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Acquiring knowledge through experience
Acquiring knowledge through experience
General effects of obedience
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The Spiritual Disciplines: Door to Liberation Spiritual Discipline has become an affirmed necessity to who we are and what we should model to those around us. We are called to move from the shallow end of the pool to the deep end so we may “explore the inner caverns of the spiritual realm,” as Foster shared in Celebration of Discipline (Foster 1). Once we overcome our fears, like learning how to swim, jumping into the deep end becomes easier. Allowing ourselves to jump straight into the deep end is similar to obeying God’s call to deeper and fuller living. Disciplines were made so we may be liberated from everything that weighs us down and we begin to dance, shout and be joyful in our spiritual life. Although we can be delighted when our inward He explains the definition as hearing God’s voice and obeying it because God always wants to talk to us and sometimes that scares people (Foster 24). God comes in many ways and forms so allowing ourselves to listen doesn 't mean listening to a voice but instead what we are surrounded by. By obeying what God is telling us, we form a relationship with Him by beginning to know Him as a friend and making the dialog between the lover and the beloved a life-style. I believe it should become a natural process to fill our minds with what God has for our lives and obeying what He is asking of by being faithful and seeking intimacy. Our goal then, is the let God be at the top of our agenda so that everything we do becomes beneficial. By practicing this discipline we are allowing ourselves to be learners and stepping out of the leader identity most of us carry and once we come to the end of ourselves we enter into a place of peace with The Lord. If we are constantly functioning and never allowing ourselves to rest then we don’t enable ourselves into a spatial relation of inward silence. We shouldn 't miss out on the opportunity to meditate and be with Jesus because we are constantly being active in earthly things that won’t reward us in the end, but instead we should center our eyes and mind on growing spiritually with The Typically, fasting refers to abstaining from food for spiritual purposes, however is not an exclusive Christian Discipline. God did not command for us to initiate fasting weekly or monthly or even at all but came with an expectation that we would so He set up a list of instructions to follow when we begin, if we begin. Fasting for spiritual purposes forms a connection and private relationship in which we were invited by God. Our intentions to be to focus solely on God to glorify our Father in heaven and to let this time be a time to give ourselves wholly to God. In our fasting we need to center our attention on seeking God because God alone sustains us. Our hunger and thirst for earthly objects is only because our bodies have gotten used to the amount of food we eat and if we abstain from having that on a standard basis then our minds activate into a panic mode of starvation, but that is just because we have become slaves to our eating habits. Fasting takes practice and we must monitor our hearts so that our outward appearance would be able to perform our regular duties for The Lord. It is vital that we focus on what is going on spiritually instead of bodily because fasting brings breakthroughs. Above all when fasting, obey the voice of God and let everything you do bring the Father in heaven glory so
Grodi, M. C. (2010). St. Paul on Seasons of Devotion and Fasting. Catholic Answer, 24(2), 38.
...is simple truth we learn that man must acknowledge when his work is complete and then chose to focus on that which is better and cannot be taken away from us – time spent in communion with the Lord, memories shared with loved ones, and rest. But, most importantly, from this passage we learn that man must not put his faith in anyone or anything else but the Lord, for he is sufficient to provide for our needs and desires. He knows each person before their birth, he gives each of them a purpose in life, salvation from their sins, a place to dwell God’s presence after death, and selfless love. Man’s only true need is salvation from the sins that have condemned him. The only way to receive that salvation is through faith in God. Christ’s sacrifice on the cross has allowed man to do that, anything more is futile for he alone is sufficient and his work is complete.
... understanding of ourselves and the world by thinking things in a rational and procedural order. This understanding allows us to peruse a type of freedom that gives order within a conflicted system. By gaining some understanding of reality as an integral part of our system and recognizing our place within this whole of god, we come to participate in god’s divine nature.
In the beginning of the book, Bounds expresses that we depend on God just as much as he depends on us. Our relationship with Christ is simple, but requires a lot of communication. He shows why it is so important to be in communication and prayer with Christ when preparing a sermon. Bounds says that, "Prayer is the mightiest weapon." (p. 46) What he means by this is that prayer gives life and force to all. He goes on to talk about how a true ministry is of God, and how this ministry can be most effective if we are in communication with God.
...ons believe in fasting as stated in the holy books. Both Holy books state that followers should pray to God and Allah for it is considered holy and right (Jaoudi, 7).
