Devotion 22

So, continuing with the last post, here are some principles that make for a self-disciplined believer.

1. Remember who owns you.

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, Who is in you, Whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body. – 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

We behave according to what we know and what we believe about what we know. Here goes it: we are children of a Father Who has complete authority over us; we are also slaves of a Master Who bought us at immense cost.

This actually goes against our culture because everything in this modern day society is self-centered. But until you understand that you don’t own you, and that somebody else has complete ownership over your life, you will not have the motivation to be a self-disciplined person.

2. Remember the covenant of salvation.

There was a promise on God’s part to forgive us and to pour out grace upon us. There was a promise on the sinner’s part as well, a promise of obedience.

When we come to salvation, that's an act of obedience. We made a commitment to obey the Lord and we were given the Holy Spirit to fulfill that pledge. We should often go back and remember the pledge we made at the very beginning and be a person with integrity, be a person who keeps the promise he made when he came to Christ.

3. Recognize all sin as a violation of a relationship.

Philippians 2 starts with “If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then…” All the following commands flow out of a calling to remember our relationship with Christ.

When we sin we sin against God, it is the violation of the relationship with Him, Who has been so faithful and given us the best gift - Holy Spirit, which regenerates us, makes us new, and gives us the promise of eternal life.

4. Learn to control your imagination.

When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. - James 1:13-14

The problem is not in the environment, but in us. Imagination is the place where sin is conceived, where we play out your sin before we commit it. We need to be aware that if we are going to control sin, it has to be controlled in the imagination.

5. Focus on a noble cause outside yourself.

However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me – the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace. – Acts 20:24

That is the honor of the Lord Jesus Christ, the advancement of the gospel, the hope of some day hearing, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Come and share your master's happiness!”

It’s a matter of living for the great cause. It’s a matter of getting beyond ourselves. We cannot get there with a half effort, not with a three-quarter effort. We can only accomplish that with the whole effort of everything we have, and that was Paul, “For to me to live is not Paul, Christ.”