I haven't been doing well with the disciplines over the last month. It started during the last two weeks of school. I kind of gave myself a break because I had so much work to do, which I think is fine. I don't think that God is just waiting to get angry at us for not spending time with Him (though I do think it is to our detriment when we don't spend time with Him).
However, one of the major stumbling blocks to my spiritual growth through the disciplines during this time off has actually been this blog. When I took my little unexpected hiatus, little fears tiptoed into my mind. I started to wonder what people would think. Would they criticize my lack of discipline and follow-through? I started making sure I had an excuse that I could give them to explain why I had been away so long. I wondered if my spiritual regression would be noticeable when I started blogging again. I wondered how I could write a blog that was Spirit-filled or seemed Spirit-filled when I wasn't feeling filled with the Spirit. I started approaching my quiet times with the Lord in hopes of getting some nice spiritual gem to write about, but it needed to be good. People were watching.
I realized today that the blog has become a burden because I've made people's opinions my god. But, it's better for me to enter the kingdom of heaven with no blog than to enter the gates of hell with a blog filled with showy, idolatrous entries.
So, there's my confession. I'm not sure if this means that I'll take a break from blogging. Being convicted of my idolatry, confessing it, and shifting my perspective to again make this a place for me to be able to process what I'm learning and to keep a record of the Lord's work for the Lord's glory may be just what I needed to reclaim the blog as a tool rather than a stumbling block. We'll see in the days to come.
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Explanations and Excuses
Whew! Sorry for the long break! I just finished up my grad classes on Monday and started nannying full time this week. I still haven't gotten a new computer since mine got stolen, so I can only write when I borrow Don's computer.
Anyway, enough with explanations and excuses.
I've actually learned a lot about feeling guilty about my times with the Lord over the last two weeks. I'll hopefully share soon! :)
Anyway, enough with explanations and excuses.
I've actually learned a lot about feeling guilty about my times with the Lord over the last two weeks. I'll hopefully share soon! :)
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Being Like Jesus
I cannot will myself to be like Jesus in the moment of testing.
Dallas Willard discusses this point in detail in the first chapter of his book The Spirit of the Disciplines. He emphasizes that one of the major fallacies of the Church today is that we are to be like Jesus as he was in the limelight (i.e. loving the outcast, turning the other cheek, suffering patiently,etc.), without being like Jesus as he was in everyday life (i.e. praying, fasting, serving, celebrating, studying, etc.).
Willard uses the comparison of a young baseball player and a young Christian to illustrate his point. The young player cannot simply mimic his favorite baseball star in his attire, in his stance, and in his swing in order to play like him on game day. That's not how the baseball star got to the big leagues after all. The baseball star got there from years of work training his body day after day in practice, drills, diets, and exercise. If the young athlete wants to be like him, he must also commit himself to a lifestyle of practice and drills and diets and exercise to train his body day after day.
In the same way, we as Christians cannot simply hope that the moment we are tested in loving the outcast, turning the other cheek, or suffering patiently that we will be able to just mimic Jesus. Even Jesus didn't just get to loving the outcast, turning the other cheek, or suffering patiently by simply hoping he would be able to do it when the time came. Instead, Jesus "often withdrew to lonely places and prayed" (Luke 5:16); Jesus fasted (Matthew 4:1-11); Jesus served (John 13); Jesus celebrated (John 2:1-11); Jesus studied (Luke 2:41-52). If we want to be like him, we must also commit ourselves to a lifestyle of praying, solitude, fasting, service, celebration, study, etc.
Believing that I can just mimic the things that Jesus did in the limelight while not mimicking the things that he did elsewhere will only set me up for significant frustration.
To be like Jesus, I have to be like he was ALL the time, not just like he was in moments of testing.
Dallas Willard discusses this point in detail in the first chapter of his book The Spirit of the Disciplines. He emphasizes that one of the major fallacies of the Church today is that we are to be like Jesus as he was in the limelight (i.e. loving the outcast, turning the other cheek, suffering patiently,etc.), without being like Jesus as he was in everyday life (i.e. praying, fasting, serving, celebrating, studying, etc.).
Willard uses the comparison of a young baseball player and a young Christian to illustrate his point. The young player cannot simply mimic his favorite baseball star in his attire, in his stance, and in his swing in order to play like him on game day. That's not how the baseball star got to the big leagues after all. The baseball star got there from years of work training his body day after day in practice, drills, diets, and exercise. If the young athlete wants to be like him, he must also commit himself to a lifestyle of practice and drills and diets and exercise to train his body day after day.
In the same way, we as Christians cannot simply hope that the moment we are tested in loving the outcast, turning the other cheek, or suffering patiently that we will be able to just mimic Jesus. Even Jesus didn't just get to loving the outcast, turning the other cheek, or suffering patiently by simply hoping he would be able to do it when the time came. Instead, Jesus "often withdrew to lonely places and prayed" (Luke 5:16); Jesus fasted (Matthew 4:1-11); Jesus served (John 13); Jesus celebrated (John 2:1-11); Jesus studied (Luke 2:41-52). If we want to be like him, we must also commit ourselves to a lifestyle of praying, solitude, fasting, service, celebration, study, etc.