17 Dugan, Kathleen M. “Fasting For Life: The Place of Fasting in the Christian Tradition.” Journal of the American Academy of Religion. Vol. 63 Issue 3 (Fall 1995): 547
Spiritual modeling has also influenced adolescents’ religious and spiritual development. Teachers, both in education and the Church, have the opportunity to enhance attributes such as wisdom, good character, and generosity by modeling spirituality (Lerner, 109). Spiritual models are designed to be examples of the positive purpose of goal setting and pursuing. They should seek to demonstrate making positive con...
In this paper two topic from the Psychology and Spirituality course will be discussed in regards to spirituality and their influence on my personal life. I will examine how I have grown and what I have learned from the week on Spring Lake ranch and how I wish to continue moving forward in my attempt to be spiritual and build a closer relationship to God.
Fasting is abstaining from food, drink, sleep or sex to focus on a period of spiritual
Melhem et al (2016) define spirituality as an “abstract, subjective, and complex term, whose definition varies between individuals, philosophies, and cultures” and has “many subjective meanings” (p.43). I have learned from many friends who view themselves as spiritual, but don’t follow any particular religion, that spiritualty has allowed them to find meaning and balance in their life. Many feel that all individuals have the capacity to be spiritual, but I haven’t felt the need to tune into this concept thus far in my life. I would tell you where I find meaning and balance in my life, but I don’t even fully know that answer myself. Spirituality is such a new concept for me, and I find it hard to wrap my head around the ways in which I may be able to view or understand it. Therefore, it is something I hope to explore as I mature and continue to understand who I am as a person in this
“4. RESOLUTION Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fall what you resolve.”(132) The first four of these virtues seem hard enough that it would take most of a person’s strength just to follow them. Yet these four not only show the need for discipline but the importance of restraint.
God and the Bible’s teachings are used as a framework to find meaning in life and purpose of human presence. Purpose resides in every human’s potential to strive for peace, seek equality, nurture relationships and the environment to achieve harmony with the earth (Valk, 2012). “Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my savior and my hope is in you all day long” (Ps 25:5). The Holy Spirit, known as God’s active force and His power in action (Lk 1:35), is used as a guide by Christians to ascertain and determine what is right. “We choose to act based on good thinking, scripture and prayer, and the Holy Spirit helps us discern the right alternatives” (Shelly & Miller, 2006, p. 89). In seeing others as the image of God, choosing what is right from wrong is influenced by beliefs cultural background and respect for one another. In this religious culture, the tendency to do wrong is seen as sinfulness. However, it is the admission of sin that leads Christians to Jesus Christ to find and experience God’s forgiveness (Shelly & Miller, 2006). The recognition of sin and eventual redemption strengthens the relationship with God which directs a life of service to humanity (Shelly & Miller,
I’d like to state the most obvious observation that I’ve made about spiritual formation; that is that I will always need to be seeking for ways to nurture my personal spirituality throughout my life. I know that to most people this may sound like a “duh” statement, but for me it has truly become a reality and one that I must admit I have been struggling to embrace. I was brought up in a church that, like most traditional churches, stayed happy living in the “comfort zone” of their Christianity. They took everything that the Bible said at face value without digging in to find out why they believed what they believed. I had never been challenged to look deeper into the text. In the past few years I have felt the need to tunnel out of this cave of what I feel is best labeled “Christian ignorance”. In the process though, I have had to come to terms with letting go of the things that brought me comfort and provided me with what I thought it took to have a close relationship with God. Some of those things were tangible. Most were not. The things that were the least tangible actually ended up being the hardest to let go of.
When Christians first encounter the idea of creating a spiritual discipline, some almost instantly become overwhelmed with anxiety because they must perform well for God to please Him and get to heaven. I was once one of them and to a point, I still think that way. However, the more focus on the relationship with Jesus and nothing else brings about the desires to want more in terms of spiritual growth. Desires however, do not last if disciplines are not met with a genuine commitment to maintain a fervent relationship with Jesus. For my rule of life, I will pencil in daily life disciplines that fit in the season of life that I am in currently so that God can work in me and I can become Christ like. First, I will commit fifteen minutes to daily prayer with God. Second, I will commit fifteen minutes to daily scripture reading. Third, I will commit to lead, encourage and support my wife by living out the vows that we both agreed to with God. Fourth, I will commit myself to my family in raising my two
Sweeney, P., Rhodes, J., & Boling B. (2012) Spiritual Fitness: A Key Component of Total Force