5 Major Dsciplines.... Monday Shot

No matter what if you take it or otherwise still is worthy to read it.

There are Five Major Disciplines of the Christian Disciple.
Disciplines are decisions we make which determine our own
development


1. Gathering for Worship - Hebrews 10:25
Faithful attendance at church services represents our
giving priority to spiritual matters.
Today there are many competing forces: entertainment,
social activities, sports events, work related stress.
It seems that many Christians who were once very faithful
in their attendance at church services, are now sporadic.
Unfortunately, the tendency is to place the blame
elsewhere: church services aren't very interesting,
there's a lot of politics in the church, hypocrisy is
everywhere, church just isn't the same as it used to be.
But the real reason may well be a diminishing of spiritual
interest.
A deaf man was once asked why he kept on attending church
services when he couldn't hear the music, or the preaching.
His answer was simply this, "I go just because I want the
devil to know whose side I'm on." The discipline of regular
church attendance is important in order to announce to
ourselves, the world and the devil, we're on the Lord's side.

2. Personal Prayer - I Timothy 2:8
Specific times to be with the Lord. How can we say we love
God, when we don't give Him any time? Would any
relationship survive that kind of neglect? Deciding to pray
is necessary because that's how we keep the
communication channels open between ourselves and
our Lord.
3. Bible Reading and Study - Acts 17:11
In general, much of our society has seemingly lost
interest in reading. Why? Because reading requires
concentration, focus, and thoughtfulness. With all the
visual stimulation presented by the media, it's too easy
to be distracted by the presentation of activity. The
need to know how to concentrate is especially true of
reading the Bible. But it's so important because it is
God's primary method to communicate His will.
4. Sharing the Faith - Acts 1:8
Perhaps we have assumed that everyone is already
Christian, or at least that they have heard the Gospel.
Songs of heaven no longer dominate our singing,
perhaps because we're doing fine right here and now,
thank you. The motivation to prepare for the next life is
no longer paramount to us, and therefore we're not as
concerned about the eternal welfare of others. May the
Lord help us to develop a discipline of sharing the
Gospel (instead of gossip).
5. Tithing - Malachi 3:10
In simple terms, "tithing" is regularly giving one tenth
of our income to the Lord's work through the local
church where we worship.

Amen