May my meditation be pleasing to him, as I rejoice in the Lord.  (Psalm 104:34, New International Version)

Theme:  The Wisdom of Discipline

Today is reserved for your review of the devotional readings contributed over the past five days: 

• Monday – Discipline and Direction
• Tuesday – Discipline and Dependency
• Wednesday – Discipline and Deliberation
• Thursday – Discipline and Deconstruction
• Friday – Discipline and Delay

As you perform your review, please catch up on the comments.   

Suggestion:

Think about Scripture passages that have helped you be more disciplined in your Christian walk.  Spend a few minutes to jot down your thoughts and email them to norman@40daysofdiscipline.com using the following template.

THE WISDOM OF DISCIPLINE

(Title for your Devotional Reading)

Bible Passage(s):

(Share the Scripture passage(s) here and along with the reference, please indicate what Bible version you are using)

Reflection:

(Share your personal insights from the Scripture passage here.)

Conclusion:

(If you have any actions you would suggest or words of encouragement from your experiences, share them here.)

Contributed by:

(Share the name you want to be used on the blog.)

May my meditation be pleasing to him, as I rejoice in the Lord.  (Psalm 104:34, New International Version)

Theme:  The Wisdom of Discipline

Today is reserved for your review of the devotional readings contributed over the past five days: 

• Monday – Discipline and Danger
• Tuesday – Discipline and Design
• Wednesday – Discipline and Defiance
• Thursday – Discipline and Deity
• Friday – Discipline and Discovery

As you perform your review, please catch up on the comments.   

Suggestion:

Please think about Scripture passages that have helped you be more disciplined in your Christian walk.  Spend a few minutes to jot down your thoughts and email them to norman@40daysofdiscipline.com. You can use the following template if it is helpful.

THE WISDOM OF DISCIPLINE

(Title for your Devotional Reading)

Bible Passage(s):

(Share the Scripture passage(s) here and along with the reference, please indicate what Bible version you are using)

Reflection:

(Share your personal insights from the Scripture passage here.)

Conclusion:

(If you have any actions you would suggest or words of encouragement from your experiences, share them here.)

Contributed by:

(Share the name you want to be used on the blog.)

May my meditation be pleasing to him, as I rejoice in the Lord.  (Psalm 104:34, New International Version)

Theme:  The Wisdom of Discipline

Today is reserved for your review of the devotional readings contributed over the past five days: 

• Monday – Discipline and Determination
• Tuesday – Discipline and Disobedience
• Wednesday – Discipline and Dedication
• Thursday – Discipline and Daily Devotion
• Friday – Discipline and Desire

As you perform your review, please catch up on the comments.   

Suggestion:

Think about Scripture passages that have helped you be more disciplined in your Christian walk.  Spend a few minutes to jot down your thoughts and email them to norman@40daysofdiscipline.com.

²⁴ Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. ²⁵ Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. ²⁶ So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. ²⁷ But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.   (1 Corinthians 9:24 – 27, English Standard Version)

Theme:  The Wisdom of Discipline

Today is reserved for your review of the discussions we have engaged in over the past three days.  As you perform your review, please catch up on the comments.   

Suggestion:

One of our commentators (Pastor Ronnie) provided what could be considered a personal restatement of our Scripture passage: “Run well! Finish Well, Receive Well done!  Start with the End in mind. Do whatever is necessary to finish well and receive the Prize.”  Take some time to come up with your own restatement, and if you care to, please share it on the blog.

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.  (James 5:16, New International Version)

Theme:  Discipleship

Context:

Today is dedicated to reviewing what we have learned over the past five days.  This week we continued our focus on disciples of Jesus praying passionately.  We looked at disciples of Jesus over two millennia who were/are passionate about prayer. A summary of the lessons we learned from the disciples follows:

• From the 4^th Century AD, Saint Augustine teaches us about faith and prayer;
• From the Middle Ages, Saint Anselm teaches us about seeking and finding God in prayer;
• From the Early Modern era, Martin Luther teaches us about confidence in prayer;
• From the Modern era, Horatio Spafford teaches us about praying in our darkest hours;
• From our era, Rowan Williams teaches us about praying with expectancy.

