Spiritual Disciplines

I’m convinced we act out of our most deeply held beliefs.

So, before I was ready to commit to a daily habit of memorizing Bible verses, I had to really buy in to the importance of doing so. Honestly, it’s hard. It takes time and effort, so I know I’m not going to follow through if I don’t really think it’s worth it.

Of course, I accept the Bible as authoritative in matters of faith and practice, so I had to see what the Bible had to teach me. Do I really need to make memorizing the Scriptures a regular part of my discipleship? Just a cursory study convinced me that yes, memorizing bible verses is essential. Read More “3 Biblical reasons memorizing Bible verses is essential”

Of all the spiritual disciplines, which is the most important discipline for Christian spiritual growth?

For the longest time if someone would ask me that question, I would answer “prayer” without hesitation. After all, prayer forms the basic building block of our relationship with God; it’s how we talk to him. For many of us, prayer is how we came to commit our lives to radical discipleship.

A close second for me would have been simply reading the Bible.

What if I told you it wasn’t prayer, or even simple Bible reading was the most important for Christian spiritual growth? What if I told you it wasnt any of the 12 spiritual disciplines as we usually talk about them? Read More “Christian spiritual growth: the one discipline that can change everything”

One of the biggest obstacles for seriously following Jesus in our hyper-connected world is a simple lack of mental discipline, otherwise known as focus and attention span.

Culturally, we’ve succumbed to the temptations of constant distraction and whimsy. If we are not “engaged” (by which we too often actually mean “entertained”) by whatever “content” we are “consuming” we simply move on.

In other words, when it comes to thinking, we tend to give up when the going gets tough.

This makes sustained, deep reflection rare for lots of us. It makes singularly focused worship even more rare, because we’ve abandoned any idea of worship as “the work of the people.” Instead, worship must seem to be (for the “audience,” anyways) effortless.

The result is that we settle for shallow worship, surface-level teaching, and stunt our own spiritual growth.

Yet the Bible teaches us that we must train and discipline our minds (2 Cor. 10:5; Rom. 12:2), and that we know God when we take the time to ponder him and his word (Psalm 1, Phil. 4:8, etc). We are to wrestle with our faith, which necessarily takes time and effort.

How can you get better at sustained mental engagement?

You have to practice.

Take a Bible verse or passage, set a timer on your phone for five minutes, and think about that verse, and nothing else. Consider its meaning, application, context, etc. Memorize it. When your thoughts wander return to your passage. Do this every day for a week. Then up your time to 10 minutes. Do this until you can meditate on a single short verse or idea for 20 minutes.

You can also apply this to your corporate worship time. Make the effort to focus on the sermon and the words you are singing. Take note when your mind begins to wander and do not let it! Bring it back to the idea or topic at hand. Do not allow yourself to become distracted by friends, your phone, shiny graphics on the screens.

The important thing to is to be self-aware enough to realize when you are becoming distracted, and then exercise discipline to bring your mind back into focus.

When you have this kind of self-control, you’ll find that you’re able to think more clearly, resist temptation more effectively, and follow Jesus more wholly.

In the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola, the saint lays out a thirty-day program for discipleship, generally meant to be completed as part of a secluded retreat. The first week was devoted to moving the person being discipled toward a genuine sorrow over their sin, as well as beginning to overcome it.

As part of this time, the disciple was required to take daily inventory of their sins, pausing three times a day to reflect on the previous hours. They were to make a note on paper every time they committed a particular sin. Each day they would reflect back and strive to make improvement on conquering these specific sins.

To my Reformation-influenced mind, this seems a bit legalistic and formulaic, but I don’t think it really is. The prayers Ignatius suggests do call for God’s grace in this. For instance, one of the exercises ends with a focus on “mercy, pondering and giving thanks to God our Lord that He has given me life up to now, [and] proposing amendment, with His grace, for the future.”

