I’m good in spurts. That’s probably a nice way of spinning my lack of consistency and persistence. However, I am successful with new goals for short times. I can do one week diets. My exercise regimen can be fast and furious for a month or so. I really enjoyed the ten weeks I was on the read-through-the-Bible-in-a-year plan.
But in the meantime, I’m also trying to work with what I have. I know that I am good in spurts, so I’m trying to harness those spurts to go deeper into the life of Christ. So, I’m often looking for ways to apply the truths of God into an explosion of activity.
Reading the Bible, prayer, service, fellowship and worship are BIG ideas that take the rest of one’s life (eternal) to get down. That’s too big for me. I need to break it down into spurts.
Here are some spurt-style disciplines that have helped me:
1. Reading the chapter of Proverbs that corresponds to the date is always a good spurt.
3. Three Stones. Put three stones in ones pocket. Every time you say something encouraging to someone else you can take one stone and put it in your other pocket. This serves as a reminder to me that I want to be encouraging people.
4. Brag. Paul says that those who boast should boast in the Lord. That is not a discouragement from boasting, if anything we should boast all the more. The psalms are great place for practicing this. 125 says, “Those who trust in the Lord are like
5. Spend time in honest introspection, making a list of the people your sin has hurt. (This definitely is a spiritual practice to be done in a spurt, and not daily.)
Do you have any more ideas of how to use my tendency toward spurts for the cause of maturing?
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4 comments:
My children eat much more when they are growing or are about ready to grow. I think the same thing happens to us spiritually.
I once heard a sermon by Mike Yaconelli that talked about the guilt he carries around because he just is not consistent at having a daily Bible reading time, which is not a command in Scripture despite what modern church culture might say. However, he will go crazy some weeks and read through tons of books in the Bible.
I don't know what I'm saying, but that was some good thoughts Shannon.
Well, I did a little research after replying. It looks like Mike Yaconelli wrote a book on the subject: Messy Spirituality.
Here is an interview from him: Interview with Mike Yaconelli
A good excerpt from the interview is this:
"The subtitle of the book was going to be 'Christianity for the rest of us.' And the reason I put that there is because I was so tired of hearing religious speakers tell me how perfect they were. After hearing a sermon or reading a book or going to some religious meeting, I felt worse than when I got there because they had it all together. They had it all figured out. You know what? I'm almost 60. I've had five children. And let me tell you, I don't have life figured out yet."
Praying is a growth I am working on. I like to pray in prayer arrows or prayer darts. If I see something to give praise for I just say something like "God, thank you for the beautiful cloud", and if I see a need I might say "God, watch over the driver of the van carrying all the precious children". I like simple so this is what I'm working on for growth. I love the 3 stones idea. Thank you.
I think "anonymous" hit the bullseye in regard to prayer. I think that Paul's encouragement to "pray without ceasing" can be fulfilled in such a way. Giving glory and praise to God and putting your faith in Him in the little things goes a long way.
In regard to Bible reading, I think that sitting down when you can and reading until the Spirit speaks to you is more important than keeping a schedule.
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