Believing that I can just mimic the things that Jesus did in the limelight while not mimicking the things that he did elsewhere will only set me up for significant frustration.
To be like Jesus, I have to be like he was ALL the time, not just like he was in moments of testing.
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Hungering for God
You know that feeling when you're really hungry?
Your stomach aches with emptiness. All you can think about is food. Every billboard. Every commercial. Every post on Facebook. They're all about food! And, it all sounds so good!
But, have you ever gotten past that point of extreme hunger?
The ache goes away. The awareness of all the food around you goes away. Sometimes food doesn't even sound good anymore. Sometimes you have to force yourself to eat even if it doesn't sound good because you know your body will need the energy later.
Practicing the disciplines has shown me that hungering after God is not so different from hungering after food.
I need God, and I want Him. But, once I've let that need and that desire go unattended--after I've passed the point of feeling that hunger for Him--my ache for Him goes away. I start to lose my awareness of Him. And, sometimes being with Him doesn't even sound good.
But, most of the time, I don't respond with Him the way I do with food. With food, I say, "I should eat even though I don't feel like it right now because I know I'll need the energy later." With Him, I say, "I shouldn't force myself to do it if I don't want to because it's not genuine, and I would be trying to make myself righteous by obeying the law."
I'm realizing that that's terrible logic that is keeping me from growing spiritually.
By telling myself that I shouldn't spend time with the Lord because I don't feel like it, I'm making myself a slave to my feelings. And, I'm failing to recognize that my spirit needs to feast on the Bread of Life to be able to bear fruit whether I feel like it or not. I'm also failing to realize that I will almost always feel like being with Him once I've tasted a bit of His goodness.
The reality is that I'm not trying to make myself righteous by spending time with the Lord when I don't want to. I know that simply going through the motions of a "quiet time" or "devotions" with the Lord is not enough. Instead, I'm making myself do what I don't want to do because I know that my feelings now are not reflective of the truth (i.e. I do desire the Lord even though I don't feel like it), because I know that my spirit needs the Lord, and because I have faith that my desire for Him will follow.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Meditation and the Readying of the Spirit
Though David speaks of meditating often in the Psalms, prior to now, I've rarely considered meditating as a spiritual discipline that I would practice myself. I suppose I didn't really know what it was; or, I suppose it sounded too much like things that the Christian Church tends to shy away from or label as "too spiritual".
But, Joyce Huggett, in Spiritual Classics: A Renovare resource for individuals and groups, has a much different view on meditation. She writes, "...Christian meditation must not be confused with yoga, Eastern meditation or transcendental meditation. For, unlike these disciplines, Christian meditation has nothing to do with emptying our minds. Christian meditation engages every part of us--our mind, our emotions, our imagination, our creativity, and surpremely, our will."
There are different methods and practical ways to meditate. Huggett suggests muttering a Scripture over and over as David describes in the Psalms. Or, simply reflecting or pondering on the Scripture in our hearts. Richard Foster in Celebration of Discipline even talks about meditating on being in the very presence of Christ, using our imagination to envision walking with Him in fields or meadows.
Joyce Huggett places meditation in broader framework of the disciplines this way, "Such stillness is to Bible reading what preparing the soil is to good farming. Essential for fruitfulness." In other words, meditation, or spending time to quiet our minds and hearts to reflect on the being of Christ and His truth is the first step in pursuing other disciplines. Without this change in our focus and attitudes, our minds and hearts are not ready to receive what the Spirit has to give to us.
In practicing meditation yesterday and today, I chose to dwell on two passages. Yesterday was Isaiah 33:6, "He will be a sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge. The fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure." And, today was Psalm 100:4a, "Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise."
I've never spent such extended time repeating a passage of Scripture. Most of the time, I read it and move on. Or, I try to memorize it, and once I have, I close the Bible. But, with meditation, you could go on for hours like David did, "On my bed I think of you, I meditate on you all night long..." (Psalm 63:6). Repeating the verses over and over really impressed them on my heart. I was not focused so much on the task of memorization but on the truths of the Scripture, and as I meditated on them, I was drawn into the presence of God. A weight was lifted from my heart. I felt much less concerned with the worries of this life, and I was ready to hear from the Lord, free from distraction. It was truly a surprising and wonderful experience. A tilling of the soil, a readying of my spirit.
I can understand why meditation is the first chapter of Foster's Celebration of Discipline. It truly makes the spirit ready to engage with God. It frees our spirit from being subject to our spiritual to-do lists. It stops our works-based pursuit of God, makes us aware of the Lord's love-filled pursuit of us, and then draws us in to His glorious presence that we may be made into His likeness by the work of His Spirit.
