A FRIEND CALLED DISCIPLINE

These One A Days are added to daily.  A thank you to all of you who have gone back and read all of the posts since the beginning.

 
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEND THIS BLOG TO A FRIEND COPY and paste THE FOLLOWING URL 

 
http://oneadayyourspiritualvitamins.blogspot.com/
            

       There are over 1100 stories and commentaries on this blog. It is added to daily.

Click on http://wyrickswritings.blogspot.com to read selected Sermons from over 50 years of Rev. Wyrick's ministry.

          Discipline brought you to this blog, to open it in the hopes of finding some thoughts that will help you.  You are a seeker and seekers seek.

       "Focus on discipline" is the sub title of the following thoughts and yes the magic word is focus.  Not a lazy eye or an uncoordinated thought about this fuel that can make life so much better.

        Decisions?  Decisions made with a capital D.  Decisions that may for awhile make life harder but in the long term make life easier.  Decisions that feed a kind of joy that can never be found from doing nothing because it required less effort.  Decisions that can add savor beyond your wildest dreams.

       "When I became a man I put away childish things." said Paul and challenges us to do the same.

       What is the most difficult challenge a parent has?  Teaching discipline

to their children.  By word and by deed being an example.  And what is the response of most children?  "I'm a child.  I major in play.  I minor in this thing called discipline."  And few say...when I add a few years I will give up this childish things...but many do...and because they do they have more satisfying lives.

       Many centuries ago, there sat a huge bolder sat in the middle of a road traveled by many travelers.  It left little room to circumvent  yet somehow all managed to struggle their around to the other side.

       The complaints were unending, "Why doesn't someone move this monster impediment?"

       Finally, there came a man who seeing the bolder decided it was time for action.  Therefore, he took a large tree limb and placing it beneath the bolder pried it upward and rolled it out of the way.

       It was then he found a small bag that had been left beneath the bolder.  In the bag was a note.  It read as follows, " "Thank you for being a true servant of the kingdom. Many have passed this way and complained because of the state of the problem and spoken of what ought to be done. But you have taken the responsibility upon yourself to serve the kingdom instead. You are the type of citizen we need more of in this kingdom. Please accept this bag of gold that traveler after traveler have walked by simply because they didn’t care enough about the kingdom to serve."     

       .  Why do we all fight to some degree fight discipline at one time or the other?  Because it is human nature to float downstream.  Swimming upstream toward a target is hard work.  No one argues that drifting may put a person on rocks around the bend.  Few don't argue because even that takes discipline...so the thought settles in "I'll just drift by the thought and let it be."

       And then there is political correctness which is often no discipline at all.

       And then there is the prayer of Joe Wright, pastor of Central Christian Church in Wichita, KS and there is the prayer he prayed at the Kansas State House in Topeka.

       "We come before You today to ask Your Forgiveness and seek Your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, ''Woe to those who call evil good,'' but that's exactly what we have done.

       We have lost our Spiritual equilibrium and inverted our values.

       We confess that; we have ridiculed the absolute truth of Your Word and called it pluralism;

       We have worshipped other gods and called it multiculturalism;

       We have endorsed perversion and called it an alternative lifestyle;

       We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery; We have neglected the needy and called it self preservation;

        We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare; We have killed our unborn and called it choice;

       We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable;

       We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem;

       We have abused power and called it political savvy; We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition;     We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression;

       We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.

       Search us, O God, and know our hearts today; try us and see if there be some wicked way in us; cleanse us from every sin and set us free.

       Guide and bless these men and women who have been sent here by the people of this state and who have been ordained by You, to govern this great state of Kansas. Grant them your wisdom to rule and may their decisions direct us to the center of Your Will.

       And disciplined truth shall make us free.

              The secret to success is not drift.  It is do.  It knows that the secret to success is learning how to fail but keeps on keeps on keeping on.  The secret to success is practice and persistence and when you cannot run...crawl.

       As for myself I can no longer run.  Age (84) and recovery from a broken hip but I sure can walk at a mean pace.  Want to join me tomorrow  morning  to check me out.

