Spiritual Disciplines

:8New King James Version (NKJV)

8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.[i]

:7New King James Version (NKJV)

7 But reject profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness.[ii]

1. spiritual discipline is not moving to obtain grace is moving from grace obtained, to deepen ones understanding of spiritual principles, through the regular observance of actions, putting the body, heart and mind in check, so that the spirit man can grow.

The 13 spiritual disciplines of Orthodox Christianity

Inward Disciplines

1. prayer.

2. Meditation.

3. Study of Scripture

The Outward Disciplines

4. Simplicity of life.

5. Surrendered life.

6. Solitude.

7. Service to others.

8. Confession of sin.

9. Seeking wise counsel.

Corporate Disciplines

10. Thanksgiving.

11. Worship.

12. Sacrificial giving.[iii]

13. Celebration [iv]

2. Spiritual disciplines are a great defense against the superficiality that the instant gratification of our digital world offers us. With all the distractions of the world brings to us, we can end up in a constant yoyo action that brings us in and out of spiritual activity. The disciplines help to feed the soul and crucify the flesh. :2New King James Version (NKJV) 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?[a][v]

a. The classic spiritual disciplines are not Just for the Preacher, Worship Leader or other super spiritual person that you might deem such a practice appropriate for.

b. They are not for the for the monk who has given his self to the contemplative life.

c. They are not for the people who write books that the rest of us read.

d. The spiritual disciplines are practiced by everyday people like you and me.

3. A word about “exercise” not the same a super-sized:

a. In first timothy 4:7 the apostle Paul tells His son in the Ministry to exercise his self toward holiness. This is a concept we don’t quite grasp in out culture.

b. Heaven is not the “goal” it’s the promise of God. Christ likeness is the goal.

c. When the apostle Paul tells timothy to exercise yourself, he means an athlete would.

i. Everyone starts somewhere, even with natural talent there has to be fundamental training of some sort.

ii. Athletes do conditioning work. Conditioning work is repetitive work. It takes time to become sufficient at something. suf•fi•cient \sə-ˈfi-shənt\ adjective[Middle English, from Latin sufficient-, sufficiens, from present participle of sufficere] 14th century1 a: enough to meet the needs of a situation or a proposed end 〈sufficient provisions for a month〉[vi]let alone proficient

iii. pro•fi•cient \-shənt\ adjective[Latin proficient-, proficiens, present participle of proficere to go forward, accomplish, from pro- forward + facere to make—more at PRO-, DO] circa 1590: well advanced in an art, occupation, or branch of knowledge—proficient noun—pro•fi•cient•ly adverb[vii]

[i] New King James Version (NKJV)

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

[ii] New King James Version (NKJV)

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

[iii] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otUheMKpUg0&t=1661s

[iv] Foster, Richard J. 1988. Celebration of discipline: the path to spiritual growth. San Francisco: Harper & Row.

[v] 1. Footnotes:

2. Following Masoretic Text and Vulgate; some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac, and Targum read I see the face of God. New King James Version (NKJV) Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved

[vi] [vi] Merriam-Webster, I. (2003). Merriam-Webster’s collegiate dictionary. (Eleventh ed.). Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, Inc.

[vii] Merriam-Webster, I. (2003). Merriam-Webster’s collegiate dictionary. (Eleventh ed.). Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, Inc.