But, Joyce Huggett, in Spiritual Classics: A Renovare resource for individuals and groups, has a much different view on meditation. She writes, "...Christian meditation must not be confused with yoga, Eastern meditation or transcendental meditation. For, unlike these disciplines, Christian meditation has nothing to do with emptying our minds. Christian meditation engages every part of us--our mind, our emotions, our imagination, our creativity, and surpremely, our will."
There are different methods and practical ways to meditate. Huggett suggests muttering a Scripture over and over as David describes in the Psalms. Or, simply reflecting or pondering on the Scripture in our hearts. Richard Foster in Celebration of Discipline even talks about meditating on being in the very presence of Christ, using our imagination to envision walking with Him in fields or meadows.
Joyce Huggett places meditation in broader framework of the disciplines this way, "Such stillness is to Bible reading what preparing the soil is to good farming. Essential for fruitfulness." In other words, meditation, or spending time to quiet our minds and hearts to reflect on the being of Christ and His truth is the first step in pursuing other disciplines. Without this change in our focus and attitudes, our minds and hearts are not ready to receive what the Spirit has to give to us.
In practicing meditation yesterday and today, I chose to dwell on two passages. Yesterday was Isaiah 33:6, "He will be a sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge. The fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure." And, today was Psalm 100:4a, "Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise."
I've never spent such extended time repeating a passage of Scripture. Most of the time, I read it and move on. Or, I try to memorize it, and once I have, I close the Bible. But, with meditation, you could go on for hours like David did, "On my bed I think of you, I meditate on you all night long..." (Psalm 63:6). Repeating the verses over and over really impressed them on my heart. I was not focused so much on the task of memorization but on the truths of the Scripture, and as I meditated on them, I was drawn into the presence of God. A weight was lifted from my heart. I felt much less concerned with the worries of this life, and I was ready to hear from the Lord, free from distraction. It was truly a surprising and wonderful experience. A tilling of the soil, a readying of my spirit.
I can understand why meditation is the first chapter of Foster's Celebration of Discipline. It truly makes the spirit ready to engage with God. It frees our spirit from being subject to our spiritual to-do lists. It stops our works-based pursuit of God, makes us aware of the Lord's love-filled pursuit of us, and then draws us in to His glorious presence that we may be made into His likeness by the work of His Spirit.
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
What Are the Disciplines?
One question that must be answered in a pursuit of the disciplines as a means of spiritual transformation is, "What are the disciplines?" To answer this, I've looked to those disciplines that Richard Foster has set out in his book Celebration of Discipline. Foster focuses on twelve disciplines which he divides into Inward Disciplines, Outward Disciplines, and Corporate Disciplines which are shown below.
Inward Disciplines
Meditation
Prayer
Fasting
Study
Outward Disciplines
Simplicity
Solitude
Submission
Service
Corporate Disciplines
Confession
Worship
Guidance
Celebration
Foster illustrates the interconnected relationship of the disciplines on the final page of his book:
"...meditation heightens our spiritual sensitivity which, in turn leads us into prayer. Very soon we discover that prayer involves fasting as an accompanying means. Informed by these three Disciplines, we can effectively move into study which gives us discernment about ourselves and the world in which we live. Through simplicity we live with others in integrity. Solitude allows us to be genuinely present to people when we are with them. Through submission we live with other without manipulation, and through service we are a blessing to them. Confession frees us from ourselves and releases us to worship. Worship opens the door to guidance. All the Disciplines freely exercised bring forth the doxology of celebration" (Foster 1998: 201).
These are the disciplines that I will be focusing on for the next year. I don't plan on it being perfectly planned out in the perfect way for a blog...because the blog isn't my primary focus in all this. I want the Lord. And, I want His Spirit working in me as He wills not as I will. So, we'll see where He leads, and I'll try to record things I've learned on here as a record of the power of the Spirit to transform lives.
Inward Disciplines
Meditation
Prayer
Fasting
Study
Outward Disciplines
Simplicity
Solitude
Submission
Service
Corporate Disciplines
Confession
Worship
Guidance
Celebration
Foster illustrates the interconnected relationship of the disciplines on the final page of his book:
"...meditation heightens our spiritual sensitivity which, in turn leads us into prayer. Very soon we discover that prayer involves fasting as an accompanying means. Informed by these three Disciplines, we can effectively move into study which gives us discernment about ourselves and the world in which we live. Through simplicity we live with others in integrity. Solitude allows us to be genuinely present to people when we are with them. Through submission we live with other without manipulation, and through service we are a blessing to them. Confession frees us from ourselves and releases us to worship. Worship opens the door to guidance. All the Disciplines freely exercised bring forth the doxology of celebration" (Foster 1998: 201).
These are the disciplines that I will be focusing on for the next year. I don't plan on it being perfectly planned out in the perfect way for a blog...because the blog isn't my primary focus in all this. I want the Lord. And, I want His Spirit working in me as He wills not as I will. So, we'll see where He leads, and I'll try to record things I've learned on here as a record of the power of the Spirit to transform lives.
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