Discipleship and Spiritual Formation Devotionals
DAY 1: Does God’s presence in me really change anything?
In the midst of busy, scattered, exhausted and hurting lives we want to experience a great love with God….but how does that actually happen and what does that even look like?
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly.” (Matt 11:28-30 – The Message)
Transformation happens as you keep company with Jesus.
“What do you want me to do for you?”
Unforced rhythms of grace depend on something more than self-mastery and self-effort. The simple truth is that wanting to keep company with Jesus has a staying power that “shoulds” and “oughts” seldom have.
“You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God.
He’s the food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat.” (Matt 5:6 – The Message)
The very first thing Jesus asked his soon-to-be disciples was, “What do you want?” (John 1:37) He knew human desire to be an incurable black hole of opportunity. Accompany him and watch him welcome people who want something more…Look at Mark 1:40, Matt 8:34, Matt 8:25, Matt 20:21, John 4:15, Mark 9:22, and Mark 5:18
Jesus doesn’t grant requests like a genie in a bottle. He works with people, allowing their desires to draw them into the core conversations of life.
Many of his deepest interactions with people get at two things: (1) The true nature of people’s desires, and(2) a spiritual practice that helps them make space for God in their lives.
Take some time to make space for God and think about this question…
What are some things you see in your heart that you want God to transform? (ie. being critical/judgmental of others, gossip, sexual immorality, worry and fear, negative body image, caring what other think too much, pride/thinking you are always right or maybe that you do not really need God, not truly loving others or showing favor to people whom you can possibly get something from, etc.)
DAY 2: What does being a disciple of Jesus mean and how do we grow spiritually?
“You often hear being a disciple spoken of as if it were an advanced spiritual condition. Not necessarily. The disciple has made a major step forward, to be sure, but may in fact still have a solid hold on very little of kingdom reality. Jesus’ disciples are those who have chosen to be with him to learn to be like him. All they have necessarily realized at the outset of their apprenticeship to him is, Jesus is right. He is the greatest and the best. That initial faith is God’s gift of grace to them. So they have him but they do not yet have “it”. Living as his students they are increasingly getting it. And as they do move along [further into the reality of God’s kingdom], they increase in the amount and quality of grace (interaction with God) and in their experiential knowledge of the real person Jesus Christ. Toward the beginning of their course they do not, for example, really believe that the meek and the persecuted are blessed, and certainly not the poor. That is, they do not automatically act as if it were so. But they know that Jesus does believe this, and they believe that he is right about what they themselves do not yet, really, believe. Further, they want to believe it because, seeing his strength and beauty, they admire him so much and have such confidence in him. That is why they have become his students and have trusted him with everything—or intend to trust him with everything. Their cry is that of the desperate but honest man in the gospels who says, “Lord I believe! Help thou my unbelief!” This man believed in Jesus…but as for the rest, he was very much less sure about the kingdom and the larger scene.”
"In the heart of a disciple there is a desire, and there is a decision or settled intent...having "counted up the costs,"...[to] above all else know and be like Jesus. Given this desire...there is still a decision to be made: the decision to devote one self to following and becoming like Christ. The disciple is one who, intent upon becoming Christ-like, systematically and progressively rearranges his affairs to that end."
“You see, it's in our heart that we decide what we're really about. And in particular whether what we want will govern us. Will it be God, or will it be us? And that abandonment that you see in Jesus, is the abandonment that we ourselves can live in joyfully and with delight and also with power and with knowledge; and all of that comes together as God grows the human being into the kind of character that Christ has. Now suppose that everyone had that character. Or suppose that a significant percentage of the human race had that character. And you can see that life would be very different. So what God looks for is the heart, always the heart. The heart is where we decide what we're really going to be. What is going to govern us. And of course the central issue is the surrendering of the will, abandoned to God, delighted in him, and his will. And then as that grows, then it's perfectly safe for us to have knowledge and power and so on…Jesus is actually looking for people he can trust with his power.”
SPIRITUAL FORMATION: a sequence of heart happenings in the disciple
- The first, and most vital step to spiritual formation and becoming like Christ is: belief, trust, and confidence in the whole person of Jesus Christ. This is followed by love, admiration, reverence, and a desire to follow Him. We see Jesus as the treasure he is and all the glorious riches of his Kingdom. We are like the pearl merchant who finds this treasure, recognizes the treasure that it is, and goes to sell everything to buy it. Our focus switches from the costs of discipleship to the joys of it…for the costs pale in comparison to the glorious inheritance and riches of his kingdom, and “to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Relevant scriptures here are: John 3:16, Romans 10:9-10, 1 Cor. 12:3, Deuteronomy 30:6 (see end of document for these verses written out)
- The second step to spiritual formation and becoming like Christ is: rearranging our lives to become his disciple…to love him and seek first his kingdom. Our goal is to become like Him (while always knowing we can never earn God’s gift of life or attain perfection, we can only seek to enter into His way of life and Kingdom here and now... his love for us is NOT based on our performance, but when we enter into the Way that Jesus tells us to, we are becoming more fully alive and who God intended us to be, which is in fellowship with Him).