       A young boy enjoyed confounding his father so one day he asked him the following question, "Dad, if three frogs were sitting on a limb that hung over a pool, and one frog decided to jump off into the pool, how many frogs would be left on the limb?"
       His dad replied, "Two."
              No," the son replied. "There’s three frogs and one decides to jump, how many are left?"
       The dad said, "Oh, I get it, if one decides to jump, the others would too. So there are none left."
       The boy said, "No dad, the answer is three. The frog only DECIDED to jump."

       And discipline must be an always.  Take spiritual Christian discipline, it  is a fence that protects us from the worst in us but it is a fence that must constantly checked over for repair.  Like a fence that we put up in 1992 after Miami was hit by a gigantic hurricane named Andrew.  It has kept out all kind of varmits, human and otherwise, but it is reaching a point where it needs repair.  Otherwise, no telling what will be wandering around in our backyard.

'      Same thing with those spiritual fences I now use as an example...without them all kind of immoral unworthy varmints wander without restraint within our hearts, our minds and our immortal souls.

       And where do we have one of our biggest disciplinary problems.  Good old fashion anger...that which Proverbs 29:11 speaks to, “A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control.”

       Do you work at controlling your anger with prayerful discipline or does it with little effort control you?  It is an area we all need help with as it blows out the lamps of our minds.

       But how does one defeat a lack of self control?  By first admitting that one has a problem with self control.

       Would you be able to recommend  yourself as one of good character?  Do you want to be able to recommend yourself as one of good character.  Then memorize 1 Corinthians 15:33: “Bad company corrupts good character.” and ask that these words daily shout at your immortal soul.

       I played in our high school orchestra.  I have played piano duets and quartets.  The better the discipline....the better the music.  It was that simple.  Nor is it any less true in the orchestra or piano opportunities of life.

       And what made what I did even better?  Two instruments of discipline...the conductor (God) and to keep my timing right while playing the piano (the metronome).  And who in life does not want to make beautiful music even if you never actually picked up an actual instrument.

       It's imagination time...so put your hand in front of you.  Now, imagine with me that you have a lemon in your hand.

       Feel how cold it is since you just took it out of the refrigerator. Feel the two knobs on the ends?

       Ok, now take a knife and cut the lemon in half. Careful! Don’t cut yourself.  

       Now, look at the juice run down over the sides.

       Now, put one half down and just hold the other half of the lemon. Now, look at the inside of the cut lemon. Lean down and smell the lemon. Get a good full sense of the lemon fresh scent of the just cut lemon.

       Ok, now squeeze the lemon. See the juice ooze up and cover the surface of the cut lemon?

       Now - lick the lemon.

       That’s right! Lick the lemon.

       Ok, who feels like you have more saliva than you did a minute a go?

       How can that be?

        It was only pretend! The reason is because your body reacts to that which your mind thinks about.

       How often do you think about discipline and the need for more discipline in your life?  Think about it often.  Pray about it often.  You will be more apt to discipline yourself more often.  Because...yes...your body reacts to that which your mind thinks about most often.

              Would you like to be an elevator plummeting out of control?  That is what you are if you have no self discipline.  

       Would you like to have more spiritual control?  For here lies the secret to unbelievable physical, mental, emotional and spiritual control.  Here is the beginning of being more the complete person.  And here are some ideas for "training in Godliness."

       Exercise.  I exercise when i want to and I exercise when I don't want to.  Therefore, these old muscles are infinitely better than they would otherwise be.

       Spiritual exercises.  I am at that point in life when God is front and foremost even more so but I can still be spiritually lazy like anyone else...so I do my spiritual exercises when i want to and when I do not want to.

       A new creature in Christ?  You don't get there by wishing on a star.

       Why is it so hard to become this new person in Christ?  Because old bad habits die hard.  Old lackadaisical attitudes seep up from our memories and speak to us, "Wouldn't you like to go back to your old and easy ways of nothingness."

       You know what I mean.  (pardon the analogy) but when you try to kill the old you for the better discipline Christ motivated you  the corpse keeps twitching.

              In the 1880s a young man who was an earnest Christian found employment in a pawnshop.

       Although he disliked the work, he did it faithfully "as unto the Lord" until a more desirable opportunity opened for him.

