Disciplines of a Godly Man by R. Kent Hughes Below is a synopsis from our group discussion on Ch. 1 Discipline for Godliness To return to the discussion page, simply close this window. Our discussion started off with a nice greeting and general catching up with one another. The discussion began with reading and discussing the Discipline of Godliness. The section that I focused on was a sentence that stated “We will never get anywhere in life without discipline. … This is doubly so in spiritual matters.” How we live should be a life that is pleasing to God and not man. We should put him, God, first. In day to day activities, it often times is easy to have our focus moved from God to things of this world. Our discussion branched into the area of gossip and what is gossip? Essentially we concluded that discussion about someone that is either hurtful or false, We all agreed that discussion of an event or person is done with the intent to understand a situation or a set of circumstances, and is discussion or comments that one would make despite that person being present is simply that…discussion. At times we all have situations that we need the advice or guidance from fellow brothers in Christ. Are we sharing this information with a mission or sharing with a hurtful nature? We also concluded that at times we need to “share” information with others in an attempt to bring together others to pray or support that person. A second point that I focused on was that “… men are so much less spiritually inclined and spiritually disciplined than women.” This brought about some very good discussion centering on the point that women are more nurturing than men. In the animal world, a female bear, or female ape are much more fierce than a male is. This is largely due to the nurturing side of the female with their young. In some cases, it is a known fact that males will actually kill their young in an attempt to prevent them from growing into a male who may possibly become a more dominant alpha male. We therefore agreed that the books statement holds true…women are more “spiritually” disciplined than men. Our discussion then continued into an area that often is a delicate one. Are we disciplined to the “church” or to God? We concluded that all too often we tend to fall into my church vs. your church. We need to remember that God’s word is God’s word, regardless of ones religion. Don’t let church doctrine get into the way of your study of God’s word. The source cold not be remembered but this thought was worth sharing. That is there is a payday from God. It will not be a Friday, it will be a day of his choosing and his will. That is why it is so important for us a Christians to watch our walk through life. It is also why having a support group is key. Life will deal is some hardships and difficult times. These are most likely the devil working to “break” us in our walk with God. Are we tempted by the vices of the world? Most likely yes, daily! So, how do we deal with these vices? We concluded that anything that might cause us to stumble or fall is something we should avoid. If we are confronted by these “tests,” it is then more than ever when we need our support group. Along with this support group, comes forgiveness. We have to not only forgive others but we also need to forgive ourselves. If we feel that we do not need to forgive ourselves, that’s as if we are saying we are better than Jesus who forgives all who ask for his forgiveness. Whom who believes they are above Jesus, are not in connections with him. Final thought: Do you, we, us, I have time for God?