- The third aspect of spiritual formation is: THE GOLDEN TRIANGLE of spiritual formation (pg 26 Great Omission and 347 Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard): all three aspects work together and none work without the other!
A. First point of triangle (apex/top) pg 348 DC: Action of the Holy Spirit: “Moves within our souls, especially our minds, to present the person of Jesus and the reality of his Kingdom. This is through the word of the gospel, in contrast to the realities of life without God. Our confidence in Jesus as the One is always a response elicited and supported by the spiritual movements of God. “No one can find Jesus to be Lord except by the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor. 12:2)”
Growth happens as we do our part, and the Holy Spirit moves upon and within us to enable us to do the kinds of works Jesus did (through GIFTS of the SPIRIT), and to grow the inward character of Christ manifested by the FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control.
**This point of triangle is indispensable but does not work alone and will not by itself transform character. The Holy Spirit usually does not overwhelm us leading us to an emotional reaction. The powerful emotions we have are important, but your spiritual existence cannot live alone by these spiritual highs or “mountaintop experiences.”
B. Second point of triangle: Everyday problems (ie trials and temptations): We must accept the circumstances we constantly find ourselves in as the place of God’s kingdom and blessing. God has yet to bless anyone except where they actually are…for these moments and situations are our life.
James 1:2-4 “Be supremely happy when all kinds of trials and temptations crowd into your lives. My brothers, don’t resent them as intruders but welcome them as friends! Realize that they come to test your faith and produce in you the quality of endurance.” When endurance or patience has been given full play in the details of day to day existence, it will make us “perfect and complete lacking in nothing”
Romans 5:1-5, “Therefore since we have been justified by faith, let us be at peace with God through Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into the grace that we now stand. Let us rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only this, but let us also rejoice in our suffering, because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance character, and character hope. And hope does not disappoint us because God pours out his love into his hearts through the Holy Spirit whom he has given us.”
In the trials of Jesus’ everyday existence , he verified the sufficiency of God’s care for those who simply trust him and obey him…there is great power in the patience in the events of daily life.
C. Third point of triangle: Spiritual Disciplines: Does not come in formulas in the Bible, for it is a relationship with a person and everyone is different…But as disciples who have made a decision to hear and “do whatsoever he has commanded us to do”, we do whatever we need to carry out this decision. Look at Jesus’ example and others in the Way around us.
Colossians 3 and 4, Paul talks about killing off the aspects of your life that run on what is earthly, such as rage, anger, hate, God dishonoring, bullying language, sexual immorality, etc. These are all actions and attitudes. Paul also talks about how we are to grow in the deeper levels of our character and heart. “You have put off the old person with your old habits and put on the new person, being progressively made new to the point of fully sharing the mind of your creator (3:9-10)”. He also tells us that we are to “put on the inner substance heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience, putting up with one another and forgiving each other. If you have a gripe against anyone, just forgive them, like the Lord forgave you. This is all what we are to do and how we are to obey. But how do we learn to do these things that do not always come easily or naturally?
(Keep in mind the care of our whole person and development of each part: heart/ will/ spirit, mind/ thoughts, body, social interaction with others, and finally our soul)
Definition of Spiritual Disciplines:
Discipline: any activity within our power that we engage in to enable us to do what we cannot do by direct effort. Practice is discipline but not all discipline is practice, for in many disciplines we do not engage in the very activity that we hope to be good at.
Spiritual component: they are disciplines designed to help us be active and effective in the spiritual realm of our own heart, now spiritually alive by grace, in relation to God and his Kingdom. They are designed to help us withdraw from total dependence on the merely human or natural and to depend also on the ultimate reality, which is God and his kingdom.
We engage in spiritual disciplines as spiritual training. We can relate to training by looking at the way we train for our sports. We do not expect to one day wake up and be really good at our sport without practicing and training. The only danger with this analogy is that we often dislike (maybe even hate at times) the physical training we go through to get better at our sport. Spiritual training is hard at times, yes. However, not only is it eternally worthwhile, but it fills the deepest longings of our heart and allows us to enter into the life of abundance, joy, love, faith, and PEACE!!!
A list of some of the disciplines might include Sabbath, solitude (maybe accompanied by silence), fellowship, worship, confession, fasting, praying, studying/ memorizing Scripture, service, celebration, sacrifice, secrecy, and several more. There is not one set list. It is important to look into what each of these activities are and what they are for (because we may have some misconceptions of them).
DAY 3: Solitude and Silence
Solitude:
We purposefully abstain from interaction with other people, denying ourselves companionship and all that comes from our conscious interaction with others. This is not just for our refreshment or rest, but it is choosing to be alone and to dwell on our experience of isolation from other people. BUT solitude frees us really. The normal course of day to day human interactions locks us into patterns of feeling, thought, and action that are geared to a world set against God. Solitude can allow the development of a freedom from the ingrained behaviors that hinder our integration into God’s order. In solitude, we find the perspective from which we can see, in the light of eternity, the created things that trap, worry, and oppress us.