We certainly benefit from having a “great cloud of witnesses,” and we also benefit from the excellent commentary throughout the week.  Please consider catching up on any comments you may have missed. 

Question:

As you reflect on the lessons from the selected disciples of Jesus, what lesson(s) resonated the most with you? 

Please leave a comment.  We would love to hear from you.

⁹ “This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, ¹⁰ your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.  ¹¹ Give us today our daily bread.  ¹² And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. ¹³ And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’  (Matthew 6:9 – 13, New International Version)

Theme:  Discipleship

Context:

Thanks to all who responded to the question yesterday! It is clear that the Lord’s Prayer reveals what Jesus cares about. The responses that you shared provide a list that we can test ourselves against. Do our prayers demonstrate that we care about what Jesus cares about?

Today is dedicated to reviewing what we have learned over the past five days.  We spent this week reflecting on prayers that exhibit passion.  We reviewed prayers in the Old and New Testaments, and then we focused on what Jesus had to say about prayer.  Isn’t it good to know that Jesus has invested so much in ensuring we know how to pray?   

As you review the discussions from this week, please consider catching up on any comments you may have missed.

Question:

As you reflect on the discussions we engaged in this week, are there any revelations that help you guard against prayer without passion? 

Please leave a comment.  We would love to hear from you.

³⁵ Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. ³⁶ But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. ³⁷ All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. ³⁸ For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. ³⁹ And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. ⁴⁰ For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.” (John 6:35-40, New International Version)

Theme:  Discipleship

Context:

Today is dedicated to reviewing what we have learned over the past five days.  We spent this week reflecting on the cost of discipleship, “costly” grace, and identity.  The reflections support the view that staying/abiding is a central identity trait of disciples of Jesus.  Staying/abiding demands very high standards from disciples of Jesus, but these demands cannot exceed God’s supply.  Most significantly, disciples can rely on Jesus because He is the epitome of staying/abiding. 

God loves and enables His disciples and God’s love propels His disciples to identify themselves by loving one another. This rich subset of what discipleship means is an example of what is available to us if we diligently study the Bible with the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

As you review the discussions from this week, please consider catching up on any comments you may have missed. 

Questions:

• Can you think of someone in your life who held you to very high standards but went to extraordinary lengths to support you in achieving those standards (e.g., parent, teacher, or co-worker)? 
• How did that person make you feel about the possibility of achieving the standards? 

Please leave a comment.  We would love to hear from you.

⁴⁷ When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.”  ⁴⁸ “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.  Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”  ⁴⁹ Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.” (John 1:47-49, New International Version)

²³ Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many people saw the signs he was performing and believed in his name.^[a] 24 But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people. ²⁵ He did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person.  (John 2:23-25, New International Version)

²⁹ “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?”  (John 4:29, New International Version)

Theme:  Discipleship

Context:

Today is dedicated to reviewing what we have learned over the past five days.  As we reflect on the definition of our identity as disciples of Jesus, the passages above remind us that no one knows us like Jesus.  It stands to reason that we should study His word under the guidance of the Holy Spirit if we want to understand our identity.  As you perform your review, please consider catching up on any comments you may have missed. 

Question:

Do you have any thoughts about your identity as a disciple of Jesus that you plan on exploring more through Bible study? 

Please leave a comment.  We would love to hear from you.

Title:  40 Days of Discipline:  Day 4 – Review

²⁹ The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰ This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ ³¹ I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”  ³² Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. ³³ And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ ³⁴ I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”³⁵ The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. ³⁶ When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”  ³⁷ When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. ³⁸ Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?” They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?” ³⁹ “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon.  ⁴⁰ Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. ⁴¹ The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). ⁴² And he brought him to Jesus.  Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter).  ⁴³ The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.” ⁴⁴ Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. ⁴⁵ Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” ⁴⁶ “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip. (John 1:29-46, New International Version)

Theme:  Discipleship

Today is dedicated to reviewing what we have learned over the past three days.  As you perform your review, please consider catching up on any comments you may have missed. 

Question:

What parts of the John 1 account of the call of the disciples strongly resonate with your discipleship journey? 

Please leave a comment.  We would love to hear from you.