I don’t think this was a “works righteousness” effort. I think there’s something to how seriously Ignatius and the men he discipled took their sin, and how they methodically determined to eradicate as much as possible from their lives, primarily by beginning to actually understand the gravity of their sin and turning their attention from it to Jesus. Once this change of heart and mind was accomplished, deeper contemplation on the life of Jesus could happen.

I see this sort of exercise as a reminder to live fully aware of God’s great grace and mercy, and–with God’s help–continue on in the struggle against sin.

I’ve continued to ponder the John Piper sermon I wrote about and his signature catchphrase “God is most glorified in me when I am most satisfied in him.” As I indicated in my post, this strikes me as true. As I’ve read the Scriptures this past week, I’ve seen this confirmed in the text. I’m thinking of Psalms like this one:

Let those who delight in my righteousness shout for joy and be glad and say evermore,

“Great is the Lord, who delights in the welfare of his servant!” (Psalm 35:27, ESV)

We delight in God when we point to his great delight in us!

We love God when we praise his great love for us.

John Piper talked about how duty and commitment, while perhaps the beginning and often the glue of love, are not enough for a relationship to flourish. In fact, one is most satisfied in a relationship when there is a deep affection for the other person that is most pleased in their joy.

As I listened to Piper preach at the conference and then again via the recording later, I thought to myself, I want to be that passionate about Jesus. I want to be honestly satisfied in him more than I am now.

Okay, but what does this look like, practically? Is there more to this idea than simply offering lip service to God’s faithfulness? What does it mean to delight in the Lord? Here are three things that come to mind as I meditate on how to delight in God. Read More “Moving Beyond Routine, Rote, and Obligations to Find Delight in God”

A cultivated mind is one that is well-tended, nourished, disciplined, and flourishing. How do we cultivate our minds? By taking in ideas, actually thinking through them, solving problems, etc. We “work out” our minds. For the Christian, a cultivated mind is also one that has been carefully grown to have increased sensitivity to the Holy Spirit and see the world as the Divine sees the world. Read More “Cultivate Your Mind: How Memorizing Bible Verses Can Give You Clarity of Thought”

It’s only been in the last twelve months or so that I’ve realized the power of physical discipline for taking my spiritual discipline to the next level.

It should be obvious, yet for me it hasn’t been. Discipline the body, discipline the mind.

Discipline the mind, and you’ve taken the first step toward success in many of the twelve spiritual disciplines.

St. Paul said,

But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified. (1 Corinthians 9:27, ESV)

Because physical discipline yields tangible results, we begin to better understand discipline in general, and can apply that knowledge to the spiritual realm. I recently starting exercising on a regular basis, and I’ve learned:

• It takes less time than you think to start seeing the fruit of discipline, but more time than you think to completely uproot bad habits.
• Start slow, don’t bite off more than you can chew.
• Community is essential for my success in being a disciplined person.
• Being willing to learn from people wiser than myself is a non-negotiable.
• Just showing up is half the battle.

Look, this guy:

Me, a couple of years ago.

and this guy:

Me, a couple of weeks ago

are two completely different people, physically and spiritually.

How do we become healthier physically, sharper mentally, and deeper spiritually? By disciplining the body, mind, and spirit.

By God’s grace I’m both the most physically and spiritually disciplined I’ve ever been. The two are much more intertwined than we’d often like to admit.

The same way that our natural bodies need more than one nutrient to remain healthy and grow, our spirits are also nourished by multiple sources. This means that even though you may be very disciplined in Bible study and prayer, it is not enough. You also need to fast and practice solitude.

This holds true for more than the disciplines. You might be very involved in a small group, but still need to pursue a mentoring relationship. You appreciate your pastor, but have tuned out all other voices for spiritual guidance.

No one practice, person, or even group can provide for us the entirety of our spiritual formation.

A graphic I created as part of my graduate work. This presents in a visual way how spiritual disciplines work to conform us to the mind of Christ.