Ch.8 - Polo

…Polo.

There you are, Discipline.

Whew, I thought I lost you again.

No, ma'am.  I've been lying right here where you left me this whole time.  Remember, I don't have any feet with which to move about nor hands with which to climb, so I just decided to nestle in again, waiting here, patiently, from atop this comfy perch of mine. 

So have you made your decision yet?  Or should I just nestle in some more?

Well, to be quite honest, Discipline, this deciding that you asked of me, it's taking longer than I thought.  In my mind and in my heart, I believed quite honestly that I was absolutely ready.  Truth is, I have some questions still.  If you don't mind, maybe I could take one more lesson from you?

And before you really begin, know I do understand you.  I've gathered from the start, you are quite an important guy, for God Himself to draw my attention straight to you. 

Well, thank you, ma'am.  I try not to get too prideful of the role I play.  But please, if you will, sit down again beside me here, settle in, and listen some more to what I have to say. 

And before we go any further, let's say just a little prayer.

(Pause.)

Why are you sitting there just staring at me?  I'm not going to do the praying for you.  God desires to hear your request, not mine.  Take a moment, bow your head, and just speak humbly from the bottom of your heart.

God, it's me again.  I'm sitting here with Discipline.  Thank you for turning on Your floodlight for me, lighting up my basement floor, taking care of my enemy horde.  But Discipline, He says that all I have to do; all that's left, really, is just that I make a decision?  So as I take just a few minutes here, would you please help me?  Please soften my heart again. 

Please shift my focus.  I need you to clear the cobwebs from my mind.  I so desire to not just know this information Discipline brought my way; I need to live what I heard him say. 

So here we go, I now put on the mind of Christ.

(Pause.)

Okay.  Ready?  Set?  Let's go!

We've already talked about the fact, I'm a teacher and a guide.  A belt, a wooden spoon, or a swift hand on you, those things are not why I was created.  I don't come to rain on your parade or ruin all your fun.  My responsibility is to keep you along life's way, always guiding you to safety.

So here's the most difficult thing, or so it seems, for human beings to gather or should I say, understand and comprehend; the way someone shows you that they love you is through introducing me, "meet my friend, Discipline."

Oh, I remember now.  I've heard that introduction before.

Hang on one second.  Something else is coming back to mind.

(Pause.)

Oh, yeah, here it is in black and white, on paper, Revelation 3:19.  I've heard it many times before.  I've read it over and over or so it seems.  

"Those whom I love I rebuke and Discipline.  So be earnest and repent."

(Revelation 3:19 TPT)

That stings a bit, doesn't it?  Problem that I've had up to this point, I've heard the first of that verse recited so, I often fail to see the latter, you know the part, "be earnest and repent".  We just stop at that word, Discipline.  But there's a "so" that follows after that, it's dependent on the first, and well, the first is dependent on the other.  You've got to attend to both.

Rebuke and Discipline, when handled properly, should cause one to be earnest and repent; that's how we know it's true Discipline. 

And then, hang on a second, there's another verse that comes to mind.  It's the very next verse in this same chapter. 

"Here I am! I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me." (Revelation 3:20 TPT)

So pause, Lisa.  Read that again, only read both verses; one followed by the other.  And don't just read the words this time, take an extra moment or two, and commit them to your memory. 

Do you remember the principle of which David wrote?  Write His Words upon your heart…

There it is, God's Words, they're rising up in you.

I consider your Word to be my greatest treasure, and I treasure it in my heart to keep me from committing sin's treason against you.  My wonderful God, you are to be praised above all; teach me the power of your decrees!  I speak continually of your laws as I recite out loud your counsel to me. (Psalm 119:11, TPT)

Wow, Discipline!  I've heard it my entire life.  Take God's Word, hide it in my heart that I might not sin against You.  Another verse I must revisit.  When I learned it first, in childhood, the focus was on keeping me from sin.  It felt so much more like a place to cower in fear of judgment than a place of peace, a place to which I'd run, a place of safety in which to dwell.

It sure is getting bright up in here.  Look at my floodlight, it's  beaconing, come sit here next to me. 

The cobwebs, they're coming down, as the light shines into the corners of my mind; it's becoming clearer what God is attempting to show me. 

Him, my Floodlight, He lights my night AND day.  He's not like one of those little lights from Lowe's, Home Depot, or even Walmart.  I've limited Him with my human understanding of what's in front of me. 

God, forgive me.  I place You, forever, at the forefront of my heart, my soul, my mind.  I have a new understanding of John 8 verse 12.

I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness,

but will have the light of life.

There's more, there's more, there's so much more!  I can't help but shout quite excitedly.  God is bringing it all together now; all that was still bound inside of me has somehow been untied. 

Wait, Discipline!  Did you feel that?  What just happened?  The earth, I felt it.  It moved here under my feet.  It wasn't a tremor or some huge earthquake; it was my foundation strengthening. 

