The Disciple's Well Part 1

On Sunday mornings we have been talking about a question that Jesus asked a man who was very sick in John 5, “Do You Want to Get Well”? What a great question. The spiritual battle we all face can be seen in that question. Will you live for Jesus and experience full and abundant, now and forever life, or will you live for yourself, which is by default the enemy’s way.
John 10:10 (NIV)
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
Jesus has come that we might have life, the enemy wants to steal that life from you. Our adversary uses tricks, its all he has left. Fear, worry, distraction, guilt, shame, pride, etc. We have all we need in Christ to overcome all the tricks of the enemy. But we need to choose to get well. To live life His way, not ours. We need to be careful not to listen to the life stealing lies of the enemy but remember that life comes as we listen to the whisper.
Here, at the Disciple’s well we are going to be looking at five areas that we need to have in balance in our lives so that we don’t listen to the life stealing lies. These areas are:

Praying Well
Eating Well
Moving Well
Living Well
Resting Well

These five areas are crucial to keep us tuned into the whisper of God. We have a habit of falling into two sins or evils on a regular basis when we are listening to the life stealing lies.
Jeremiah 2:13 (NIV)
13 “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.
Jeremiah 2:13 (NCV)
13 “My people have done two evils: They have turned away from me, the spring of living water. And they have dug their own wells, which are broken wells that cannot hold water.
This verse is a great picture of what we do when we decide to live our way instead of God’s way. We can have the most incredible life giving water of the Lord, or we can have putrid, lifeless, dirty water. That’s what we are doing when we listen to the lies and go our own way. Which well would you rather drink from? The well of life or a lifeless well?
I like to have things to help me remember. Like our mission is 5-2-1. I have been thinking about this for the Disciple’s Well.
As One More, I have to choose which of the two wells I will drink from, and there are five things I need to stay balanced and focused on the living water of the Lord instead of the life stealing water of my own making in listening to the life stealing lies of the enemy.
So, for a season on Sunday nights I want to talk about these five areas in the Disciple’s well. Praying Well. Eating Well. Moving Well. Living Well. Resting Well. Three of these areas are about our physical life and two are about are spiritual life, but they are all tied together and they are all important.
1 Timothy 4:8 (NIV)
8 For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.
1 Timothy 4:8 (TEV)
8 Physical exercise has some value, but spiritual exercise is valuable in every way, because it promises life both for the present and for the future.
The physical areas have value, but we need to make sure we make the spiritual areas our highest priority for they have eternal value and when our spiritual life is in balance it really helps to get our physical life in balance. Getting my prayer life right has had a huge impact on my eating, moving, living, and resting. Which makes sense when you think about this verse from Isaiah:
Isaiah 40:28-31 (NIV)
28 Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. 29 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. 30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; 31 but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
Getting these five areas into balance will have a huge impact on how we experience the now and forever life we have in Christ. Ask me how I know?
We will be digging deep into each area, but for tonight let’s just get started with a quick to do for each area this week.
Praying Well – If you didn’t hear the message from the weekend go and listen to it. Then start reading the Psalms for five minutes in the morning and at night.
Eating Well – For now, all I want you to do is start to record everything you eat or drink throughout the day.
Moving Well – If you are not moving, you need to start. Nothing drastic to start with. Just a simple walk every day, starting with five minutes. See a Doctor before you start any exercise program or routine.
Living Well – Live every day trying to do the next right thing.
Resting Well – This needs to become a priority and not a luxury. Make changes here. Don’t stay up too late watching TV, or being on Facebook, etc. At a reasonable time, take a few minutes to read the Psalms and pray and then go to sleep.
Start a journal or use Twitter:
To help you with tracking these five areas, especially for those of you who are a little tech savvy, I have developed a twitter list for you on the website. I call the list Tweet yourself Well. It is fun way to remember to track these five areas we are discussing. For the Twitter list, I have these five phrases:

Praying Well = Tweet when you entreat
Eating Well = Tweet before you eat
Moving Well – Tweet your moving feet
Living Well = Tweet before you cheat
Resting Well – Tweet when you retreat

In the weeks ahead we will be talking about the how-to’s of each of these areas in detail. Invite a friend, stay connected to the website for updates and tools at dywtgw.com.