If you are like me you tend to struggle with the spiritual disciplines at times; not because you don’t like them or because you think they are boring, but because you find it hard to quiet your self. I am a doer, I move all the time, when I do something I usually have to be active in doing something. It is an A.D.D. of sorts–and something that oftentimes fights against my yearning for intimacy with the Father.
Furthermore, the earliest parts of my Christian years were characterized by legalism; this is what Christians do and this is what Christians don’t do. It is this kind of thought that can plague the mind of one trying to cultivate intimacy simply because it turns relationship into regulations and quality time into reaching benchmarks with God. So in my devotional life I have to battle the “did I do enough” thoughts because of my past. I must replace that with thoughts of “Jesus is enough” and it is only when I do that will the relationship cultivate. When one realizes that all the benchmarks have been completed by Christ he or she is finnally free to grow in relationship with God through Christ.
Now more about the picture above. This year I decided to take a class on the Epistle to the Hebrews. Honestly, I was not really sure why I took it other than the fact that Dr. Watt was the one teaching it. Little did I know that this class would be one of the most formative classes in my college career. Recently in this class we were assigned to read the “Celebration of Discipline” by Richard Foster. I heard a lot about this book–some good and some bad, and I was kind of excited to read it.
When I finally delved into this book I was immediately impacted by what came off of the pages. This book was all about intimacy with the Father and getting to a place in our devotional lives where we are open to God changing us and reaching into the dark corners of our lives.
This book gently goes through the inward disciplines (i.e. prayer & meditation) and outward disciplines (i.e. simplicity & solitude) and challenges the reader to grow in them. What is best is that there is no semblance of legalism in the pages of this book and there is only the call to go to new places with God and live intimately with him.
