Proverbs 5:23
They die for lack of discipline, and because of their great folly they are lost.
Freedom is not the absence of rules, but rather the presence of discipline.
And discipline involves doing what you need to do even when you don’t feel like it.
Responding affirmatively to life’s call for regular rhythms brings peace, much more than doing whatever you feel like doing all the time. Ask anyone. When do you feel your best? Is it when you are going through each day with no real plan or direction? Or is it when you are pursuing something through daily discipline, be it working out, eating well, building or creating something of any significance?
What are your current rhythms of life? What do you do every day? Every week? What is the benefit?
Matthew 5:3-12
The Beatitudes
The beatitudes are not necessarily ways of life we are to strive for. Jesus here is proclaiming who the Kingdom of God is available to and who it is for. He was telling those listening to Him that there is hope for all of them according to God. Perhaps a better and more accurate translation for the popular word “Blessed” here would be “God’s gift of salvation is given to those who…” Try plugging that in and see what happens. And don’t worry about going out today to try to get persecuted so you can enter the Kingdom. Just know it is available for you even in all these states mentioned.
Matthew 5:13
“You are the salt of the earth.”
It is those who follow Jesus with all their heart who give flavor to this life. We show the world that there is meaning to our existence, there is purpose. We model that our loving Creator desires a relationship with us, to walk through all of life with us, to be acknowledged every moment because He is for us! This is what being the salt of the earth means to me.
What do you show those around you about this life? Do people see that life is worth living by being around you? Do they see hope? Joy? Again, this is not something we strive for, but rather we live from inside out. We fuel up at YHWH’s filling station and live from our center.
It is an amazing truth about our energies and how we use it and the return thereof. Discipline. We are all always sowing something. There is never not a moment of our existence when we are not sowing something. Even while we rest. Sleeping or leisure; we rest and relax for health and the enjoying of the fruits of our labors. But we do it for us because it is good and consequently we are healthier for others. When we apply our energies intentionally and with a specific aim we will get a more consciously expected return. Abiding in the presence of Yahweh our Father before the name of our King, Jesus the Christ himself we are purified and more purified and our hearts treasure is increasingly fulfilled and satisfied. How so? Because to abide in the presence of god – whom is called YHWH the Father, and by whom he has been fully revealed and expressed to us; Jesus Christ – we lack nothing, have no want, for the very source of sustenance; Life itself (man does not live by bread alone) and we live in the most powerful and joyful state possible to our human existence. That is a discipline worth everything. Abiding now in this reality maximizes untold a ripple effect of shalom. It’s gold living.
Man…words fail to express what I resonate with on that proverbs 5 reflex. Good stuff.