       To prepare himself for a life of Christian service, he wrote on a scrap of paper the following resolutions: "I do promise God that I will rise early every morning to have a few minutes--not less than five--in private prayer. I will endeavor to conduct myself as a humble, meek, and zealous follower of Jesus, and by serious witness and warning I will try to lead others to think of the needs of their immortal souls. I hereby vow to read no less than four chapters in God's Word every day. I will cultivate a spirit of self-denial and will yield myself a prisoner of love to the Redeemer of the world."

       That young man was William Booth, who later led thousands to Christ and founded the Salvation Army.

       Sin lives and is hearty and it does not easily die within us.  We all have sinned and fallen (and fall) short of the glory of God...but discipline lengthens the distance between our sinning and we and the world are the better for it.

       How intense should your disciplined exercises be?  There is Olympic training and there is "so-so" training.  I leave the answer to the question up to you.

              It is easy to learn the Christian vocabulary.  It is not easy to put it into action.

       This is a rough tough world in which we live.  It moves us in whatever direction it wishes or we do some moving ourselves.  It is that simple.  It is that complicated.

       Christ says "love". The world cries out "hate."  Christ says "righteousness."  The world embraces its lack.

       Prayer is the chief exercise of faith."  John Calvin said it.  Millions of others who do it on a regular disciplined basis affirm it by the joyful special strength in their lives.

       What must you do to make a disciplined you work at maximum efficiency.  Be truthful with yourself.  Monitor yourself.  Pray for forgiveness where needed.  Avoid excuses like the plague.  Do not fall victim to self-deception.

       Read the scriptures too much?  Is it possible to read the scriptures too much?

       Discipline.  Discipline.  Discipline.  The word cannot be repeated too often and in the repetition drive you to your humble knees before your Almighty God and there with a tear in your eye and a waver in your voice send out again the words that should, that must guide your days, "Thy will be done."

++++

Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.
Jim Rohn

       We must all suffer one of two things: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret or disappointment.
Jim Rohn

       It's easy to have faith in yourself and have discipline when you're a winner, when you're number one. What you got to have is faith and discipline when you're not a winner.
Vince Lombardi

       No evil propensity of the human heart is so powerful that it may not be subdued by discipline.
Lucius Annaeus Seneca

       It is one thing to praise discipline, and another to submit to it.
Miguel de Cervantes

        
+++    

ANOTHER WAY TO SHARE THESE ONE A DAYS WITH FREIENDS...CLICK ON MORE AT TOP LEFT OF THIS BLOG PAGE AND  FROM THERE IT SHOULD BE EASY

       CHURCH BOOK CLUBS ARE USING REV. WYRICK'S 9TH BOOK "The Spiritual Abraham Lincoln."  If you would like to purchase it at a special price...
       It is available on amazon.com, Barnes & Noble and many other book sites.

     A new quote below from Rev. Wyrick's 9th book THE SPIRITUAL ABRAHAM LINCOLN (read the rave reviews below the quote)

Many were quite willing to see him permanently gone, not just to Washington but from this earth. 

Hate letters assailed on a regular basis. 

Finally a plot to assassinate him in Baltimore was uncovered, and by repeatedly reminding him, “You can hardly be a good President if you are a dead President,” his friends were able to convince him to secretly depart Harrisburg. 

Accompanied by Alan Pinkerton and W. H. Laman in one lone car pulled by a single locomotive, no lights and telegraph lines cut, he came through Baltimore at 3:30 A.M. dressed in disguise. 

Many other lonely middle-of-the-night times lay ahead.

       "Positive, powerful utterances...skillfully enhancing our understanding and appreciation of Lincoln while revealing the Divine source of his strength."

       Lt. Colonel C.A. Olsen (Ret.) Asbury College (Professor Ret.)

       "The Spiritual Abraham Lincoln is an extremely well written book that investigates what might be termed the spiritual side of President Lincoln. It's both scholarly and very readable. I came away impressed at Mr. Wyrick's portrayal of the President and with an altered and enlarged vision of the man:'

       William Hoffman, Award winning fiction writer; author of Blood and Guile, and Wild Thorn

       "Wyrick has authored a wonderful examination of the spirituality of one of American history's most devoutly religious leaders...a pleasant and readable book that has a rich depth of information."

