Spiritual Disciplines

I've been thinking about how important the role discipleship plays in our personal and corporate lives. I have two books that I want to read in conjunction with each other. I found both at a thrift store and they are real treasures. "Celebration of Discipline" by Richard J. Foster is one of them and the other is entitled "Disciplines For the Inner Life" by Bob Benson and Michael W. Benson.

Foster organizes the disciplines like this:

The Inward Disciplines-Meditation, Prayer, Fasting, and Study

The Outward Disciplines-Simplicity, Solitude, Submission, and Service

The Corporate Disciplines-Confession, Worship, Guidance, and Celebration

He dedicates a chapter to each separate discipline.

The other book is set up as a one year devotional book with various readings from the scriptures, a hymn, and a number of meditations to read each week on a particular subject of discipline.

I read a quote from the Benson book, by Richard Foster, on the discipline of study, and this is what has motivated me to begin working on these disciplines.

"Many Christians remain in bondage to fears and anxieties simply because they do not avail themselves of the Discipline of study. They may be faithful in church attendance and earnest in fulfilling their religious duties and still they are not changed....They may sing with gusto; pray in the Spirit, live as obediently as they know, even receive divine visions and revelations; and yet the tenor of their lives remains unchanged. Why? Because they have never taken up one of the central ways God uses to change us: study. Jesus made it unmistakeably clear that it is the knowledge of the truth that will set us free."



The Benson book goes beyond the disciplines and addressed the obstacles of the Inner Life.

These obstacles include the will, doubts, temptations, distractions, anxiety, consciousness, time management, etc. It goes on to teach patterns for living inwardly which include 'The Lord's Prayer,' The Lord's supper, The Beatitudes, The parables, and The Jesus Prayer.

It also teaches that the Inward Graces of the Centered Life are humility, obedience, simplicity, the mind of Christ, generosity, truthfulness, purity, and charity and that the outward fruits of the inner life are service, growth, liberty, commitment, priority, compassion, lifestyle, awareness, celebration, and gratitude.

I don't normally give a book report before I've read a book, but this may take me a year or two and I will be sharing quotes from time to time. Will you join me in putting my roots down deeper into the vast and unending nature of God? His ways are past finding out, but I sure am going to try. The more you know of Him, the more you know you don't know and the more you want to know.