Discipline?

D I S C I P L I N E  Discipline, Sir Discipline…

That was a chant we had in Boot Camp.  Sometimes I wonder where it went.  At the time I really didn’t understand a lot of things I was made to do.  As I look back though, some things now make sense.  Some of the discipline I think I lost, I haven’t; it has just become part of my life.  Muscle memory, it is an automatic reaction…good and bad.  Mental, physical, emotional discipline; it was a way to prepare us for following our leaders and doing things with focus, intensity and speed. 

Discipline

How do I apply THAT to Christ?  No seriously.  Spiritual discipline, building and keeping relationships that center around Christ.  To love Christ and seek God the Father through Christ.  Does He not train us up, are we not pupils to His Life and teachings, His disciples?  Doing His Will and focusing on Him.

Following Orders

This is the most difficult part sometimes.  Graduating Boot Camp and off to our first duty station, His Will for us.  He takes us out of our comfort zones, off of the base and into the front lines.  We may not see what He has for us or how He is going to do it.  But He does it.  He’s the greatest Commanding Officer ever and our Leader gave us an ultimate mission.

Mission Accomplishment and Troop Welfare

These are two main leadership goals that we learn in the Marines.  Get the job done and take care of your people, they go hand-in-hand.  One should never compromise the other.  Well, He takes care of us, when we let Him.  And when we let Him, it makes it easier to get the job done…to accomplish the mission, His will.  The missions never end, they have their lulls and their battles.

Battles

Battles are fought by warriors and we are His warriors as well.  He never said things would be easy but He did promise that He will get us through it.  That’s why He gave us a warrior heart that desires to fight for His love.  He also gave us all the armor and weapons we need to do His will, to fight the battles.  Winning the battle and capturing His love for us.

Love

It’s not a rose garden or cute puppies.  Love is hard as it is soft; iron and silk.  Love can be a battle, hard work, unapologetic, painfull and it is also a romance, easy, consistent and painless…faithful.  Christ loved us so much that He suffered unimaginable pain and anguish.  Love can make you do so much.

His Love will let us do anything.

Wild at Heart Boot Camp

Outstanding Weekend…

I went to a bootcamp this weekend.  Now I have been to Marine bootcamp but this was different in so many ways.  Obviously not as physically demanding and not as long as my stay on Parris Island but the depth of what I took away is going to have a larger impact on my life than even becoming a Marine.

I know, it’s a grand statement.  Being a Marine, a trained warrior, has shaped my life in so many ways.  But not since then has anything affected me the way that Christ has hit my heart.  My warrior heart.

I learned this weekend that so many things that I accepted and pretty much took for granted about my boyhood and manhood were wrong.  I didn’t grow up Christian, yes I went to church but Christ wasn’t emphasized, my parents didn’t help guide me in His direction.  Especially my father.  He NEVER went to church with us.  The only example for a man I had was my dad, it wasn’t a good one.  Don’t get me wrong, he tried, to an extent but he could only pass down what he was taught.  He never lead me to ‘the’ Father, God, the Father to us all. 

I learned how to let go of the past, to forgive, grieve, heal and move on.  I know now that the true Father is the only example I need to be a man.  His Son is the greatest example of His Fathering.  With this new growth, and its continuation, I draw closer to the heart of God our Father.  He is my strength as a man.  We also learned that God and His Son, Jesus, are warriors.  And since we are made in HIS image, as Men we are Warriors and he gave us a warrior’s heart. 

Throughtout scripture you can find references to this.  God slaughtered nations for His chosen people, the Israelites.  He gave them victory in battles when the Israelites were greatly outnumbered.  Jesus himself was a warrior.  Some portray Him as such a nice guy, turn the other cheek and so on.  He was no push over.  Beyond ticking off all the Pharisees and kicking over tables in His Fathers House, fighting temptations against Satan.  He took all the punishment of our sins.  Not something a weak man could do.  Now as He sits at the right-hand of the Father, He is the Captain of the Army of Angels

One issue though.  Its not going to be easy.  Like I said it is continual so there will opposition.  Specifically from the ‘father of lies’, the master manipulator…Satan himself and of course his minions.  He can come at me directly and indirectly, he will work through others to throw me off track, he will hamper communications.  He does this in life already.  But, this weekend I upped the stakes, I picked a fight. 

And by picking this fight, I started a battle, well many battles, in a war for our hearts that has been going on for, well, forever.  It’s a war I am willing to enlist in, I am a Marine already, not just for my heart but for the hearts of those around me.  My family, they will be a part of these battles.  I will lend them the strength our Father gives me and the protection and safety of His love and grace.  John 10:10

We will be swept up into an adventure, this adventure will have its ups and downs.  It is something our hearts need, not only as a child of God the Father, but as a family and as a couple.  It will bring me and my beauty, my wife, closer together and closer to Him.

If you haven’t read Wild at Heart by John Eldredge, I highly recommend it.  Even more, put it into action, go to a bootcamp/retreat to learn the ways of how to do this.  It will be difficult, Satan will fight you whole way but at some point you will win more and more battles and become the man, the warrior, that you were inteded to be in God’s image and in your heart.  I have just begun this fight but it is already been exciting and I can feel my warrior heart being set free. 

Join me brothers. 

Let’s Ride.

How close to Christ are you?

http://www.catalystspace.com/content/read/francis_chan/

I read this post by Francis Chan today.  He makes some outragous comments.  BUT…they make you think about where you are in your walk with Christ.  So, how close to Christ are you?  Not in vacinity but in living like Him.  If imitation is the greatest form of flattery.  What more could you do to be closer to Christ than to be Him, live like Him.  As difficult as it is to do those things today, with such negativity towards ‘Christians’, this is the time to be steadfast in Him, with Him…the best way to do that is to be Him. 

This also hits home with the sermon series we started this past Sunday…UN…unchanging, unwavering, unafraid, unashamed, unshakable.  To be Him you have to these and many more. 

It’s not WWJD…it’s WDJD, what did Jesus do.  He gave us the example (1Cor 11:1)…make like a shoe and just do it.  It’s gonna be hard, it’s supposed to be, through Him all things are possible.  Quoting my pastor from this weeks sermon, “The Bible never tells us things will get better on this earth; Only the strength to get through it”

God Bless