Tuesday March 09th, 2021
Memorize: 1 Corinthians 9:27 New Living Translations (NLT)
« I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified. »
Read: 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
24 Don’t you know that the runners in a stadium all race,
but only one receives the prize?
Run in such a way to win the prize.
25 Now everyone who competes exercises self-control in everything.
They do it to receive a perishable crown,
but we an imperishable crown.
26 So I do not run like one who runs aimlessly or box like one beating the air.
27 Instead, I discipline my body and bring it under strict control, so that after preaching to others,
I myself will not be disqualified.
Message:
Anyone who is going to excel according to our Bible reading for today, must be self-disciplined.
Such a person must keep his/her body under strict control.
Do not be deceived – greatness is readily available.
There is plenty of room at the top; the question is: are you willing to do the work that will qualify you to get there?
Anyone who wants to be prominent, to mount with wings like an eagle cannot be lazy.
Isaiah 40:31 says it is they that wait upon the Lord whose strength will be renewed; they are the ones who will mount with wings as eagles.
Many people are too lazy to pray and they want miracles.
When I pray at night, I don’t stay in one place because I know that after a busy day, I would sleep off. If I am in a place where I cannot go out in the night, I walk up and down the stairs so that I won’t sleep while praying.
Many people can’t even fast for three days, yet want to cast out demons.
Jesus said in Matthew 17:21WEB:
« But this kind doesn’t go out except by prayer and fasting. »
When I got born again, we resumed in church on Sunday morning before the break of day and were there until the evening. These days, if the service goes beyond 11 a.m., people would already be dreaming of the meals they want to eat after the service.
How can the Church take its rightful place if everyone is this lazy?
It takes discipline to excel; even the devil knows it, that is why he keeps bringing several distractions our way and sadly, many of us allow him.
If you cannot stay for one hour without peering into your phone, you need to check to be sure that you are not already a victim of the devil.
If a provocatively dressed lady cannot walk past without you turning to get another angle, that is the devil getting you there.
If you cannot do without having sex with your spouse in a week, then how can you take out time to consecrate yourself to God?
You need self-discipline, if not; you could become an easy target for the enemy.
Reflection: Comparing how often you eat and sleep with how often you pray, how disciplined would you say you are?
Author: Pst E. A Adeboye
Texte edited by Naomie
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