But solitude carries its risks because we confront our own soul with its obscure forces and conflicts that escape our attention when we are interacting with others. Thus, solitude is a terrible trial, for it serves to crack open and burst apart the shell of our superficial securities. “It opens out to us the unknown, haunted abyss that we all carry within us.” We can only survive solitude if we cling to Christ there. And yet what we find of him in that solitude enables us to return to society as free persons.
Of all the disciplines, this is especially essential in the beginning of our spiritual life, because the “desert” or “closet” is the primary place of strength for the beginner, as it was for Jesus and Paul. In stark aloneness, it is possible to have silence, to be still, and to know that Jehovah indeed is God, to set the Lord before our minds with sufficient intensity and duration that we stay fixed upon him, established in trust, even when back in the office, school, or home. This discipline is also important as a precedent to fasting, prayer, service, giving, or even celebration because we need preparation for all of these disciplines, which is largely accomplished in withdrawal.
Silence:
One aspect of silences is closing ourselves off from every sound that we can…making solitude a reality. This aspect of silence can be frightening, like solitude, because it strips us of certain comforts and bares our soul to ourselves…leaving only us and God. And what if there turns out to be very little between just us and God? However, it will allow life transforming concentration upon God. It allows us to hear the gentle God whose only Son “shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice above the street noise” (Matt. 12:19). It is this God who tells us that “in quietness and trust is your strength” (Isaiah 30:15).
Another aspect of silence is not speaking. James tells us that those who seem religious but are unable to bridle their tongues are self-deceived and have a religion that amounts to little (1:26). He also states that those who do no harm by what they say are perfect and able to direct their whole bodies to do what is right (3;2). This discipline provides us with a certain inner distance that gives us time to consider our words fully before our tongues just go off and the presence of mind to control what we say and when we say it. We also learn how to listen better to others and observe, to pay attention to others. A major problem in Christian evangelism is not getting people to talk, but to silence those who through their continuous chatter reveal a loveless heart devoid of confidence in God…true listening is often the strongest testimony of our faith. We often run off at the mouth because we are inwardly uneasy about what others think of us. People who love one another can be silent together, but when we are with those we feel less than secure with, we use words to adjust our appearance and elicit their approval. Otherwise, we fear that our virtues might not receive adequate appreciation and our shortcomings might not be properly understood. In not speaking, we resign how we appear to God, and that is hard. But if God is for us and Jesus is on his right hand pleading our interests, why must we worry what others think of us? But we do, and it is exciting to be freed from it. How few of us live with quiet inner confidence and yet how many of us desire it. Such inward quiet is a great grace we can receive.
Question for reflection:
1) Do you feel hopeful and really believe that spending time alone with God consistently and developing a more intimate relationship with God will be the main thing that brings about transformation and abundance in your life and heart? In not, why not?
2) How else do you think you can “take care of your heart” as it says to do in Proverbs 4?
3) How can you have patience and grace with yourself in this process?
DAY 4: Study/ Memorizing Scripture:
Joshua 1:8 says, “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful…and the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
How to approach scripture: We will be spiritually safe in our use of the Bible if we follow a simple rule: Read with a submissive attitude. Read with a readiness to surrender all you are—all your plans, opinions, possessions, positions. Study as intelligently as possible, with all available means, but never study merely to find the truth and especially not just to prove something. Subordinate your desire to find the truth to your desire to do it, to act it out. Those who wish to hear the word and know the truth are often not prompted by their desire to do it. It is proven that there is often a large gap between people’s knowledge and their action. Wisdom is the effective bridge that
When we come to the Scriptures as apart of our conscious strategy to cooperate with God for the full redemption of our life, we must desire that his revealed will should be true for us. Next, we should begin with those parts of scripture with which we have some familiarity, such as Psalm 23, the Lord’s Prayer, the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), 1 Corinthians 13, John 15, or Romans 8. You may think this is not a big beginning, but keep in mind that your aim is not to become a scholar or to impress others with your knowledge of the Bible—a dreadful trap for so many fellowships aiming to be biblical. That aim will only cultivate pride and lay a foundation for a petty, quarrelsome spirit. Quote by Thomas a Kempis, “Of what use is it to discourse learnedly on the Trinity if you lack humility and therefore displease the Trinity? Lofty words do not make a man just or holy; but a good life makes him dear to God. I would far rather feel contrition than be able to define it. If you knew the whole Bible by heart, and all the teachings of the philosophers, how would this help you without the grace and love of God?”
