Three Questions

• What are spiritual disciplines?

// 1 Timothy 4:7-8 | Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.
// Donald Whitney >> [Spiritual disciplines are] those personal and interpersonal activities given by God in the Bible as the sufficient means believers in Jesus Christ are to use in the Spirit-filled, gospel-driven pursuit of godliness, that is, closeness to Christ and conformity to Christ.
// David Mathis >> God has his regular channels— the means of grace— those well-worn pathways along which he is so often pleased to pass and pour out his goodness on those waiting expectantly.”

• What is the goal of spiritual disciplines?

// Romans 8:29 | For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
// The goal of all spiritual discipline is Christlikeness or sanctification. Christlikeness emphasizes the reality of character transformation. Sanctification emphasizes the continual growth process that we are all in as children of God.

• Where does sanctification take place?
• Are there other disciplines that we could highlight that cultivate the mind? Certainly there are. Those are the disciplines that we want to talk about today: silence/solitude and journaling.

What is…

• Silence and Solitude

// Whitney >> The Discipline of silence is the voluntary and temporary abstention from speaking so that certain spiritual goals might be sought….Solitude is the Spiritual Discipline of voluntarily and temporarily withdrawing to privacy for spiritual purposes.
// Mathis >> We were made for rhythms of silence and noise, community and solitude. It is unhealthy to always have people around, and unhealthy to rarely want them. God made us for cycles and seasons, for routines and cadences. From the dawn of time, we have needed our respites. Even the God-man himself was “led by the Spirit into the wilderness” (Matt. 4:1), “went out to a desolate place” (Mark 1:35; Luke 4:42), and “went up on the mountain by himself to pray … alone” (Matt. 14:23).

• Journaling

// Whitney >> journaling blends the Bible and daily living, like the confluence of two great rivers into one…A journal (a word usually synonymous with diary[1]) is a place (tangible or digital) in which a person records information important to him or her personally for preservation or consideration. As a Christian, your journal is a place to document the works and ways of God in your life. Your journal also can include an account of daily events, a record of personal relationships, a notebook of insights into Scripture, and/or a list of prayer requests. Spontaneous devotional thoughts or lengthy theological musings can be preserved there.
// Mathis >> Journaling is a way of slowing life down for just a few moments, and trying to process at least a sliver of it for the glory of God, our own growth and development, and our enjoyment of the details. Journaling has the appeal of mingling the motions of our lives with the mind of God.

How do these help us grow in Christlikeness?

• Mathis >> Silence and solitude are kinds of fasting, respites from normalcy not meant to take over life.
• In this way, silence and solitude are not meant to be dominant in your life. They are intentional breaks to quiet the chaos of life and to fuel our focus in relationships.
• Thomas Merton >> Not all men are called to be hermits, but all men need enough silence and solitude in their lives to enable the deep inner voice of their own true self to be heard at least occasionally.
• Whitney >> A journal is one of the best places for charting your progress in the other Spiritual Disciplines and for holding yourself accountable to your goals.
• Journal to remember the past, chronicle the present, and set goals for the future.
• Mathis >> Journaling is an opportunity to grow into tomorrow. We can identify where we need to change and set goals and pinpoint priorities and monitor progress. We can evaluate how we’re doing in the other habits of grace we want to be practicing.

C.S. Lewis >> If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next … Aim at Heaven and you will get earth ‘thrown in’: aim at earth and you will get neither.

• To accomplish the mission our Commander has given us, we must get away with Him routinely, as our Savior did, to reflect, praise, and cultivate ears to hear Him.
• Only then will we be effective in our service and mission to which He has called us here.