First United Methodist Church of Yukon Lenten Devotional, April 9. 2014 During these last weeks I have been thinking about discipline. How disciplined am I in my life? How do I need to become more disciplined? I remembered a book I read long ago by Robert Raines, To Kiss the Joy. In one of the chapters on the dynamics of change he writes: Today we do not know how not to have anything. We know little about self-denial, even less about discipline. Yet, it is doubtful if major achievement in any field, especially that of growing to our full human potential, can be accomplished without discipline, without pain, without self denial, of one sort or another. The ability to say no to ourselves today for the sake of some better tomorrow, the capacity to postpone present gratification for future fulfillment, the courage to make choices and abide by them, to know our own weaknesses, to anticipate them, not to allow them to reign over us, not to let the glorious idea of doing your won thing be carte blanche to do anything -- such ability to say no is critical to growth. We may not be captains of our souls, but neither are we slaves of our circumstances... We are responsible for who we are becoming! Is there some sure thing in our lives now to which we should say NO? Self-denial is one of those things Jesus speaks of. Where do you need to say NO in your life? O Lord, help me to say NO to all that is destructive in my life, that I might receive and discover all that you are doing for good in my life. Amen.
Posted on: Wed, 09 Apr 2014 18:58:36 +0000
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