You may have been told it is good to read the whole Bible through in a year, and maybe it is helpful in many ways. If you do this, you may also enjoy the reputation as one who reads the whole bible through in a year, and you may congratulate yourself on it. But will you become more like Christ and more filled with the life of God? Many people who read the Bible in this way, as if they were taking medicine or exercising on a schedule, do not advance spiritually. It is better in one year to have ten good verses transferred into the substance of our lives than to have every word of the Bible flash before our eyes. We read to open ourselves to the Spirit.
Come to your chosen passage as to a place where you will have a holy meeting with God. Read a small part of the passage and dwell on it, praying for the assistance of God’s Spirit in bringing fully before your mind and into your life the realities expressed. Always ask, “What is my life like since this is true, and how shall I speak and act because of this?” You may wish to turn the passage into a prayer of praise and request.
Lastly, five steps one should go through in reading the Word: Example, “The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want. Psalm 23:1.”
1. Information- which you may not automatically transfer to yourself. As you dwell on the information this leads to
2. A longing for it to be true for you
3. Affirmation that it must be so or will be so for you.
4. Invocation/ prayer- “Lord make this so for me”
5. Appropriation- the settled conviction that it is so, that it is a statement of fact about you.
Do not hurry. Give time for each stage to play itself out fully in your heart. Remember, this is not something you are doing by yourself. Watch and pray. And always be honest. When you read a passage, always ask yourself if you truly believe it, and do not condemn yourself if you find that you do not based on your thoughts and actions. You are invited to come before God (and ourselves) with an honest cry for help in the areas of your unbelief.
DAY 5: Prayer/Meditation
Christian meditation is a deep form of prayer that can lead to direct communion with God. It is not focused on experiences or requests, but on surrender. We are learning the simplicity of being with God. When we emphasize experience too much, we are in danger of developing a consumerist pick n’ mix spirituality, where God’s presents to us matter more than his presence. Christian meditation is centered on listening to God and obeying His word. We are simply following the instruction in the Bible to meditate on God’s word: “Do not let this Book of Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful (Joshua 1:8).”
When we meditate, we reflect on the Word of God and allow it to roll over in our minds so we can internalize it…when we meditate we also have to search for God and tune into him, taking time just to be quiet and hear that still small voice of God. But if I hear nothing, I have not failed, because even wasting time with the one we love is valuable.
“Blessed is the man whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does he prospers. Psalm 1:1-3” AND “Don’t lose sight of my words. Let them penetrate deep within your heart, for they bring life and radiant health to anyone who discovers their meaning (Ps 4:21-22).”
When we spend intimate time with God and meditating on Him, we are sending our roots down deeper into the rich soil of his love, and it is there that we are deeply fed and nourished. It’s from this place of intimacy and deep refreshment that we gain inner strength, stability and clarity of vision.
Spend time in Philippians. Don’t hurry. Listen to the Scripture. Write down your questions. Use your imagination. When you are distracted, simply return to the text. The impact of meditation on scripture can show up later in our interactions with others.
Day 6: How the disciple lives naturally comes out of who the disciple is.
By Dallas Willard
As Jesus’ disciple, I am his apprentice in kingdom living. I am learning from him how to lead my life in the Kingdom of the Heavens as he would lead my life if he were I. It is my faith in him that led me to become his disciple. My confidence in him simply means that I believe that he is right about everything: that all that he is and says shows what life is at its best, what it was intended by God to be. “In him was life and the life was the light of men.” (John 1:4 NAS)
Being his apprentice is, therefore, not a matter of special “religious” activities, but an orientation and quality of my entire existence. This is what is meant by Jesus when he says that those who do not forsake all cannot be his disciple. (Luke 14:26 & 33) The emphasis is upon the all. There must be nothing held of greater value than Jesus and his kingdom. He must be clearly seen as the most important thing in human life, and being his apprentice as the greatest opportunity any human being ever has.
When this orientation of the whole life has come upon us and been accepted, then the grace that brought it can begin to move throughout every aspect of what we are and do. Grace is God acting in our lives to bring about what we do not deserve and cannot accomplish on our own. But we are not passive in this process. We are commanded to put off the old person and put on the new. (Col. 3:9-10; Eph. 4:22-24) We are told to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (II Peter 3:18) This is something for us to do, and , although we cannot do it on our own, it will not be done for us. Being alive in Christ means that we can do whatever it is we need to do to increasingly take on his character and live in his power.
The ultimate outcome of this process is expressed by Paul the Apostle: “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.” (Col. 3:17) And again: “Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (I Cor. 10:31) My entire life is to be caught up in the life that Jesus Christ himself is now living on earth and will continue throughout eternity. And that is why being his apprentice is the greatest opportunity any human being ever has. That is how grace possesses our whole life. That is how those “saved by grace through faith…are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Eph. 2:10)
Living as Jesus’ disciple, I am learning from him how to lead my life in the Kingdom of the Heavens everywhere I am, in every activity I engage in. There are three dimensions of this learning.
