys the idea of hard work and effort. We can choose to do what is best and sacrifice our privileges for the purpose of reaching our goal of greater godliness. Third, discipline requires focus. 1 Corinthians 9:26 emphasizes that the wreath we are pursuing is an imperishable one, and when a Christian is consistently focused on accomplishing God’s purpose, it leads to lasting joy and perseverance. The fourth training essential is dedication which is to make the conscious choice to put off hindrances and bring one’s impulses into subjection for a greater purpose (1 Corinthians 9:27). Lastly, the fifth training essential is dependence, as we cannot accomplish any of these things by ourselves but only through God’s grace and power in our lives (Galatians 5:22-23, 1 Corinthians 15:10).
Once we have all of our training essentials, we can run! We apply these principles by being disciplined in our minds (Romans 12:1-2), continuing to endure by making principled decisions even when we don’t see immediate fruit (Hebrews 12:1-2), and recognizing that the small, day-to-day decisions we make matter and have a lasting impact over time (Luke 16:10).
Additionally, we had a practical training session taught by our sister Jann! She showed us how we can use to-do lists to maximize our effectiveness (Matthew 6:33) and gave us tips for making to-do lists, such as brainstorming all the tasks we need to get done and organizing them into daily, weekly, or monthly schedules.
It is so encouraging and refreshing to know that living a disciplined life is not burdensome, but rather a joyful and ambitious pursuit of God’s purpose for our lives!
The first training essential is the heart. Drawing from 1 Corinthians 9:24, Christians should be driven to action out of a love that comes from a living, personal relationship with our Creator. Second, we need to be self-controlled—the word for “competes” in 1 Corinthians 9:25 is the Greek root of the English word “agony” and conveys the idea of hard work and effort. We can choose to do what is best and sacrifice our privileges for the purpose of reaching our goal of greater godliness. Third, discipline requires focus. 1 Corinthians 9:26 emphasizes that the wreath we are pursuing is an imperishable one, and when a Christian is consistently focused on accomplishing God’s purpose, it leads to lasting joy and perseverance. The fourth training essential is dedication which is to make the conscious choice to put off hindrances and bring one’s impulses into subjection for a greater purpose (1 Corinthians 9:27). Lastly, the fifth training essential is dependence, as we cannot accomplish any of these things by ourselves but only through God’s grace and power in our lives (Galatians 5:22-23, 1 Corinthians 15:10).
Once we have all of our training essentials, we can run! We apply these principles by being disciplined in our minds (Romans 12:1-2), continuing to endure by making principled decisions even when we don’t see immediate fruit (Hebrews 12:1-2), and recognizing that the small, day-to-day decisions we make matter and have a lasting impact over time (Luke 16:10).
Additionally, we had a practical training session taught by our sister Jann! She showed us how we can use to-do lists to maximize our effectiveness (Matthew 6:33) and gave us tips for making to-do lists, such as brainstorming all the tasks we need to get done and organizing them into daily, weekly, or monthly schedules.
It is so encouraging and refreshing to know that living a disciplined life is not burdensome, but rather a joyful and ambitious pursuit of God’s purpose for our lives!