feed yourself

I LOVED the sermon my pastor gave at church today! I was particularly challenged and reminded again of my need to "feed myself" and practice the Spiritual Disciplines.

One of my all time favorite books- a true classic in the realm of spiritual formation and disciplines is Richard Foster's "The Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth"

I received this 13 years ago from my in-laws. This is the one book on my shelf (besides my Bible!) that I go back and read over and over. I have probably gone back read at least one or two chapters every year! I think I may have more underlined, highlighted, side bar notes in this book than any other book! This book is AMAZING!

Here are a few quotes from the first chapter "The Spiritual Disciplines: The Door to Liberation"

(first paragraph) "Superficiality is the curse of our age. The doctrine of instant satisfaction is a primary spiritual problem. The desperate need today is not for a great number of intelligent people, or gifted people, but for deep people."

here are a few more nuggets:

"JOY is the keynote of all the Disciplines. The purpose of the disciplines is liberation from the stifling slavery to self-interest and fear. When the inner spirit is liberated from all that weighs is down, it can hardly be described as dull drudgery."

"God has given us the Disciplines of the spiritual life as a means of receiving his grace. The Disciplines allow us to place ourselves before God so that He can transform us."

"The Disciplines are God's way of getting us into the ground; they put us where he can work within us and transform us. By themselves the Spiritual Disciplines can do nothing; they can only get us to the place where something can be done. They are God's means of grace. The inner righteousness we seek is not something that is poured on our heads. God has ordained that Disciplines of the spiritual life as the means by which we place ourselves where he can bless us."

Foster devotes the next 12 chapters to describing and explaining in detail the inward disciplines (meditation on the Word, prayer, fasting, study), the Outward Disciplines (Simplicity, Solitude, Submission, and Service) and the corporate Discipines (Confession, worship, guidance and celebration). He also goes into some detail of how to begin practicing each discipline.

one thing I appreciate is that Foster goes out of his way to distinguish between the ruts and traps of legalism and practicing the disciplines as means of grace in the believer's life!

this book is thick and meaty- and when I find myself in a "stuck" place- this book is a good reminder of WHY I need to practice the spiritual disciplines in my life- I need Jesus and putting myself in places where I am meditating on the word, fasting, solitude (a big challenge but SOOO necessary for me!), prayer, etc. actually enable me to come into the presence of Jesus. He is my treasure and my reward!

"The life that is pleasing to God is not a series of religious duties (AMEN!). We have only one thing to do- namely, to experience a life of relationship and intimacy with God."