For the next several weeks, I’m going to be doing something new here on the blog. In addition to my usual musings, I will be adding an article once a week on a spiritual discipline. This will be a part of a new and ongoing facet of my blog, which will include some tools and resources of a more practical nature. As with all of my postings, please feel free to use and share them as you see fit.
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What comes to mind when you hear the words “spiritual discipline”?
Some of us cringe, perhaps awaiting a list of things to add to our to-do list, awaiting a long and dry conversation, awaiting the feelings of guilt that we aren’t “doing enough” in our relationship with God.
Some consider regular spiritual disciplines to be for the religious elite—those who really take their faith seriously and are particularly close to the Lord.
And some find them to be the familiar bread and butter of their life as a Christian, as these disciplines have become as regular and expected as showering and brushing their teeth in the morning.
Read moreTo the people of Israel being sent into exile, the prophet Jeremiah sent a message from God: “Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile.” He tells them to build houses, do work, and nurture families. He tells them to pray for the Lord’s blessing on the foreign land to which they’re sent.
It’s a bit of a strange instruction, isn’t it? They are to seek the good of the pagan land that has wrecked and ravaged their land and either slaughtered or carried off their people?
The word for “welfare” here is rich with meaning. It’s the Hebrew word shalom, which has a holistic picture of peace, wholeness, completeness, prosperity, security, and health. “Seek shalom for the city where I send you,” he says.
In the New Testament, Christians are said to be in exile. Peter calls the believers to whom he writes “sojourners and exiles” (see 1 Peter 1:1, 2:11). There is a clear understanding that we are to be involved in the world, even honoring the government in place, while retaining a deep awareness that we are citizens of a different land. This is not where our hope lies. This is not where our confidence lies. This is not where our loyalty lies.
Read moreMy dad carried the small package to his office and carefully began to open it. It had weathered its Atlantic crossing well, and the array of international stamps on the cardboard box told the tale of far it had come. The smell hit him when he opened the plastic bag inside, and it was strong enough to trigger a gag reflex. With two reluctant fingers, my dad pulled out what was purportedly the most disgusting pair of socks he has ever seen. The filthy pieces of cloth were peppered with holes and frayed at the top—and the stench! It would have required extra effort to concoct a specimen this wretched. His face broke into a wide grin, and he burst out laughing, “He got me good this time.” A small donation for your ministry in Pennsylvania.
This infamous pair of socks came from a good friend, who has spent most of his lifetime as a missionary in Europe. It was the crowning glory of a humorous exchange over the (for lack of a better word) junk he and his family have received over the years in name of charity. They are not alone. Holey socks, used underwear, ratty clothes—things in such shape they can’t even find a home at the Goodwill. Fortunately he has a sense of humor—and friends to make light of the situation.
Read moreIf there’s one thing I appreciate about Martin Luther (besides his sense of humor), it’s how practical he is. Few realize that his motivation for his famous Ninety-Five Theses, which could easily be called the spark of the Protestant Reformation, was not only a theological one but also a practical one. He was concerned about how the current selling of indulgences was harming lay Christians.
A delightful example of his practicality is in a little piece of his called “A Simple Way to Pray.” It is a short explanation of how Luther prays, written for the benefit of his barber, who apparently asked for his advice. Prayer is important to Luther, and he teaches barber Peter how to use Scripture (The Lord’s Prayer and the Ten Commandments) to shape his prayers. (If you’re interested in reading the entire thing, you can find it here.)
Praying Scripture offers Luther a sense of surety. He is simply praying back what God has already said.
Read moreWhy is it so hard for us to accept that we are loved?
We hear talk often of the need for greater self-esteem. For my generation, we’ve been spoon fed from early on by our culture and our school, to think better about ourselves, to see ourselves as winners and capable of anything.
But as we grow older, we realize that we aren’t actually that special in the pool of humanity—and we can’t actually do anything we set our minds to. So we’re left with an overly inflated view of ourselves, or in despair of what will become of our lives. So much for that self-esteem.
As Christians, we balk against this movement in large part, which is understandable. We tend to be much better at self-criticism than self-love. Self-love is sin, we maintain; it’s pride and must be cut out. The idea of loving ourselves or thinking well of ourselves is resisted. And so in our efforts of humility and seeing ourselves rightly, we can continue to erode our ability to see ourselves as loved. Although we can easily affirm “Jesus loves me,” does that awareness that he calls us Beloved actually sink deep into our souls, shaping the way we see ourselves?
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