              Maynard Pittendreigh Presbyterian minister

        "When it comes to invoking religion in support of any of their decisions, politicians need to sit at the feet of Abraham Lincoln. Reinhold Niebuhr once called him 'America's greatest theologian.' Why so great? Because he invariably distinguished between human works and the works of the Almighty. As Wyrick says, 'He wore the mantle of humility easily: because he was more impressed with what God was doing in the world than with what he, president of the United States in the midst of an awful crisis, was doing. That is why in his last major speech he distinguished between both human causes in the Civil War and the Almighty's 'own purposes.' Lincoln would have agreed that it is better to leave God-talk out of politics than to decorate human proposals with divinity. This is a book for our American time. Through his careful study of Lincoln's career, Wyrick compels us to remember that piety belongs in politics only when piety transcends politics."

       Dr. Donald W. Shriver

       Emeritus professor at Union Theological Seminary in New York. Author of An Ethic for Enemies: Forgiveness in Politics

        "V. Neil Wyrick's fine work allows the reader to appreciate Abraham Lincoln's Christian commitment and his prophetic role in American history. Should have a wide readership."

       James H. Smylie Professor of Church History (Ret.) Union Theological Seminary, Richmond, Virginia

       "Neil Wyrick's The Spiritual Abraham Lincoln should be read by anyone attempting to understand the man who was probably the most complex person to ever hold the office of president of the United States. Dr. Wyrick is intent on demonstrating that the spirituality so often expressed in Lincoln's writings and speeches was not merely lip service to a Deity, but rather expressions of a profound faith in a real God. It was this faith that provided the wisdom, compassion, insight and sometimes steel that Lincoln would need in full measure as he led the United States through the Civil War. Dr. Wyrick's clear and unpretentious style of presentation is very much in keeping with the character ofhis subject, and in so doing, Wyrick makes his point very well that Lincoln, his beliefs, and the faith that formed them, are as relevant to a troubled America in 2004 as they were in 1863."

       Daniel Allen Butler, author of "Unsinkable"; The Full Story of the RMS Titanic, The Lusitania and The Age o f Cunard

 

QUOTE BELOW IS FROM WYRICK'S WRITINGS

          There is no other organization in the world like the church.  It is a breed unto itself.  It is a congregation of sinners, not a country club for saints.  To become a member you have to profess your unworthiness. 

CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING TO TAKE YOU THERE

http://wyrickswritings.blogspot.com

      (These are selected sermons from over 50 years of ministry and as a worldwide evangelist Rev. Wyrick preached them all the United States and all over the world)

                        +++++++++++++++++++  

            CLICK ON  www.go60.us   IT WILL TAKE YOU A NEW WEBSITE FOR SENIORS....click on "Voice" on the home page and then on the list of authors click on Neil Wyrick

Recent articles Rev. Wyrick has written for this web site are:  REFLECTIONS

·         Many Kinds of Slavery - But Are They Not All Very Much The Same? (July 2012)

·         Here Comes Summer (July 2012)

·         Spring (May 2012)

·         Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow (April 2012)

·         Wayward and Windy (April 2012)

 

Just remember that “the pain of discipline will cost you pennies, whereas the pain of regret will cost you millions.”

++++++++++++++++++

How can we keep our faith from being a weak and fruitless thing?  How can we not be foolish little men and women groveling in the dark shadows of overeager egos. 

          Well, first we must do more than just pray.  We must believe in our own prayers.

+++++++++++++++++++

Anxiety out of proportion makes us become like a centipede trying to put his best foot forward.

++++++++++++++

        It's an old joke, I went to the doctor and I said, “Doc, when I do this, it hurts.” And the doctor said, “Then don't do that.”

++++++++++++++++++

        How many things have you been anxious about that were things which you knew before you got into them were probably going to create some problems for you?  And if you asked your doctor, or your minister, or common sense and your God, all of them would have said, “Don’t do that.”

++++++++++++++++++++

        To buy into the community of accountability we have to realize that like bikers we are divided into two categories.  Those who have fallen and those who will fall for anything. None of us are perfect.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

          Think on it this way, some philosopher of old wrote it and it endures because there is so much truth in it… every right implies a responsibility; every opportunity, an obligation; every possession, a duty

++++++++++++++++++++++

      Some of the sermon titles posted recently

• CHRISTIAN CHARACTER OR CARACTITURE
• HOW TO LESSEN ANXIETY
• ACCOUNTABILITY
• SPIRITUAL SHRINKAGE OR GROWTH
• WHO ARE YOU?...NO...WHOSE ARE YOU?
• IS YOUR LIFE WISE AND SENSIBLE?
• WHAT WERE THE BEST DAYS IN YOUR LIFE AND WHY?
• WHEN A NATION STRAYS TOO FAR FROM BEING MORAL IT I...

