Mar
02
2010
Occasionally I pass along relevant devotions that I receive. Below are a few lines from tow of David Wilkerson Today devotions on “The Danger of Guilt.”
Day One
“Guilt can eat away at the spiritual vitality of a Christian like a raging cancer. It causes a person to lose control of life; it leads to a desire to quit or retire from spiritual activity; and, finally, it brings on physical pain and disease. Like cancer, guilt feeds upon itself until all spiritual life is gone, and the end result is weakness and a sense of shame and failure.”
Read this brief devotion about guilt and the importance of the spiritual exercise of forgiveness. David Wilkerson Today – March 2, 2010
Day Two
“Lay down your guilt, my friend. You don’t need to carry that load another minute. Open up the doors and windows of your heart, and let God’s love in. He forgives you—over and over again! He will give you the power to see your struggle through to victory. If you ask—if you repent—you are forgiven! Accept it—now!”
Read this second brief devotion online – David Wilkinson Today – March 3, 2010
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” 1 John 1:9
Have a terrific day!
Resources Related to Guilt
Article – Forgiveness: A Spiritual Exercise for a Healthier Life
Jan
25
2010
The grace of God gives us strength and the corresponding ability to do the things we otherwise could not do. This happens as a result of being in an intimate relationship with God, through his Son Jesus and experiencing the presence of the Holy Spirit. The more intimate we are with God, the more time we spend quietly with him, and the more we yield to him and depend upon him the more empowered we become.
Power from God does not come by way of religious-type activity and service. It comes as a direct result of abiding in God’s presence and being connected to him in a very real and meaningful way. Jesus tell us this when he says -
“Remain in me and I will remain in you…. apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:4-5
Jesus gives us a great example of how he received power from his Father, God. Shortly before his death on the cross, Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane. He was sorrowful and full of grief-filled emotions as he prepared to do the will of God by dying on the cross for our sins. The “man” in him did not want to die. What did he do? Jesus went away to be alone with God…. to be in earnest prayer with him one-on-one. When he finished his prayer time with God, Jesus was prepared, equipped with the strength he needed to be able to die for you and me. Matthew 26:36-46
The Gospel of John tells us that Jesus prayed to his Father that just as he and God were one, that we all would “be in them.” John 17:20-21 This serves as a reminder that God desires us to remain as close as possible to him. He knows that for us to be able to do his perfect will, we need to maintain an intimate relationship with him.
‘Abide in God’s Presence’ is one Spiritual Exercise that is conducive to a healthy life. The more we are in God’s presence, the more power the Holy Spirit gives us to make healthy choices and to change our behavior. We are able to do things that we otherwise might not be able to do.
Questions to Reflect On:
How close to Jesus are you?
How much time do you spend in prayer with God on a daily basis?
How much time each week do you spend reading the Bible and meditating on what you’ve read?
Scriptures Related to Intimacy:
“Draw near to God and he will draw near to you.” James 4:8
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30
“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.” Psalm 23:1-3
Helpful Resources
Article – It’s About the Relationship
Blog Posts About Strength
Booklet – Experiencing Intimacy With God, RBC Publications
Website Page – Spiritual Exercises for a Healthier Life
Jan
15
2010
Applications for smart phones are all the rage. It’s amazing the number of new applications that continue to be created for phones like the iPhone. According to a recent advertisement in the Wall Street Journal, there are ‘over 100,000 applications for just about anything.’
Smart Phone Applications
Over the Christmas holiday, both of my young adult sons visited me and I enjoyed getting up to speed on how they were using the various applications on their phones. I suggested to my older son that he search and see if a dictation application was available for his iPhone and sure enough he found Dragon Dictation which is made by the same company of the software I occasionally use to capture my thoughts and blog posts and articles such as I am doing now. He has since found the use of that application very practical and convenient.
The advertisement in the Wall Street Journal that I’ve seen on a few occasions reads — “New year. New resolutions. New apps.” As I thought about this advertisement I tried to think of a parallel comparison that I could make for a blog entry. What quickly came to my mind was the fact that God has given us a guidebook with literally hundreds of thousands of principles that he would want us to apply to our lives, in the form of “applications.” With that in mind I thought this might be a helpful reminder for you to consider what biblical ‘applications’ you might want to re-address during this new year.
