Spiritual DisciplinesSample

  

Day 1 – Introduction

Just as a sportsman needs discipline for advancing, a Christian need to practice spiritual various disciplines in order to become a mature Christian.

Just as sportsmen renounce certain things they wish they could do and practice all sorts of restraints, the new born believer seeks to remove anything that hinders his growth.

And in the same way that sportsmen don’t just renounce certain things, but they also do exercises that will help them in the domain of their activity, Christians seek to practice what we call “spiritual disciplines” so that they can “be fit” in a spiritual point of view.

In between the extremity of physical efforts and the one of inaction, God gave us a middle way. This is the way of spiritual disciplines. Spiritual disciplines in themselves can’t do anything, they can only bring us to the point where we can be transformed. The grace of God is unmerited and cannot be earned. The purpose of spiritual disciplines is not salvation, but spiritual growth. 

Spiritual disciplines are the means by which God brings His fullness into our lives. They are not meant only for some “special” categories of Christians, but for everyone of us: ordinary people that work 8-10 hours a day, those who are always under the pressure of urgency, rushing the kids to kindergarten/school in the morning, and those who, over the course of the day, need to do a multitude of tasks, always running short of time and always in a hurry.

If this describes you, at least partially, then spiritual disciplines are for you as well! They are for us! For every one of us!