I mentioned in my last blog about the physical joys of self-discipline. And how I was seeing the connection between how I treat my physical body and holiness... 1 Tim. 4:7-9 talks about how physical training has benefit, but that training in godliness has eternal reward. I have come across some verses that tie those two things together. I am finding that you can not separate the two from each other. In our compartmental, North American views of life we like to separate our physical bodies from our spiritual. We think we can keep elements of our lives in different little boxes, never to touch. We then wonder why the junk of our lives spill into the spiritual, and the weakness of the spiritual is incapable of curtailing the physical. I have spent some time looking into the lives of "godly models" such as Spurgeon, Luther, Edwards, Brother Andrew, Liddell, and Muller. Men from different times, professions, and even continents! Each one tightly held onto a life of personal discipline. Luther, who was known to pray one hour a day, was asked how he kept up the discipline during times of persecution and chaos. To which he simply replied, "I pray for two hours". We must not fall into the trap of believing that maturity comes regardless of neglect in either our physical or spiritual lives. By the way, the trap is not new. It's called Gnosticism, and it was rejected as heresy by the early church. So please, join me in the discovery of discipline.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 (ESV)

²⁴ Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. ²⁵ Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. ²⁶ So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. ²⁷ But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

Romans 6:19 (ESV)

¹⁹ I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.

Proverbs 23:12 (ESV)

¹² Apply your heart to instruction(discipline)

and your ear to words of knowledge.

2 Peter 1:5-8 (ESV)

⁵ For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, ⁶ and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, ⁷ and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. ⁸ For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.