First, I am learning to do the things which Jesus explicitly said to do. It is quite literally nonsense to call Jesus “Lord,” and not do what he said. “Lord” means nothing in such a case. (Luke 6:46-49) But because I do accept him as Lord, his instructions on behavior are my treasures for living life. Of course I cannot do what he said by just trying. I must train! I must, through appropriate courses of action, become inwardly transformed by grace to become the kind of person—in my inmost thoughts, feelings, attitudes and directions of will—who will routinely do the kinds of things he said to do. I will then not be governed by anger, contempt or lust. And I will be able to bless those who curse me, love my enemies, and so forth, because I am one in whom the character and power of Christ has come to dwell through the processes of discipleship to Christ.
Second, I am learning to conduct the usual activities of life—in home, school, community, business and government—in the character and power of Christ. Jesus himself, of course, spent most of his life on earth as an “independent contractor” or businessman. Jesus could have led the ordinary life of the ordinary citizen in all of its legitimate respects. He can show us how to live now, as a mother or father, banker or computer programmer, teacher or artist, in the Kingdom of the Heavens. His character and power and personal guidance will lead us into life as it should be in all of these areas of human existence.
Third, I am learning to exercise the power of the kingdom—of Christ in his Word and Spirit—to minister good and defeat evil in all of the connections of earthly existence. “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and He went about doing good, and healing all who were oppressed by the devil; for God was with Him.” (Acts 10:38) Apprenticeship to Jesus means that, in tiny steps, we learn to exercise this power seen in Jesus. Growth in character is primary, for power requires substance of character if it is to be used for Christ’s purposes. Christ had no character problems, but we do. Prayer, in its aspect of training for Kingdom life, is primarily a matter of learning to exercise power in a way that is both profitable and safe. Through it, in the usual case, we take our first steps in “receiving abundance of grace” and “reigning in life by One, Jesus Christ.” (Rom. 5:17) So character is more important than power for us, but it does not replace power. The fruit of the Spirit (thoroughly Christlike character) flourishes only in a context of regular communal manifestation of the gifts of the Spirit. And this manifest power of the Spirit in life is not something restricted to “church services.” In this matter also, Jesus is our example and our teacher. He acted with the Kingdom wherever he was. The “rivers of living water” which, as he said “shall flow from the center of the believers life” (from his “belly,” John 7:38), will continually flow from us, as it did from him, wherever we may be.
Now growth in grace—in God acting in our life—is something we must plan for by regular engagement in activities that enable us to receive God’s grace in all areas of our spirit (will), thoughts, feelings, body, social relations, and the deepest depths of our soul. We have been thoroughly “occupied” by sin—which is mainly just exaltation of “me,” and the consequences thereof. Our intention as apprentices of Jesus is to become the kind of person who lives in the character and power of Christ. We must, then, do those things that will enable us to become that kind of person, from the inside out—through appropriate actions and practices.
Such actions and practices are “disciplines for the spiritual life.” They are well-known from observing Christ and his people. They include such practices as solitude, silence, fasting, study, worship, fellowship, prayer, etc. There is no complete list of such practices, though some are more well-known and widely practiced than others, because they are more central to breaking the power of indwelling sin and increasingly filling our life with grace. Disciplines are, in essence, activities in our power that enable us, by grace, to do what we cannot do by direct effort—by “just trying.” We cannot, by just trying, succeed in loving our enemies and heartily blessing those who curse us. But by a wise practice of disciplines in the presence of Christ, we can become people who will routinely and easily do so.
In disciplines we need to be informed and experimental. They are not righteousness, but wisdom. We must be practical with them, and not picky. We must not be ‘heroic’ or think we are earning anything from God. Disciplines for the spiritual life are places in which we meet with Jesus to be taught by him, and he is our guide into how they are best practiced. We should not be overly concerned about how others do them. In a very short time Jesus will lead us into the practice of them that is best for us.
The crucial thing is that, as disciples, we have a plan for carrying out the decision we have made to devote ourselves to becoming like our Master and Lord—to increasingly living in the character and power of Christ. Disciples are those who, seriously intending to become like Jesus from the inside out, systematically and progressively rearrange their affairs to that end, under the guidance of the Word and the Spirit. That is how the disciple lives.
Day 7: Secrecy
In secrecy, we abstain from causing our good deeds and qualities to be known. We may even take steps to prevent them from being known, if it does not involve deceit. To help us lose or tame the hunger for fame, justification, or just the mere attention of others, we will often need the help of grace. But we can also learn to love to be unknown and even to accept misunderstanding without the loss of our peace, joy, or purpose.
Few things are more important in stabilizing our walk of faith than secrecy. In secrecy, we experience a continuing relationship with God independent of the opinions of others. One of the greatest fallacies of our faith, and actually one of the greatest acts of unbelief, is the thought that our spiritual acts and virtues need to be advertised to be known. The frantic efforts of religious people to advertise themselves is a stunning revelation of their lack of substance and faith. Jesus, surely with some humor, remarked that a city set on a hill cannot be hidden (Matt 5:14). The gospel stories tell us how hard Jesus and his friends tried to avoid crowds but how badly they failed. If it is possible for our faith and works to be hidden, perhaps they are a kind that should be hidden. We might in that case think about directing our efforts toward the cultivation of a faith that is impossible to hide (Mark 7;24).
