Spirit of the Disciplines

OK, so I have chunks of quotes I planned on posting today, but God revealed a pretty heavy truth to me today. So, there's all these spiritual disciplines in life, like bible reading, prayer, fasting, solitude, etc. It is very hard to discipline myself to do one of these on a regular basis, much less all of them. Maybe I need to think of these spiritual disciplines as things I do in a life of training. In my walk with Christ, I'm in training. As I continue to train, God continues to mold me into the image of Christ. (Dallas Willard's book entitled Spirit of the Disciplines explains this concept much better than me. Check out the excerpt at amazon.com.)

Needless to say, this concept has shed some light on a couple of scripture passages.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 - "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize."

Hebrews 12:1-3 - "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."

2 Timothy 4:7 - "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."