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

Before you decide to purchase or not purchase his book THE SPIRITUAL ABRAHAM LINCOLN.... view his Award Winning One Man Dramatization of Lincoln (since he wrote the script for this drama it will give you an insight into what you will find in the book itself)

Available on Amazon.com in printed form and on Amazon Kindle Books. and at many other sites

TO VIEW THE LINCOLN One Man DRAMA and 3 other dramas; Ben Franklin, Martin Luther & Charles Wesley

click on the following URL

http://www.speakerneil.com/

      ++++++++++++++++++++++

BELOW ARE MORE QUOTES FROM NEIL'S RECENTLY POSTED SERMONS

       ++++++++++++++++++

A QUOTE FROM THOUGHTS POSTED ON MY OTHER BLOG WYRICK'S WRITINGS ENTITLED

 

       Two stores faced each other across a very busy street.  Their owners were in constant competition with each other.  One day, the owner of one store put out a sign that read – If you want it, we have it!

Almost immediately the other owner put out a sign –If we don’t have it, you don’t need it!

A QUOTE FROM THOUGHTS POSTED ON MY OTHER BLOG WYRICK'S WRITINGS ENTITLED

WHO ARE YOU?

NO…WHOSE ARE YOU?

       Who are you?  Whose are you?

You influence and are influenced according to the answer you give.     

Are you are the flavor of the month because you are determined to be like everyone else no matter what?  If so, consider being more independent in our thinking and actions...because God wants you to grow up.

It may be easier being someone's shadow but wouldn't you really rather be a sun. 

       QUOTE FROM THOUGHTS  POSTED ON WYRICK'S WRITINGS ENTITLED "Who Are You?  Whose Are You?"

       This is an old quote, and a romantic one as well but, nevertheless, can anyone say of you, “I love you not because of who you are, but because of who I am when I am with you.”

            QUOTE FROM THOUGHT PIECE POSTED ON WYRICK'S WRITINGS ENTITLED

" WHEN A NATION STRAYS TOO FAR FROM BEING MORAL IT IS WELL ON IT'S WAY TO BECOMING A MESS

        James 4:17

To him therefore who knows to do good, and doesn’t do it, to him it is sin.

        Someone once said: “A belief is what you hold, a conviction is what holds you!”

        So what holds you, constructs you, leads you with a push when needed?

       Quotes POSTED ON WYRICK'S WRITING ENTITLED WHO ARE YOU?

NO…WHOSE ARE YOU?

        In a Peanuts cartoon strip Peppermint Patty is shown talking to Charlie Brown.

“Guess what, Chuck? It’s the first day of school and I got sent to the principal’s office.

And it’s your fault!”

Charlie Brown responds, “My fault? How could it be my fault? Why do you say everything is my fault?”

To which she declares, “You’re my friend, aren’t you, Chuck? You should have been a better influence on me.”

In the comics, it’s funny… but in real life it’s much more complicated.

       Would you like to read the entire thought piece?  Then... TO TAKE YOU TO THE WYRICK'S WRITING'S SITE

                         click on the following

http://wyrickswritings.blogspot.com

          Yes, God loves you the way you are but he loves you too much to let you stay that way.

+++++++++++++++++++++++

      Click on the URL below to WATCH NEIL IN HIS WORLD FAMOUS ONE MAN DRAMATIZATIONS OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN, BEN FRANKLIN, CHARLES WESLEY AND MARTIN LUTHER

      http://www.speakerneil.com/

       To Order and Read Neil's 9th book THE SPIRITUAL ABRAHAM LINCOLN

       GO TO amazon.com

       QUOTES ABOUT THIS WONDERFUL INSPIRING INFORMATIVE book

       STILL RECEIVING RAVE REVIEWS 8 YEARS AFTER IT'S PUBLICATION.