The NorthWord
NorthWord is a daily Christian podcast from St. John's Fort Smith in collaboration with the Anglican Family. Hosted by Father Aaron from Fort Smith, Northwest Territories.
Here's how it works: Every Sunday we release the full sermon preached that morning. Then Monday through Saturday, you get 3-5 minute daily reflections based on that sermon - one thought you can actually use each day. Every Wednesday we explore the rhythm of Jesus' life and how his followers have lived it out for 2,000 years.
Whether you're Pentecostal, Orthodox, Baptist, Catholic, or just curious about faith - this is for you. Ancient faith. Real life. No fluff.
The Word. The North. Your Week.
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The NorthWord
Two Kinds of Discipline
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Being disciplined from outside yourself is one thing. Learning self-discipline from within is another. And you need both.
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Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theanglicanfamily
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Good morning, this is Northword. There is a difference between being disciplined and learning discipline. And most of us only have about half of that. Good morning, this is Northword, the Word, the North Your Week, a daily podcast from St. John's Fort Smith in collaboration with the Anglican family. I'm your host, Father Aaron. Today's episode is brought to you by Barrows Pizza and Fort Smith. Amazing pizza, amazing people. Think about a small child at a crosswalk. The child sees the other side of the road and wants to cross. That's it. No red light, no traffic, no awareness of consequences, just the other side and the desire to get there. The disciplined adult sees the other side of the road too. But the adult waits. The adult reads the light, checks the traffic, and crosses at the right time. Nobody is born with that discipline. You learn it, and usually the hard way. As Christians, we are called to be disciples and buried inside the word. Disciples and disciplined. You can't really separate them. To be a disciple is to be a student of a disciplined life. But here is something I want you to notice. There are actually two kinds of discipline at work in our lives. The first is being disciplined, accepting correction from outside yourself, your parents correcting you, your community holding you accountable, God allowing hardship that reshapes you. This comes to us whether we want it or not. The second is self-discipline, the interior work of choosing day after day, what is good over what is easy, getting up to pray when you don't feel like it, saying no to something that pulls you away from God, choosing kindness when your instinct is otherwise. The goal is both, not one or the other. God disciplines us from outside so that we can learn to discipline ourselves from within. The external correction is meant to produce internal formation. Discipleship is not a season, it is not something we do at the beginning of our Christian journey and then graduate from. It is the shape of the whole life. We are always students, we are always being formed, and that is not a burden, it is a gift. This has been Northword, the Word, the North, Your Week, a daily podcast from St. John's Fort Smith in collaboration with the Anglican family. You are being formed, that forming is a sign of love, not abandonment. Share this with someone in your life who needs to hear that. And use the text us link in the description to reach out. We would love to hear from you and where you are on your journey. Until tomorrow, may God be with you. In the name of Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.