Monthly Archives: September 2018

It is said that when Saint Augustine died, he had nothing but his writings and few clothes. Everything he had belonged to the monastery. To practice simplicity does not require a vow of poverty, but it does suggest moving away from a lifestyle that is focused on possessions into a lifestyle of less. Doing more with less means having fewer things around us to care for so that more of our attention may be toward God and people. If I didn’t have to mow the lawn, that’s forty minutes I could give to something else. But we must be careful about extremes. Because it is during that very forty minutes that I can often be in solitude and silence with God as I follow my noisy mower, oblivious to everything, except the row of grass that I am cutting. It’s about attitude, and asking: Can I do without this thing?”

            The Bible is filled with singing! To sing the praises of God is what many of the Psalms are all about. Singing as a form of worship (all of these disciplines should be seen as worship) whether alone in your prayer closet or among your fellow disciples is a key discipline. On key, off key, whatever kind of joyful noise you can make, worship the Lord in singing! And don’t think singing is just praise, we can lament in song as well as we can praise, but in either case, rejoice always!

To be silent in today’s world may be the hardest, yet most rewarding of the disciplines. This simply means not talking. When tempted to talk, one should pray. Like many such disciplines, to begin with a shorter period of time and then increase the amount of time is wise. In silence, one seeks to hear rather than to speak. This is not the same as an attempt to empty one’s self, for any emptying of our heart and mind needs to be intentionally filled by God with His Scriptures. So silence may well be tied to one of the  prayer disciplines. But, quietness so you can hear is the key. Therefore, having your Bible open and ready is wise.

If we run a search for the word ‘serve’ in the New Testament, it would take us quite a while to read all that is said about it. (Reading and studying the uses of the word ‘serve’ in the Gospels may be a helpful thing to do as a Bible Study discipline.) Serving is a key to living the life of following Jesus. To serve well, it would be helpful to identify the gifts and talents that God has given us. However, it’s important to be careful to understand that joyful serving  comes from loving and therefore serving God. Serving for its own sake, or if motivated by guilt, may lead into a works mentality. As an aspect of the fruit of abiding in Jesus, serving can bring us closer to God as we recognize it is Him working through us for His kingdom.

This is an easier discipline. Choose five or six Scripture texts that you would like to regularly pray. Copy and paste these verses in your electronic calendar as reminders every hour or so through the day. On your devices that are tied to your electronic calendar, as they pop up on your screen, take that moment, stop for that moment and intentionally talk to your heavenly Father using that Bible text. There is a list you might find helpful in the chapter on “Praying Scripture.”