Spiritual Disciplines | Founded On Christ
Pursuing the Spiritual Disciplines can come off borderline works based righteousness. Ordering the rhythms of our life can be seen as something we do to earn the love and salvation of Jesus Christ and thus some people choose to avoid them all together. Yet, to do so misunderstands the purpose of the disciplines. We do not discipline our lives in order that God might love us, but we do them because God already loves us. Our works cannot and do no produce salvation. Not should we operate under any false assumption that our works merit any grace of God. The Spiritual disciplines stem from the tension we face living in the coming promises of God but not yet having entered into the fullness of eternity. We seek the will of God because we have bowed down to Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. We acknowledge that when Jesus Christ died on the cross, that work counted towards my sin and God makes me a new creation! From that, we look to align our life to hear from God. The Spiritual Disciplines train our heart to pursue God inwardly, serve as a witness to the world, and give glory to God in the body of Christ.
Everything, though, stems from the foundation of Jesus Christ. No event in human history compares to the eternal and universal significance of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Father poured out His wrath on the Son in order to punish the sins of the world. It would have been easier for God to withdraw His presence from us and allow us to persist in our sin. Yet, the righteous anger of God demonstrated His love for His beloved creation by ensuring that we all could return to be with Him. God, by nature is love. And love, by definition, is deeply relational. The prophet Jeremiah makes it clear that God wants to be found by us and thus He will be found through his Divine self-revelation. We nail the eternal effects of sin on the cross, knowing Christ credits His work to us. Furthermore, because Christ reigns even over death itself, He alone is worthy of our worship and our devotion to follow Him with every aspect of our life.
For thus says the Lord : When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord , plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord , and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord , and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.
Jeremiah 29:10-14, ESV
When We Fail
Whatever we seek, we will find it. Whether good or bad, we will find whatever we look for, even if does not satisfy for even exist. People chase and search for many things, however only one thing matters, the presence of God. Furthermore, we serve a God who wants to be found by us. Throughout the whole of scripture we see God continually revealing Himself and tabernacling with His people for our benefit and our good. From the grace of Jesus Christ, we have the ability to pursue God. As we pattern the rhythms of our life to pursue God inwardly, outwardly, and together, we will experience bumps in the road. For every believer, though, there is grace and there is Gospel. We all have second chances to pursue God and be transformed and renewed by the Lord.
- Moral Setbacks Overpowered By Grace A far amount of the spiritual disciplines revolve around the issue of removing sin from our lives. The Christian will struggle with sin until we arrive in eternity and become fully glorified. Until then, we will all sin from time to time, hopefully with decreasing frequency. This is not to justify or permit sin, but instead to allow the grace of God to cover us. Christians need the Gospel and grace as much as non-Christians. We cannot continually beat ourselves up as if our salvation is in jeopardy. Christ died once and for all as the payment that satisfies for our sin. As an act of grace we cannot do anything to deserve it but conversely, nor can we do anything to disqualify it. Those who are in Christ are saved by grace. We must give ourselves grace in the face of moral failure. Admit our sin and repent, but move on in the grace of God.
- Feeling Silence Fueled By Perseverance Some seem to be under the impression that once we do the disciplines, we will enter into a period of 24/7 constantly hearing from God. Thus, when there are times of silence or quiet, Christians can become disheartened, thinking that we have done something wrong. In truth, we all endure times where God feels distant or quiet. Do not give up on God and continue to practice the disciplines. They guide us through the times of quiet through our trusting in God to reveal Himself in right time for our benefit. Jesus Christ sends the Holy Spirit to empower the believers and saints to continue according to the purpose He sets apart for us. The disciplines help us to not lose focus of the Gospel in our lives.
- Discouragement Lifted By The Hope of Eternity Finally, every Christian will endure days or even seasons that wear us down physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Even worse, these times can come as a direct result of our obedience to Jesus Christ. During these times, though, we should continue in the disciplines as they focus our heart and attention on God and what He is actively doing in the world. Furthermore, we can do so knowing that we have eternity ahead of us. The trials and difficulties we face in this world will not be permanent features. One day, we will see God face to face as one who belongs.
The core of the message of the Spiritual Disciplines is the struggle between the flesh and the renewed spirit. We must crucify the flesh and come alive to Jesus Christ, just as Christ died on the cross and rose from the grace. Never forget the Gospel. Let it drive every decision you make, not as a means of opening the door for people to come to Christ, but out of your desperate need of it every day. In everything, though, remember the cross of Jesus Christ and the empty tomb. When we continue to pursue God despite our flesh, we will find a renewed strength and vigor that can only comes from God alone.
