You know, we often limit our spiritual growth to two disciplines: prayer and Bible reading. Please do not get me wrong. These are foundational and essential disciplines in the Christian life. However, there are many disciplines in the Christian life we tend to overlook. In 1 Timothy 4, we are told to "train yourself for godliness." If I may be honest, practicing spiritual disciplines (even the two most commonly recognized) are not being practiced in the church today. If you are like me, there were times in my life where I would feel stuck. I would try to read my Bible and pray. I would be really determined and go consistently for a good week...but then nothing. I tried really hard out of my own power to "do" what I thought I "should" do. What I mean is...my whole view of why I was "doing" (or atleast trying to do) was wrong from the start. I saw spiritual disciplines as a duty and not as a means of knowing God more and growing in my faith. It must start with a desire to know God. In John 17, near the end of his life in His prayer to God the Father, Jesus prays, "And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." I had this really good friend growing up. We were best friends since we were really young. I knew him like the back of my hand. I could tell you his strengths, weaknesses, thoughts, and emotions. How did I get to know him so well? I spent time with him, talked with him, laughed with him, and did everything and went everywhere with him. A few weeks ago, I saw this friend after not seeing him in a few years. Guess what? I didn't know him as well as I use to. In fact, it was the first time I realized how important it is to stay in touch and to talk to my friend. On an even greater level (in fact, the greatest) we are to know God through spending time with Him, obeying Him, talking with Him, and listening to Him. This blog will be broken up into a series of two spiritual disciplines at a time. So here are some spiritual disciplines to practice in your Christian life**

Scripture Reading- There is no better way to know God than to know His word. Jesus said in response to the Devil's temptation, "Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4). As essential food is for our physical bodies, so is the Word of God nourishment to our spiritual health and well-being. Through God's word he communicates to us two things. First, he communicates to us Himself and His cosmic redemption plan to redeem sinners to Himself. Second, he reveals to us in 2 Peter 1:3-4 that "His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire." We are told how to live as Christians in a fallen world.

Scripture Memorization/Meditation- We often, or atleast I do, tend to pick up our Bibles, read a passage, lay our Bible down, and forget everything we have just read. Faith (my wife) and I were talking not too long ago about our different reading abilities. I am able to read a book fairly fast and retain what I have read. Faith, on the other hand, reads at a slow pace and has a harder time retaining the information. However, although I attain the information at a faster pace, Faith will see things in the text (whether a book or Scripture) that I completely miss. Why? As she reads at a slower pace she finds herself often meditating on a single part of a sentence or verse. It is easy for her to remember some of the smaller details of a book as it is for me to remember the overarching themes throughout the book. For me it takes a different discipline to do what Faith is gifted at: memorization. This is the dreaded discipline by many Christians. The single greatest excuse for avoiding this discipline is, "I just don't have a good memory." I guarantee you remember your birthday. Hopefully you remember your anniversary (or you may be in trouble). If I were to ask you how many Bible verses you knew, how many could you tell me? The discipline of Scripture memory is vital. David, in the Psalms, said, "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you" (Psalm 119:11). In Joshua 1:18, it says, "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success." How do we prosper in the Christian life? We often think it takes first doing God's command. In Joshua we are told it takes first knowing God's word and meditating on it. How often do you think of the things of God? Charles Spurgeon once said, "No subject of contemplation will tend more to humble the mind, than thoughts of God..."

Tips for practicing these disciplines:
1. For Scripture Reading....

• Set aside time to do this. I would suggest the mornings (unless you are not a morning person). I suggest this because the Scripture will be fresh on your mind and you will find yourself remembering it throughout the day. This may take sitting down and making a schedule of your day.
• Have a plan. Do not just wing it. TRUST ME! Try to pick out a book of the Bible and read it all the way through. You can also find Bible reading plans everywhere (free online).
  
• Do not try to read whole chunks of Scripture at a time, but rather start slow if you are just starting out in your Bible reading. This will also help for your Scripture memorization.
• Make sure you study what you read. Some Bible verses can be hard to understand. Find a good Bible study tool, whether on the internet or a good commentary to go along with your Scripture reading.
  
• Make a commitment. Have someone hold you accountable (as with all of the disciplines). 

2. For Scripture Memorization...

• Write the verses on note cards. This is something very helpful because you can keep it in your purse or in your pocket and pull it out throughout the day.
• Pick a standard version of the Bible and stick with it. Along with this tip, make sure you memorize it WORD for WORD. Do not try to make your own version because you may fall away from what the author was intending to communication.
• Pray through Scripture. We will discuss this in detail in the "Prayer" section of this series. Praying through Scripture (making Bible verses your prayer) will help you to memorize those Bible verses.
  
• Again, make a commitment and have someone hold you accountable.

3. For Scripture Meditation...

1. Memorize Scripture or spend time reading the Bible.
   
2. Select a verse, phrase, or word to meditate on. You may want to just meditate on the phrase, "Love of Christ."
   
3. Ask questions. What does this verse mean? What does it tell me about God/Jesus? What does this verse/phrase/word mean in its context (the verses surrounding it)? What does this verse teach me about...me? How can I obey this verse?
4. TAKE YOUR TIME! Do not rush meditating on Scripture.

I promise you these disciplines will be a blessing in your life. I look forward to discussing more in the future.

Disciplines to Come!
Prayer
Worship
Evangelism
Serving
Stewardship
Fasting
Silence and Solitude
Journaling


**Outline adapted from Donald S. Whitney's Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life

Augustine of Hippo was one of the greatest theologians and early Church Fathers. The best way to look into the life of this titan is to read his book Confessions (a book I recommend to all Christians). He was raised by a devout Catholic mother and an atheistic father. He was brilliant even at a young age. At the age of 15, he had serious doubts about the existence of God (primarily struggled with the question, "How can God exist when there is so much evil in the world?"). He joined the group of Manichaeism. This is what he had to say about Manichaeism:

I still thought that it is not we who sin but some other nature that sins within us. It flattered my pride to think that I incurred no guilt and, when I did wrong, not to confess it... I preferred to excuse myself and blame this unknown thing which was in me but was not part of me. The truth, of course, was that it was all my own self, and my own impiety had divided me against myself. My sin was all the more incurable because I did not think myself a sinner.