There's this incredible sense of peace. 

Wait! 

I keep saying "wait", don't I?

But honestly, Discipline, did I really see what I thought I saw?  Did a miracle happen right here in front of me?

Wiggle it again. 

No, not that on which you sit.  Although I will admit, it was quite funny watching you wiggle that thing upon which you sit. 

But what I meant is wiggle that new part at the end of your ankle there, that appendage we humans call a foot.

Oh my…

…I have a foot! 

Wait, is that a foot? 

Yes, it's a foot!!!

I had resigned myself to the thinking that I'd never ever have a way with which to walk.   This is so exciting!  I have toes I can wiggle. 

First piggy went to market.  Second piggy stayed home.  Third piggy had roast beef. 

Now I'm getting hungry. 

Fourth piggy had none.  Poor, poor number four.  And this little piggy, he gets to go wee all the way home. 

Home!  Your house, it's my home!  The more you comprehend, the shifts, the tremble that you feel, it's not your imagination at all.  All of it, it's real.  Creative miracles are not just coming they are happening. 

Miracles of healing are quite real!

Are you getting all this, Lisa?  Make a note.  Write it down. 

Oh, wait, you're already writing.  Well, keep writing then, for what I'm about to say is absolutely key.

When what's written in God's Word becomes the principles you practice, all those words of prophecy spoken over your life are no longer just words, they're living and they're active.  This foot upon my ankle here, it is a creative miracle.  The toes I can now wiggle, they bring balance to you, your whole being, heart, mind, and soul.

Keep those fingers going.  Tap and tap some more. 

Why have you not seen the signs, the wonders, the miracles as active as you should?  Why are they not a constant practice for you? 

Ooh, ooh, I think I know the answer to that question.  It's probably been the level of my faith.

Faith is an important part, that is quite true.  Yet, faith was not the word that I was thinking.  What I need to address is this: I, me, myself, we have not been a welcome guest. 

Really, it's more than a guest that I should be, I should be resident within your life, a gatekeeper for safety.

Discipline, I've got the concept now, both the letter and the Spirit.  It's become even brighter now, like a veil was lifted from my face or sunglasses were taken from my eyes.

Not only do you have a foot, Discipline, but my sight, it has been miraculously restored.

The floodlight God turned on for me in my root cellar just the other day, that was Jesus Himself, He is the light the way.

The revelation of His light creates now more questions inside of me.  Those questions, they are lighting me up as bright as a Christmas tree.….

Oh, wait.

…like when Jesus walks in the room! 

Is this the reason I've struggled through the most of life, questioning, wandering, even bumping into things I really should have seen coming?

Is the reason I've not ascertained, embraced, or right out acted on the very promises of God my fault?  Did I honestly slap walk away, leaving you, Discipline lying on your face, in the dirt of my dark cell-ar space?

So many questions I have flooding my mind, as they switch tracks from me to we…

Could it be, we are the reason Jesus' light stays hidden within the depth of our cellars, keeping Him, His light, just a random flickering from the cracks, a dim display? 

Is it possible our lack of Discipline is what casts on walls, shadows of doubt for others?  Shouldn't our lives be a broadcast, a beacon that beckons, like Batman's call light in the darkness of night, but instead of the bat, His message reads, simply, "I Am?"

Is this the reason we, His Church, His bride, often struggle to be seen up on the hill? 

Is it because we've locked Discipline away behind our castle walls, essentially, chained and imprisoned in the dungeons of our human aspirations? 

Is it time that we set free from captivity the belief, the misunderstanding that Discipline wants nothing but to rain on our parade? 

Discipline wasn't created to ruin the fun of anyone.  He was created to bring truth, to be light on our path, a guide for Truth, a light for each step.

Life can be so treacherous.  Why do we think we can just figure it out, which path we should take?

God, forgive my misgivings, the cloud, the fog created through my own misunderstandings.  I heard you knocking quite loudly at my heart's door, that closet, just the other day.  I didn't completely understand it then, why we stood there at the threshold, again, looking in. 

But then, you peeled back that piece of carpet, revealing a trap door, and then you said, "come on, let's enter in."

We climbed down that little five-rung ladder -- one, two, three, four, five -- your grace, your light, it came in, right after, bringing Discipline to my very side.  For that I'm thankful, eternally grateful. 

And yet, there rises this feeling in me that I know all too well, it seems.  I've felt it many other times.  It reminds me there remains more work to be done, work for me and you, plus one.

It would be easy now to say, let's go, let's head back down the ladder to the earth that lies below.  With Discipline here beside me, I've gained a better understanding, yet there are some things you just mentioned for which I need some additional clarity. 

You said something just a minute ago about principles, miracles, and a key.  Do you mind shedding a bit more light on these three?