Spiritual Exercises For Development

A large number of Christians live their entire lives and grow hardly any. They want to, but they either made an effort and gave up, or they were never shown that change was an important part of the Christians life. How have you heard somebody say, “I just struggle to stop…” These people are losing out on the full life that Christ produces.

So just how do we grow as Christians? Spiritual Disciplines.

Paul tellsTimothy to control him self for the purpose of godliness. If was effective for Timothy in the first century do you not assume it is beneficial for all of us?

One of the issues we have done as the church is place a lot of work into producing converts that we have devalued building disciples. Please don’tget me wrong me. I’m not saying that we should never work to bring in people to Christ. What I am expressing is once somone has made the decision to follow Christ, we should help themlearn to be a disciple of Christ likewise, and the spiritual disciplines are a great way to do that.

Another thing we do is, make spiritual disciplines some thing they aren’t. We emphasize prayer and bible study, however not fasting, service, or other diciplines. I have even had individuals convey to me that Jesus certainly never said anything about fasting or he did not practice solitude. A short reading through of the gospels will confirm that Jesus discussed fasting and exemplified solitude and service to many people.

We grow thru the use of the spiritual disciplines because they help us to place ourselves infront of God. Romans 12 says to show your body just like a living sacrifice and that is what discipline is about. When we eventually break free from ourselves and just turn our lives thoroughly over to God we will quickly realize the Holy Spirit starting to function inside us and change us into the persons God created us to be. The bible says over and over that God will provide us with what we all want if we have proper motives, and are actually searching for God’s will. I totally believe that his will is for you to realize him more and much better.

Do not presume this is a magic pill. You have devoted all your time up to this moment not giving yourself to him. Christ knows your heart and is aware of your purposes. The book of James say if you need wisdom then ask for it, and that is what we need. Ask for wisdom to know what God, the father is calling you to do with spiritual disciplines. Pray and ask for ideas as you set out to decide exactly where you are going and what you are doing. Pray and ask Jesus to help you open up and let him really have control.

Why Do We Procrastinate?

When we procrastinate is is usually because of two contributing factors.  First we are afraid of failure and second we are afraid of success.

We are afraid of failure in that we don’t want to be perceived in a manner other than what we are presently in.  We don’t want to look like we don’t know what we are doing so we get close to the end of our task and just stop. Leaving it to someone else or never completing it at all.

Procrastination because of fear of success may sound absurd but it gives the same result, unfinished work.  Success is not something many people deal with well because they were not brought up to accept success, or they were taught to look at successful people as just lucky or dirty and do not want to be perceived poorly in their parents or families eyes.

So how do we stop procrastinating over these two issues?

• See yourself for who you really are.  You can not be what your parents were and you can not be what everyone expects you to be.  Take the time to evaluate yourself.  What do you believe about success or failure and how is that holding you back?
• Find someone to keep you accountable.  Christian Life Coaching can offer you a world of opportunities to see who you are in Christ.  a coach can keep you accountable but also help you find the answers in Christ
• Decide what you really need to be doing.  I have worked with many people who were running from a life they knew they were supposed to be living.  Many people start out in a job when they are in their early twenties.  They have followed the path parents or teachers wanted them to and not what Christ called them to. It’s okay to change your career at any age.

What do you need to do to stop procrastinating?

Steve Crenshaw blogs at about Christian Discipleship at Pinnacle Balance