Over the course of the last several months I have frequently referred to a poster presentation that I made last June at the annual meeting of the Society for Spirituality, Theology and Health at Duke University. For that presentation, I identified 41 Christian principles that I believe are health promoting. I thought it might be helpful to again refer to that document and encourage each of you to review those principles and see if you might identify some aspects of your faith that you might benefit from addressing in a more intentional way.
Biblical Principles
Just as the various applications on your mobile phone might assist you in aspects of your day-to-day life, many very important principles of the Christian faith have been provided us by God so that we might be able to live a full and rewarding life. Consider these few examples:
- Believe the Bible is truth.
- Receive God’s love.
- Believe in God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
- Believe the Holy Spirit lives in you and empowers you.
- Remain connected to Jesus.
- Spend time in God’s presence.
- Do not worry or be anxious.
- Forgive.
- Renew your mind with God’s truths.
- Humble yourself before God.
The listing above is just a partial list of many key principles that God has provided us in the Bible to direct us in how we’re to live our lives.
It’s a new year. I suspect many of you now are a little more serious and have a deeper resolve to live life in alignment with values they are very important to you. As many of you may have recently downloaded new applications for your mobile phones, I encourage you also to spend a little more time reading God’s guidebook for living, the Bible, so that your resolve to apply his many principles for living a more abundant life in 2010 might be strengthened.
Questions to Consider:
What faith-related principles do you resolve to continue to practice in your day-to-day living?
Are there any biblical principles that you’ve not attended to over the last few years that you want to incorporate into your life?
Related Scriptures:
Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. Psalm 139:23-24
Test me, O LORD, and try me, examine my heart and my mind. Psalm 26:2
Related Resources:
Article – His Instruction Manual: Our Guidebook for Living
Poster Presentation – The Spirituality – Health Connection: Why It Exists addressing 41 health-promoting principles of the Christian faith and 194 scripture references.
Dec
16
2009
When I work with a client I am coaching, I remind them that the most important aspect of fitness training is the frequency, or regularity, in which they engage in exercise. The same holds true for the spiritual exercise of Abiding in God’s Presence.
Principles of Exercise
A common acronym in the fitness training arena is FITT. This stands for frequency, intensity, time(or duration) and type. It’s important to address each of these four areas when one is putting together an exercise program. Over the long haul, I believe that the frequency in which an individual engages in exercise is the most important of these. And, when we look at the overall components of fitness, regularity is considered to be one of the key components. The research will show that it is very important to be consistent with exercise if a person desires to become more physically fit. When I work with a client, I try to help them get to the point where they are working out at least three or four days a week. Even if the person is not able to be this consistent, it will certainly pay dividends to be consistently exercising two to three days a week over the long haul.
Spiritual Exercises
Abiding in God’s Presence is one of 18 Spiritual Exercises I have identified that are practices of the Christian faith that may have some relevance to an person’s overall well-being and health. Reading the Bible, praying and meditating or are different ways that we can be in God’s presence and feel a connection to him. I recommend to my clients that they create time every day for these spiritual practices. As with being consistent and regular with physical activity, consistently spending time with God in a way that is meaningful will pay great dividends as it pertains to one’s faith journey.
The more consistently that you spend some time with God, the more opportunity you will have to hear his small voice and to understand his will for you. Making a practice of reading the Bible is another way that you can hear from God and understand his will for your life. In fact, I’d have to say that this is the number one way that God speaks to us — through his Word.
Questions to Reflect On:
Have you spent some quiet time with God today? How frequently are you spending time with God? How often do you read the Bible? Are you as consistent in spending time alone with God as you are in engaging in physical activity?
Resources on Spiritual Exercises:
Article – An Introduction to Spiritual Exercises
Article – Get FITT Spiritually and Physically
More blog posts on Spiritual Exercise
Change unhealthy behavior with Wellness Coaching
