50 Days of Wisdom

Self-control, or spiritual self-discipline, begins with our theology, knowing who owns us, knowing the price that was paid for us, remembering the covenant we made with the Lord when we came to Him, and the recognition of all sin as a violation of our relationship to God. And then it moves out of our theology into our own personal spirituality, and self-discipline becomes a matter of controlling your imagination. And to do that, your heart and mind must be saturated with the Word of God so that your conscience can function properly and alert you to spiritual dangers. In addition, if you're going to be a self-disciplined person, you must focus on a noble cause outside of yourself. Maybe I could say it like this: People whose lives matter to God don't matter to them. Do you know what I mean by that? People who are lost in divine purposes have little regard for their own success, comfort, or achievement. Now, that's true in just the simplest sense in the world. Somebody who writes masterpieces in music has a transcendent commitment to that process, which causes them to be able to go on and on, sleeplessly, to deny themselves all kinds of things for the greater good of achieving this noble end. Those people who have a great desire to excel in some endeavor or some academic field or some realm of science, or whatever it might be in human achievement, make immense sacrifices because there's some noble cause beyond them. They make tremendous sacrifices. Certainly, many of the things we enjoy today were pioneered by people who sacrificed everything, in some cases their lives. And sometimes the noble cause is pretty dumb, you know, like getting to the top of Mount Everest. But it's a transcendent cause beyond them that makes people sacrifice at a level that is sometimes hard to understand, and certainly the same thing is true of us as Christians. You will begin to pull the loose ends of your life together when you aren't living for yourself anymore, when you're way beyond that, when you discipline yourself because it's the only way you can get to the goal, which is beyond you. And you know you can't get there with a half or a three-quarter effort. You can only accomplish that with the whole effort of everything you have, and that was the apostle Paul who said: "For me to live is (not Paul)—Christ." I mean, the man approached life with one great goal: the advancement of the glory of Jesus Christ. And that transcendent, noble goal beyond himself catapulted him beyond personal thoughts of comfort and created in him an immense capacity for self-discipline and self-sacrifice to achieve what was so noble. He said that everything he did, he did for the glory of God. And he encouraged us, whether we eat or drink or whatever we do, to do it all for the glory of God. I mean, that's the way he lived, and that's the way we have to live. Paul said, "If I live, I live unto the Lord. If I die, I die unto the Lord. So whether I live or die, I'm the Lord's." And that's because he was so focused on something so great and so compelling that sacrifices meant absolutely nothing. All that mattered to him was the honor of the Lord Jesus Christ, the advancement of the gospel, and the hope of someday hearing, "Well done, good and faithful steward. Enter into the joy of your Lord." That's living for the noble cause. That's getting beyond yourself, and that's absolutely essential to self-control, or spiritual self-discipline. And that's why I said, people whose lives really matter to God don't matter to them. They really don't. They are committed to a noble cause, which is way beyond themselves. Therefore, ask yourself this question: "What could be more important in this life, than to bear fruit for eternity?" Repent and believe! GTY.org (90-131) – Fundamental Christian Attitudes: Self-Discipline, Part 2

Today's Wisdom

Day: 1029

September 14, 2026

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Grace and peace,

My name is Mark Paul from Wauchula, Florida, and like the Apostle Peter said in 2 Peter 1:14, "I know that the laying aside of my earthly dwelling is imminent." Consequently, my goal is to leave a legacy that will continue to advance the kingdom of God long after I have departed. In other words, bear fruit for eternity. And by simply reading and sharing my free eBooks, you too become contributors to the advancement of His kingdom. Thank you for partaking in this endeavor, and I look forward to greeting you on heaven's shore.

The Truth in Love,

Mark Paul - Servant of God

Now grant, O Lord, that when the souls who read these books cast their eyes upon these lines, their minds may be illuminated and their consciences convinced and awakened, that they may see with their eyes, hear with their ears, and be converted so that You may heal them. Amen!