spiritual disciplines Archives

What We Can Learn from the Liturgy of Seasons

Seasons are creation’s liturgy. Each season has its own lesson for us. Fall teaches us that a change of pace and even of conditions are what the soul needs. How can our souls be any different? It’s not technically Autumn yet, I get it! I know that Fall doesn’t technically begin until September 22nd, but…

Combatting Complacency So I Press On Toward All God Has For Me

The Oxford dictionary defines “complacent” as “showing uncritical satisfaction with oneself or one’s achievements.” When I reflect on my spiritual life, that is, my walk with God, it is easy to become complacent. It is easy to become “uncritical” and settle for a certain level of progress in my life. Socrates, an ancient Greek philosopher,…

Waltzing Our Way into More Spiritual Fruit

22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! (Galatians 5:22-23, NLT) We often talk about how the Holy Spirit works in our lives, and when we do it is natural to reflect on the “fruit”…

The Power of Memorizing Scripture

Remember when Jesus was fasting in the desert for 40 days and the Devil came to tempt him? You can find this narrative in Matthew 4:1-11 and Luke 4:1-13. In both accounts, Jesus uses the same game plan to counter the Devil’s temptations—Scripture, quoted from memory. And right away you and I could think, “Well,…

Why Sabbath is Way More Powerful Than a “Day Off”

Do you ever feel hurried or overwhelmed? I know I have. I remember taking a break from what felt like constant tasks and to-do lists to actually breathe for a moment. There I thought to myself: “I cannot sustain this pace much longer.” That’s when I knew I needed a fresh encounter with God’s gift…

How is the Pace of Your Life?

How is the pace of your life? Seriously, how is it? Most of us would answer that with the response “busy”? But is busy the pace we desire? Busy weeks certainly are inevitable but what about the normative week. Do you find every week being busy beyond what you hope for? While the year is…

What Does it Mean to “Meditate on Scripture”?

Have you ever been part of a conversation where someone says a phrase that is clearly important to advancing the conversation, but you have no idea what it means? What do you do? Most of us end up smiling and acting like we caught what was said. But sometimes we halt the conversation to simply…

From Spiritual “Disciplines” to Spiritual “Delights”

Spiritual disciplines can often feel like a chore. Like exercise, we know they’re important, but it’s hard to get motivated to actually do them. Spiritual disciplines are regular practices that help a Christian interact with the Triune God in daily life. These disciplines include (but are not limited to) activities like: Bible reading, prayer, morning…

“Theology”: The Art of Knowing the One Who Knows You

1 You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. 2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. (Psalm 139:1-2) The first two verses of Psalm 139 provide us insight into a pervasive truth in the Bible… God knows us! When we talk about God knowing us, we mean much more…