Spiritual Disciplines or Means of Grace are the means God uses for our sanctification. For spiritual growth, it is necessary to exercise our minds to conform to the character of Jesus Christ, our model.
There is no way to have a rich spiritual experience outside the means of grace. One of these days, I read a quote [i] from the Reverend Augustus Nicodemus that said:
- “We are never as holy as we could be.
- Christian maturity.
- Character formation.
- Perseverance and love for God develop throughout the Christian life.
- The time and tribulations associated with spiritual disciplines mature the Christian.
- There are no substitutes.
- “.
Therefore, we must be diligent in using these means that the Lord has left us to mature spiritually.
In this series, which I call Spiritual Disciplines, we will learn about the means our Lord has made available to us to prosper in our spiritual lives.
The Word of God exhorts us to seek perfection. This reference to effort does not mean that it is through our works that we will experience growth, this effort means an emphasis on our dedication to achieving the pious life, the life of devotion, a God-oriented life:
Practice mercy. For physical exercise for little is beneficial, but mercy for everything is beneficial, because it has the promise of life that it is now and what it will be; this word is faithful and worthy of full acceptance. Fight very hard, for we have placed our hope in the living God, Savior of all men, especially of the faithful. 1 Tim 4. 7b-10
There is no real condition for competing with the spontaneous assimilation we have of the things of the world if there is really no effort on our part to fill our minds and hearts with the word of God, which regenerates, renews, shapes our minds, brings hope and makes us bear fruit.
When there is no effort to provoke an opportunity to be exposed to the word of God, we are consumed by the culture of the world and our worldview will be distorted and in a subtle and persistent way our Christian life will decay.
However, we must remember that Spiritual Disciplines are also called The Paths of Grace and that although we have our responsibility and efforts, our Lord gives us the conditions to have discipline through the portals of His abundant grace as the Lord tells us. Apostol Pablo:
“For god’s grace has proved to be savior to all men, leading us out that, in the absence of wickedness and worldly passions, we may live reasonably, accurately, and piously in this century?Titus 2. 11-12
It is unwise to expect bad, painful, and turbulent days to discover who God is, what his desire for our lives is, what his wonderful promises are, in fact, life will not make sense if we do not seek to be with us. God every day of our existence.
However, when we yearn for a moment to bond with God, it takes a little discipline, it seems a little legalistic to talk about discipline in the middle of the 21st century, where problems are relativized and individual passions are prioritized, but they do not leave. However, don’t change the screen without first knowing the revolution in your spiritual entrails that a little planning and organization can help you achieve. Come with me for another paragraph.
There is thirst in the human being for a meaningful life, and that thirst can be quenched when it finds the source of white water. To have a rich spiritual life, developed by grace, we will need discipline, we will have to be ready to create spiritual habits and remove parasic weeds from abandonment.
Now think of a cup of coffee in a quiet, private place, your Bible open on the table in front of you, and a notebook ready to register your meeting. He, God, the Almighty, will be there with you at the appointed time. In this precious moment, you can have a long dialogue with him, open your heart, confess your faults and sins, if you shed tears, share your joys. He’ll be there, listening to you, seeing you.
He is God, he is Father, he is with you, he keeps you as the girl in his eyes and hides you in the shadow of your wings, it is God, the Holy Spirit, he has established himself in you, he is the Spirit of truth that will guide you through all the truth (Jn 16:13). He is God, he is a man, he knows his pain. He’s interceded for you, he’s still interceding, and he’s going to keep intervening.
He’ll be with you every time you invoke your name
The quality of our time with God will determine the quality of our Christian life. It is not possible to be disciples of Jesus Christ if we do not spend our lives chasing the imitation of our object of love. Every perfect gift comes from the Father of God. Enlightenment (Pv 1:17), far from Christ nothing can be done, because without Christ nothing can be done and not even bear fruit (Jn 15:5). The glory is yours.
Creating new spiritual habits will take time and space, it is time to develop the habit of being with God and space, because we will have to get rid of the old procedures for new ones to integrate into our lives.
So, are we going to venture down the path of grace?
Each month, throughout 2020, we will explore one of the Spiritual Disciplines, so that little by little we can acquire a new habit.
Do not be intimidated by the size of the contract or the distance of the route, the trails are formed in the middle of dense forests by the frequent back and forth that take place on the same path forming a furship on the ground.
Spiritual disciplines will allow us to walk confidently on this spiritual path that will form as we move forward.
Go ahead, sheep!
Next month the first topic of Spiritual Disciplines will be presented, we will discuss ways to be saturated with the Word of God: Saturate the Word: reading the Bible and studying the Bible.
[i] Twitter on January 11, 2020, @augustuslopes, accessed January 20, 2020