Category Archives: Spiritual Disciplines

Lent: The End of Self-Sufficiency, the Beginning of Communion

James Keating has some great thoughts on the practice of Lent from his book Crossing the Desert: Lent and Conversion. Here are a few excerpts: The word “lent” originated in Middle English and means “springtime.” By turning from sin and … Continue reading

Posted in Blessings, Books, Church, Devotional, Faith, God, Gospel, Kingdom Values, Spiritual Disciplines, Theology | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Paul in Acts: Set Apart

Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy … Continue reading

Posted in Church, Devotional, Faith, God, Gospel, Kingdom Values, Ministry, Missiology, Paul, Scripture, Spiritual Disciplines, Theology | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

How We Grow: Time in the Sanctuary

I want to close out this series by looking at a passage of Scripture that has really taken on a lot of meaning for me in the last few weeks. Psalm 73:1-3 Truly God is good to Israel, to those … Continue reading

Posted in Devotional, Faith, God, Gospel, Jesus, Kingdom Values, Psalms, Scripture, Spiritual Disciplines, Theology | Leave a comment

How We Grow: Rest

I was talking with someone last week and I was saying to her that our final spiritual discipline in this series was rest. And she said, “OK, rest is right in my wheelhouse! I know how to do that one!” … Continue reading

Posted in Blessings, Church, Culture, Devotional, Discipleship, Faith, God, Kingdom Values, Psalms, Quotes, Scripture, Spiritual Disciplines | Leave a comment

How We Grow: Service

Ephesians 2:10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. The word translated as “workmanship” is the Greek term poiemo. Our English word “poem” is derived … Continue reading

Posted in Church, Discipleship, Faith, God, Jesus, Ministry, Scripture, Spiritual Disciplines | Leave a comment

How We Grow: Training, Not Trying

To some people, the word “discipline” can be a bit off-putting. It can sound harsh, a bit demanding. Even worse than that, talking about spiritual disciplines has the potential to induce a lot of guilt. Most Christians already feel like … Continue reading

Posted in Culture, Devotional, Discipleship, Exercise, Faith, God, Jesus, Kingdom Values, Obedience, Quotes, Scripture, Spiritual Disciplines, Theology | Leave a comment

Bible Study as a Spiritual Discipline

Somebody once said to me, “I’m really pressed for time. I’m super busy but I want to read my Bible. How can I study the Bible quickly?” “You can’t,” I said. Like anything else worth doing, Bible study takes time. … Continue reading

Posted in Faith, Scripture, Spiritual Disciplines | Leave a comment

He Does Not Keep Silence

Psalm 50:1-6 The Mighty One, God the Lord, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting. Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth. Our God comes; he does not keep silence; … Continue reading

Posted in Culture, Discipleship, Eschatology, Faith, God, Jesus, Kingdom Values, Obedience, Scripture, Spiritual Disciplines | Leave a comment

How We Grow: Silence

Miguel de Molinos was a Spanish thinker and writer in the 1600s. He wrote about three kinds of silence: the silence of words, the silence of desires, and the silence of thoughts. These silences are unique and yet they are … Continue reading

Posted in Faith, God, Jesus, Kingdom Values, Obedience, Prayer, Quotes, Scripture, Spiritual Disciplines | Leave a comment

How We Grow: Solitude and Silence

For the past few weeks, we have been talking about the spiritual disciplines. We’re thinking about these practices God uses to grow our souls. These practices overlap and they build on one another. We began our series by talking about … Continue reading

Posted in Faith, Family, God, Jesus, Kingdom Values, Scripture, Spiritual Disciplines | Leave a comment