Spiritual Goals and Values: Following Jesus in His Upside-Down Kingdomናሙና

Spiritual Health (Part 2)

To wrap up this whole study, let’s briefly examine three key practices (action steps!) that will assist you in creating a set-apart, upside-down, spiritually whole life that aligns your schedule with Kingdom values. There is a daily practice (time with Jesus), a weekly practice (Sabbath), and a monthly practice (giving / tithing) listed as a starting point below.

Practice One: Spend time with Jesus daily

It’s going to be virtually impossible to cultivate or sustain a counter-cultural life without spending daily time with Jesus. There are lots of different ways to structure one-on-one time with the Lord, including:

• Journaling
• Using a devotional (like this one!)
• Reading the Bible
• Prayer
• Worship
• Listening to a sermon

Experiment, and find what works for you. Pick a time of day or night, set a specific amount of time, and structure it with intention. Ask and answer the question: what would it look like for your time with Jesus to be your absolute favourite time of the day? Align your values with your schedule, and make this practice a priority in your day, every day.

Practice Two: Take a weekly Sabbath

Choose one twenty-four hour period (or whatever you can manage in your season of life) where all you do is rest and worship. Intentionally turn off your devices, put away your phone, turn off your laptop, and focus on bringing your soul back to true and deep life.

It’s important to note that taking a Sabbath is not the same thing as taking a day off. It is not a day to catch up on errands or binge-watch Netflix, but it is a day to sleep in, have an extended time with Jesus, read, go outside, have friends over, play board games, and eat and make delicious food. It is a day to quietly rebel against the consumeristic, unquenchable culture of more-more-more in which we live and instead simply be content in Christ and His good gifts. It requires great intention and planning, and it has the potential to completely transform your life.

Practice Three: Give monthly

There are lots and lots and lots of Bible verses about money and giving. In fact, there are twice as many verses about money in the Bible than about faith and prayer combined! Here are just two as an example:

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” Matthew 6:24

Again and again and again and again within the Bible, we read the same message, but it is worded differently: we can not serve both God and money. One way to live counter-culturally, therefore, and in line with Kingdom values is to be people who give our money away. As a starting point, giving what is called a tithe (10% of your income) is a great thing to do!

These three practices are examples of spiritual goals that you can set for yourself: action steps that align your deepest values with your schedules. Spend some time with God (in your daily time with Jesus!) and ask Him about other spiritual goals you should be setting for yourself in this season. These could include:

• Time in prayer, worship, or intercession
• Church attendance
• Serving
• Bible reading
• Joining a Bible Study/ Church/ Small Group
• Reading a Christian book
• Learning about a new topic
• Meeting with a spiritual mentor
• Praying with a group
• Seeing a Christian counsellor

As a starting point, think about or journal three spiritual goals that you can set for yourself:

This week:

This month:

This year:

What action steps do you need to put in place to make these goals a reality?

On Day One, you ranked your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health on a scale from 1-4. Now that you have worked through this study, is this where you would like your priorities to stay? Why, or why not? What do you need to change in order to better bring your values into line with your schedule?

Did this plan encourage you? We’d love to get to know you better!

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