Secrecy rightly practiced enables us to place our public relations department entirely in the hands of God, who lit our candles so we could be the light of the world…we allow him to decide when our deeds will be known and when our light will be noticed. Secrecy at its best teaches love and humility before God and others. And that love and humility encourages us to see our associates in the best possible light, even to the point of our hoping they will do better than us. It actually becomes possible for us to “do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than ourselves” (Philippians 2:3). If you want to experience the flow of love as never before, the next time you are in a competitive situation, pray that the others around you will be more outstanding, more praised, and more used of God than yourself.
One more aspect of secrecy: the needs that arise in our efforts to serve God can often be handled by looking to God only, not telling others that there is a need, but counting on God to tell them. If we see needs met because we have asked God alone, our faith in God’s presence and care will be greatly increased.
Read this prayer and reflect on your own thoughts around Secrecy:
Strip me of my desire to be noticed
Strip me of my pride that screams for recognition
Strip me of my plans that echo my need for control
Strip me of my comforts that blind my need
Strip me of my jealousy that breeds division
Leave me weak, humbled, desperate
Then wrap your arms around me and remind me I am Yours
1) Take a moment of honest reflection to check your heart for pride – What area of you life is it most difficult for you to be humble.
2) How could you sacrifice your ego as an act of love to someone else…even if it is something you have a right to.. What is something you have a right to that you could give up for someone else?
Day 8: Sabbath:
The need to achieve is too great in our society. Invariably, it is our personal and spiritual lives that suffer because of this. And—like other students, lawyers, doctors, ministers, and other professionals—we often come to feel strongly that the circumstances in which we work are in conflict with the very goals for which we entered our University or profession in the first place. Heightened frustration and disappointment go hand in hand with decreasing strength, joy, and peace. The conditions and habits of our work often seem incompatible with the life that Jesus lived and surely offers to us. But it does not have to be so…we need to be sure that he is pulling the load, bearing the burden—which we are all too ready to assume is up to us alone. We must understand that he is in control of the outcome of our efforts, and that the outcome will be what he wants/ good/ right; all of this is encompassed in one biblical term, SABBATH. Sabbath was given to us as a gift from God, a holy time of rest and restoration where we put our trust in God to supernaturally provide for our needs and restore us. But Sabbath is also a way of life in which we are set free from the bondage of our own efforts. Only in this way can we come to the power, joy, and abundance of our lives in work, ministry, etc. Very simply and practically, Sabbath is “casting all your anxieties on him” to find that in actual fact “he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7 and Psalms 37:3-8). “The disciplines of solitude, silence, and fasting are especially helpful in making the Sabbath real in the midst of our lives...and finally, we do not have to live under the thumb of our circumstances. For most, it is a serious test of faith to take control of how they spend their time. But that is up to us. And putting time-tested, biblical disciplines for the spiritual life into sensible practice will soon lead us into an abundance of the life that is eternal in quality and power.
Abstaining from work. Man was not made for the Sabbath, but the Sabbath was made for man. The Israelites did not enter the promised land because they failed to obey this commandment. They did not trust God to provide for their needs on the Sabbath, and they did not trust him enough to take this day of needed rest. In Genesis 1, from the beginning of creation, God established the Sabbath as a part of his natural order and rhythm for life. Nothing in creation was made holy, except for the seventh day when God rested. By making this time holy, he is essentially giving us a promise that when we take the Sabbath, we will enter into and receive supernatural rest and restoration, which our souls desperately need. In other words, there is a cycle and rhythm to life that we need to participate in to allow God to provide for our needs and to find humanness and dignity. Our culture ties too much “dignity” and value to work, so we often keep going. Consider the phrase, “God’s order.” It is so evident that we can’t simply do things the way we want and expect to receive the treasures of God’s Kingdom. We must discover God’s order and subject ourselves to his ways in order to find the abundance, peace, and contentment that Jesus came to bring.
Sadly, everything about us works against slowing down. Our compulsion to produce and not waste time invades the space God gave for us to rest. Sabbath is God’s way of saying, “Stop. Notice your limits. Don’t burn out.” It is the day he give us to remember what work is for as well as what matters most. We have time for loving and being loved. We are citizens of another kingdom – a kingdom not ruled by the clock and the tyranny of the urgent. God’s Sabbath reality calls us to trust that the Creator can manage all that concerns us in this world as we settle in to his rest.
If you stop depending upon yourself and your self-effort, you have learned to enter into rest, because you start depending upon another -- God's work in you. That is the lost secret of humanity. That is the secret that Adam and Eve lost in the Garden of Eden, and which Jesus Christ came to restore to us. When we learn to operate on that, we learn to be perfectly peaceful, calm, undisturbed by circumstances, trusting, powerful, effective, accomplishing things for Christ's sake. And that is rest.
