A Little Discipline

In the musical, “Bye, Bye Birdie”, one of the catchy songs is
 “What’s the Matter with Kids Today?”.  In this song, the adults
complain of the lack of discipline of the Youth.  “Why can’t they
 be like we were perfect in every way?”  At the church back in
Chicago, the members told tales of discipline.  The discipline
 not only came from the parents, it also came from the church.  If
you talked out of turn in Catechism class, you would be
kneeling on a pointed pole.  Now that’s discipline.

There is another type of discipline that is practiced in the Church
and these are the Spiritual Disciplines.  The Spiritual Disciplines that
are demonstrated by Paul throughout the Book of Acts are:
Prayer; Meditation; Fasting; Submission; Service; and Worship.  
These disciplines were very much a part of the daily lives
of the Christians in the Early Church.

In Paul’s ministry, in particular, I want to focus on two ways
in which this was a part of his ministry.  First, there was the time
that he received his missionary call from the Church (Acts 13:1-3).
 In the time prior to the call, a fellowship of believers were
worshiping and fasting.  After the call and before they sent Barnabas
and Paul on their first missionary tour, they prayed and fasted.
 This was being done to prepare them spiritually to be the Lord’s
servants. When Barnabas and Paul went from city to city proclaiming
the Gospel, there was something they thought was very important to
continue.  They wanted the leaders in the church to continue
in the disciplines of prayer and fasting (Acts 14:23).

Why did Paul want the church to continue these disciplines?
There is something that we must always remember as the Church.  
The Lord is the Lord of the Church.  As such, the pastors, the
elders, the Board of Directors, the members are all under God’s
leadership.  These disciplines are important so that we get
our egos and our ambitions out of the way, so that we are a
reflection of God’s grace and God’s will.

There is a lack of discipline today and we must recognize that we
are the chief of sinners.  I also encourage everyone to dedicate half
an hour a day to prayer and meditation.  God is a faithful God who
loves us very much.  It is amazing how we are blessed when we
spend some quality time with our God.


Pastor Massey
Pastor's Message