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Posts Tagged ‘spiritual disciplines’

Who Is Your Foundation?

Posted in From My Heart, tagged , , on August 26, 2020| Leave a Comment »

 

1 Corinthians 3:10-15

10 By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. 14 If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. 15 If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.

Matthew 7:24-27

24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

We all know that anything that is not built with a solid foundation will crumble and fall. The same goes for our Christian walk. Our foundation as Christians has to be built on the Rock (Jesus). How do we build a firm foundation as a Christian?

1 Corinthians 15:58

58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

Matthew 7 tells us that those who HEAR what Jesus is saying to us AND PRACTICES what He says will have a solid foundation. We need to be ACTIVELY LISTENING to what Jesus is telling us. Not only do we need to listen, we need to PRACTICE what He says. We need to be OBEDIENT.

Corinthians 15:58 tells us that we need to STAND FIRM. It reiterates this by saying that we are to LET NOTHING MOVE US. We are to GIVE OURSELVES FULLY TO THE WORK OF THE LORD.

As Christians, there are some spiritual disciplines that we should be actively practicing in obedience to Jesus:

  1. Prayer – 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Philippians 4:6
  2. Bible Study – 8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Joshua 1:8
  3. Fellowship with Believers – 42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. Acts 2:42-44 

Of course, we can’t forget the commands that Jesus gives us in the verses I started with:

  1. Hear (Listen)
  2. Practice (Obedience)
  3. Stand Firm (Let nothing move you)
  4. Give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord

Challenge:

These are not the only spiritual disciplines of Jesus or that the Bible commands us to practice. I am challenging you to find the other spiritual practices of Jesus. I challenge you to find the other disciplines that the Bible tells us that we need to actively practice. Reflect in your journal and find ways to implement these disciplines into your daily life. Don’t think of it as something that needs to be checked off of a to-do list. the disciplines are not meant to be legalistic. They are meant to bring you closer to the heart of God. They are meant to help you build your foundation as a Christian.

Life as a Christian is not easy. It’s not meant to be. As with everything important, it takes a solid foundation to build a strong house, car, relationship or Christian life. Dig into the Bible and ask the Holy Spirit to lead you as you seek His ways. A foundation built on anything other than Jesus will crumble and fall, so build your foundation on the ROCK (JESUS).

 

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Prayer

Posted in Being A Disciple, tagged , , , , on October 20, 2014| Leave a Comment »

prayer

1 Thessalonians 5:17

Pray continually, 

Prayer is our line of communication with God. This verse tells us to pray continually, telling us to be in constant communication with God. God wants to have an open line of communication with us at every moment of our day. It doesn’t matter what we are dealing with, God is ALWAYS with us and wants us to share EVERYTHING with Him.

Jesus gave us the main components to prayer, when He gave us the Lord’s Prayer. Click here to read my blog post on the Lord’s Prayer. According to the Lord’s Prayer there are 5 main components to prayer:

1. Praise

2. Praying God’s will

3. Supplication

4. Confession (Asking forgiveness for our sins and forgiving others for sins done to us)

5. Praying for protection from evil and temptation

Below are a few other suggestions that might help in your prayer life:

  • Centering Prayer– Centering prayer is a way to empty your mind of every day distractions and really focus on God. Centering prayer helps us LISTEN to what God is saying to us.
  • The Daily Examen– The Daily Examen is an Ignatian exercise and is used to examine our daily activities and see where God is speaking to us. Is there any way we could have been a better example of Jesus? Were we impatient when we needed to be kind? The Daily Examen is a way for God to mold our character, as we pray for Him to reveal what we need to change.
  • Prayer Journaling– We can use prayer journaling with the Lord’s Prayer model and as a way to keep track of requests and answers to prayer. Writing out prayers can be helpful in emptying our hearts of worries and anxieties. Often, when I am done writing out everything on my heart, I feel at peace. I know that God is working in the situations involved.
  • Every Hour– Every hour, on the hour, say a prayer about a person, event, or situation that you have promised to pray about. You can also, take the opportunity to praise God and thank God for all that He has done in your life. Pray as the Holy Spirit leads. This is a great way to make sure we pray continually.

These are just a few ideas. The internet is full of different ways to enhance our prayer lives. I like to try different methods of prayer to enhance my communication with God. I have found that some things work and some don’t. I try to keep it simple. I don’t want to get to legalistic about my prayer life.

There are times when I can’t pray at all. There are times when words fail me and I can only whisper, “Don’t let me go, Jesus.” You will have times like this too. Don’t worry, God knows your heart and has sent the Holy Spirit to intercede for us.

Romans 8:26

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.

I’m not an expert on prayer, but I do know that I could not live without that open communication with my Creator. I know that at any moment of the day, that I can praise Him or cry out to Him and He will hear me. I encourage you to go to God in prayer. He is waiting for you. If you have any suggestions or prayer methods that work for you, let me know. I’d love to hear from you!

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Scriptures On Prayer

Posted in My Favorite Scriptures, tagged , , , on October 19, 2013| Leave a Comment »

PRAYER-teachUS

 

 

Prayer is one of the most important of the spiritual disciplines, but one of the most difficult to implement in our lives. We make time to communicate with loved ones and friends, so why is it so hard to make the time to communicate with the one who loves us the most?  I know of people who can sit for hours at a time in prayer and meditation. I don’t believe that we are all called to this type of prayer life. We are, however, called to pray without ceasing. I can tell you from personal experience that God does answer prayer. I love to talk to God during the day. I love to share my life with my heavenly Father through constant prayer. I encourage you to go to the Father in prayer and see what happens.

1 John 5:14-15

14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.

James 4:3

3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

Philippians 4:6-7

6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Matthew 6:5-13

5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

9 “This, then, is how you should pray:

“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.’

James 5:13-15

13 Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise.14 Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven.

Mark 9:25-29

25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the impure spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”

26 The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.

28 After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t  we drive it out?”

29 He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.”

Acts 9:40

40 Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, “Tabitha, get up.” She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up.

Ephesians 6:18

18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

Psalm 145:18

18 The Lord is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.

 

 

 

 

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