Day 9: Simplicity/Frugality
There has never been a more complicated, cluttered, bureaucratic society than the one we live in today. In fact, the “good life” is often defined by how full, busy and complicated our lives are. Keeping it simples has fallen on hard times. And though we like the idea, we also like our choices. Jesus teaches us that freedom is not found in having and doing but in keeping God and his will first in our heart.
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven….For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matt 6:19-21
Jesus wants us to know that we don’t need all the things or experiences we think we do. What we really need is to keep first things first. Life becomes much more simple when one thing matters most. Throughout church history followers of Jesus have intentionally vowed to live simply. Following the example of the Lord, they have given up comfort and possessions and the clutter of life to leave larger spaces for loving God and neighbor.
Simplicity creates margins and spaces and openness in our lives. It honors the resources of our small planet. It offers us the leisure of tasting the present moment. Simplicity asks us to let go of the tangle of wants so we can receive the simple gifts of life that cannot be taken away. Sleeping, eating, walking, giving, and receiving love, the benefits we take for granted, are amazing gifts. Simplicity invites us into these daily pleasure that can open us to God, who is present in them all.
In frugality, we abstain from using money or goods at our disposal in ways that merely gratify our desires or our hunger for status, glamour, or luxury. The spiritually wise person knows that frivolous consumption corrupts the soul away from trust in, worship of, and service to God and can injure our neighbors as well. Frugality frees us from concern and involvement with a multitude of desires that would make it hard or even impossible for us to “do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God” (Micah 6:8). Frugality helps to make it possible for us to concentrate upon God alone, who is the one thing needed. Frugality also can keep us out of the spiritual bondage caused by financial debt, which leads to a diminished self worth, dimmed hopes for the future, and elimination of our sensitivity to the needs of others.
John Surin was once asked why, when so many people seem to wish to be great in God’s eyes, there are so few who are truly saintly. The chief reason, he replied, is that they give too big a place in life to indifferent things. Frugality frees us from indifferent things.
Additional Readings:
Dallas’ overview of progress in the life of the disciple (pg 366-368)
- Confidence in and reliance upon Jesus. John 3:15, Romans 10:9-10, and 1 Cor. 12:3. this confidence is a reality, and is itself a “life from above”, not of normal human capacities. This confidence is the proof of things not seen (Heb 11:1). Dallas says, “Anyone with this confidence can be completely assured that they are included.”
- This confidence results in a desire to be his constant apprentice in living and from the kingdom of God. We live within his word and put his teachings into practice (John 8:31).
- The abundance of life naturally leads to obedience, The teaching we have received and our experience with Jesus leads us to love him with our whole being: heart, mind, soul, and (bodily) strength. And so we love to obey him even when we do not understand or really like what that requires. He who loves me will keep my commandments (John 14:15 and 14:21). Without the love for Jesus we will not stay to learn.
- Obedience, along with the discipline it requires, leads to the pervasive inner transformation of the heart and soul. Fruit of the spirit is not direct effect of our efforts but are brought about in us as we emulate Jesus and do what is necessary to learn how to obey him.
- Finally, there is power to work the works of the Kingdom. Jesus said, “those who rely on me shall do the works I do, and ever greater ones.” (John 14:12) But first we must have the character (humility, faith, etc) and the maturity for him to trust us with his power. For example, one good “work/ miracle” or public answer to our prayer through us might be enough to lock some of us into weeks of spiritual superiority. Great power requires great character if it is to be a blessing and not a curse. But it is God’s intent in his kingdom that we should have as much power as we can bear for good. His ultimate objective is to empower us to do what we want (when it lines up with his desires too).
Other Disiplines of Abstinence:
Chastity:
Chastity refers to the result of a discipline rather than to a disciplinary activity in itself. In exercising chastity, we purposefully turn away from dwelling upon or engaging in the sexual dimension of our relationships to others—even our husbands or wives. (for abstention within marriage, Paul counseled it to aid in fasting and prayer, and it also helps us to appreciate and love our mates as whole persons, of which their sexuality is but one part.) The main effect we seek through chastity is the proper disposal of sexual acts, feelings, thoughts, and attitudes within our life as a whole, inside of marriage and out. Sexuality should not permeate our lives if we are to live as children of God and brothers and sisters of Jesus.
BUT this is not to say that our sexuality is something to be shunned…that would be impossible, for we were created as sexual beings by God in his image. Our sexuality is apart of our power with which to serve him. In the full sexual union, the person is known in his or her whole body and knows the other by means of his or her whole body. The depth of involvement is so deep that there can be no such thing as “casual sex” for the terms are contradictory. Therefore, chastity does not mean nonsexuality, and any pose to that effect will certainly do great harm. The suffering that comes from sexuality comes in large part from imporoper indulgence in sexual thoughts, feelings, attitudes, and relations. But much also comes from improper abstinence.
