The Big Idea: The spiritual disciplines and training of a
disciple of Jesus.
The road to becoming a couch potato is paved with good
intentions. “I’m going to bike to work every day this year…” Or maybe until the
first really wet day. “I just bought a gym pass!” But the number of times you
went this month made it less of a good deal than you hoped.
“Train yourself to be godly. 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 Tim 4:7-8).
The Greek word for “train” in this verse means to work out
naked! A little shocking, and I don’t recommend this at your local gym, but spiritually the idea is to cast off everything that gets in the way of your training. It's like Jesus saying to pluck out your eye if it causes you to sin (Matt 5:29-30), or the writer of Hebrews telling us to "throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles" (Heb 12:1).
Jesus talks about staying connected to him like branches on
a vine, and he also says, “Every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that
it will be even more fruitful” (John 15:2). The gardener carefully trims the “suckers” – shoots
that use up the branch’s nutrients but bear only leaves, no fruit.
Spiritual training requires both effort and faith! It is time to go beyond good intentions! Here are the spiritual
disciplines that are listed in the book:
- Worship
- Prayer
- Confession
- Interpretation
- Meditation
- Solitude
- Stewardship
- Speaking and serving
- Testimony
- Submission
- Guidance
- Endurance
Please post your thoughts on these questions in the "Comments" box below. You will need to sign in with a Google or other account to do so.
- What gets in the way of your spiritual training? What uses up your time and resources but does not produce eternal results?
- Which of these spiritual disciplines do you have in place already? Are you happy with your consistency and progress?
- Which spiritual disciplines will you kick-start in preparation for ministry this summer?
1. Tae Kwon do. Both My son and I hold Black Belts and the training seems to be never ending. My husband is a blue belt and my daughter is still in the younger classes no official belts yet. Yikes! 4 out of 7 evenings is spent @ TKD.
ReplyDelete2. The disciplines are: Prayer, Worship, Endurance,Guidance. I feel there is always places that the lord and I work on. Submission is a hard one. I would love to Meditate more on His word and to learn how to be still.
3. Prayer is always my go to. Submission ( a hard one I've been working on.) Reading ( interpretation??) my bible. Regina J Rose
Question 1-In all honesty I find myself spending too much time on my computer be it on Facebook, reading news articles, looking on Pinterest.
ReplyDeleteQuestion 2-The disciplines I have in place already are worship, prayer, confession and endurance. There is always room for me to grow and show more progress in my walk with Christ.
Question 3-Prayer and meditating on the Word
1) I spend to much time doing SOMETHING. I never really just have quiet moments and when i do they don't last long because i find something to distract myself with.
ReplyDelete2) in place: endurance, serving and speaking, and submission. I would like to get better at prayer and meditation so that i can be more aware of God's presence and will in my life.
3) Serving is a big one seeing as i'm going to be serving at a camp, but I would also like to work on prayer and testimony so i'm better prepared for questions my campers may have.
1) Candy Crush!
ReplyDelete3) Stewardship: Although many people think stewardship is about money, I tend to believe it also involves giving of your time. This summer I have been deliberately trying to give my time and service to others who need help. I realize how blessed I am and that God wants me to be a blessing to others in the small things...washing windows, yard work, driving, de-cluttering, doing drywall, and packing boxes. It never ceases to amaze me how much fun helping others can be. I imagine camp will be the same...a lot of hard work and patience but the rewards will be wonderful!
1. On my computer either on facebook, Instagram, pinterest or netflix
ReplyDelete2. I already have all of them playing out in my life to some extent. I need to continue to work on getting in daily conversation with the Father about things and continually confessing that I am broken. I also need to wok more on solitude. I do well in group settings but I need to find rest daily so I can refuel.
3.I am going to work on solitude and being comfortable in it. And taking that time of solitude, so I don't burn out by the end of the summer/ by the end of the week
1. I guess netlix never helped.. games take time too haha.. loads of time on Instagram too.
ReplyDelete2. I love connecting to God through worship and prayer.. I love seeing God work through healing and just amazing works and love he showed through other people's lives. I love playing around with music and i like to connect music with worship. It says that David played for Saul and David played skillfully!..
3. I think I really need to spend more time praying daily because when I'm with the kids.. praying is a big role but I'm excited about the opportunity as well!
School is what take up a lot of my time. When I'm not doing school work, it's either Netflix or social media that I spend hours on, but I really should be building my schedule AFTER dedicating a time to spend with just me and God.
ReplyDeleteThe spiritual disciplines I use are worship, prayer, and confession. I have made a crazy amount of progress this last year and I'm happy with it, but know that there is so much more I can do and I still have a lot of growing left.
I will definitely do as much prayer as I can and I will need to speak and serve using gods guidance
I try to be intentional when I go on social media - to use it as a tool for engaging in relationships - however, there are times when it can keep me from being as present and able to be still to hear from God. Worship and prayer are spiritual discplines for me. Each morning I wake up asking God to "teach my to number my days, that I may gain a heart of wisdom; learning to leverage my time on earth for Your honour and Your glory." I pray as people come to mind and at 10:02 each day, I pray for God to raise up leaders in this world and Christ followers that will share the good news, and that he will work in my neighbourhood and through me, wherever I am (Luke 10:2). Testimony is a spiritual discipline that I have been working on; being more vocal about sharing God-working stories in my life and others.
ReplyDeleteWhat gets in the way of your spiritual training? What uses up your time and resources but does not produce eternal results?
ReplyDeleteAs a university student, much of my time is spent studying and working away at statistics problems. Often I work on proofs until 3 or 4 in the morning several nights a week which leaves me drained and makes it very tempting to sleep through church or miss a young adults evening.
Which of these spiritual disciplines do you have in place already? Are you happy with your consistency and progress?
I have made a concentrated effort this year to read my bible every day, and meditate on what I learn. I focus on what God is speaking to me and think about how I can apply that to my life immediately. I keep a written track record of my progress to hold myself accountable. This is a huge change for me, as I have otherwise not been reading my bible very often since I started university and I have noticed what an incredible change it has made in my life.
Which spiritual disciplines will you kick-start in preparation for ministry this summer?
I want to practice my testimony by sharing it with my young adults group before I head to camp this summer. I also plan to actively pray for my campers regularly before and during camp.
1. Extracurricular activities take up a lot of my time and effort, as well as social media.
ReplyDelete2. I try to serve as much as possible, and as much as I don't have much time free for it I enter solitude as much as possible.
3. Defiantly prayer and testimony.
Connor Gleeson