In no domain of life is it more true that “hope deferred makes the heart sick” (Prov. 13:12). Jesus clearly saw that abstinence from sexual relations still allowed for gross sexual perversion and disturbance—some of which he called “adultery in the heart” (Matt. 19:11-12). Paul also taught about the wrong kind of abstention when he wrote that it is “better to marry than to burn” (1 Cor. 7:9). The burning here spills out into our lives in many ways: distortion of thought and emotion, inability to engage in normal and appropriate sexual relations, disgust and hatred between frustrated men and women, even abuse of children, sexual perversion, etc.
Rightly practiced, the essence of chastity is not the suppression of lust but the total orientation of one’s life toward a goal. Healthy abstention in chastity can only be supported by loving, positive involvement with members of the opposite sex. Alienation from them makes room for harmful lusts, and so this discipline must be underscored with compassion, association, and helpfulness.
Sacrifice: In sacrifice, we abstain from the possession or enjoyment of what is necessary for our living. Here, we forsake the security of meeting our needs with what is in our hands. It is total abandonment to God, a stepping into the darkened abyss in the faith and hope that God will bear us up. Abraham knew about such abandonment when he was prepared to sacrifice Isaac even though God had promised to bless the nations through that lineage. The cautious faith that never saws off the limb on which it is sitting never learns that unattached limbs may find strange, unaccountable ways of not falling. Obviously, this dimension of faith is challenging, and we are often surprised at its results.
Fasting:
Abstaining from food to some certain degree to know that there is another food that sustains me, the bread of life. This discipline teaches us a lot about ourselves very quickly…it will certainly prove humiliating to us, as it reveals to us how much our peace depends upon the pleasures of eating. It also may reveal how we use food pleasure to mask some other discomfort in our life or soul (like lack of self worth, meaningless work or existence, etc). We can learn how to more urgently rely on God and find in him a source of sustenance beyond food. We can learn to experience that his word to us is a life substance, and that “man does not live by bread alone, but also by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God,” (Matthew 4:4). We learn as Jesus told his disciples in John 4:32 that we too have meat to eat that the world does not know about. Fasting unto the Lord is feasting on him alone and knowing that he alone is good and he alone is enough to satisfy us.
Fasting also teaches us how to suffer cheerfully and to be content in any circumstance (Philippians 4:12). When Jesus directs us in Matthew 6 not to appear distressed or in pain when we fast, he is not telling us to mislead others around us. He is instead explaining how we will feel—we really will not be sad because we will discover that life is so much more than food and our belly is not our god. Rather our belly is a cheerful servant of us and God.
Other Disciplines of Engagement: Worship, Celebration, Service, Prayer
Fellowship: We were not meant to go through our Christian life alone. Personalities united can contain more of God and realize the force and power of his greater presence much better than scattered individuals. God intends for us to sustain and be sustained by one another. Together, we can better see, experience, and understand the joyous and abundant life in Christ that is usually impossible for us to attain on our own. We also learn to work together as a “body” works together (1 Corinthians 12:7-11), and we get to see the variety of God’s character and spiritual gifts through each other.
Confession: This discipline functions within fellowship. In it we let trusted others know our deepest weaknesses and failures. “This will nourish our faith in God’s provision for our needs through his people, our sense of being loved, and our humility before our brothers and sisters. We can let a few people know who we really are, holding nothing back and being completely transparent. “We lay down the burden of pretending and hiding, which takes up a dreadful amount of our human energy.” James 5:16 tells us, “Confess your faults to each other, and pray for each other, so that you may be healed. The fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” Confession makes deep fellowship possible, nourishes the deepest parts of our soul, and releases us from the burden or obstruction of unconfessed sin. It may not always be a pleasant experience, but it will definitely promote growth, humility, freedom from sin, freedom from pleasing others, freedom from superficiality, and strengthening in our will to do what is right. Confessed sin loses its power in our lives.
Submission: There is a mutual submission of all to all, rooted in servanthood, mercy, and love for one another. Ephesians 5:21 “All of you be subject to one another, being clothed with humility; for God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble.” Also in Hebrews 13:7, we read, “obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves; for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy and not with grief.” Then in 1 Peter, those older in the Way are told to take the oversight of the flock of God, not by being forced to do so and not as lords over God’s heritage, but as examples to the flock. The younger are told to submit themselves to this gentle oversight by the elders, and all are caught up together as a community of mutual servants in mutual submission. There is no iron hierarchy, but the body functions in the power of truth and mercy inhabiting mature personalities, being the expression of a kingdom not of this world—but truly a kingdom nonetheless. “Leaders” are those who are able to lead because of their depth of experience with God and Christlike character. They give wise counsel, care for our individual and collective growth, and ultimately lead by example, love, serving, humility, etc. “They oversee the godly order in our souls as well as in our fellowship and in the surrounding body of Christ.” The goal is for all of us to be leaders without the power struggles seen in earthly leadership and human government.
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