Intentional Spiritual Growth: Partnering with God Daily

Devotional

Day 1: Intentional Spiritual Formation as a Daily Practice

In our spiritual journey, growth is not about exerting control but about presenting ourselves before God each day through intentional practices and relationships. Just as we plan other valued aspects of our lives, we must also plan our spiritual lives with purpose. This involves creating a "rule of life," a concept rooted in ancient Christian traditions, which serves as a framework for our spiritual growth. This rule is not about rigid rules but about setting a structure that supports our journey with God. It is about responding to God's invitations and making space for His transformation within us. [01:22]

"Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving." (Colossians 2:6-7, ESV)

Reflection: What is one intentional practice you can incorporate into your daily routine to set yourself before God today?

Day 2: Rule of Life as a Trellis for Growth

A rule of life acts like a trellis in a vineyard, providing the necessary structure and support for spiritual growth. It is a schedule and set of practices that align our lives with the goals of being with Jesus, becoming like Him, and doing as He did. This rule is not about maximizing our spiritual life but about creating space for God's work within us. It involves both disciplines of doing and not doing, which help us slow down and open ourselves to God's presence. In our fast-paced, digitally distracted world, these practices are crucial for cultivating the fruit of the Spirit and experiencing a joyful friendship with God. [04:45]

"Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me." (John 15:4, ESV)

Reflection: What specific practice can you implement today to create a supportive structure for your spiritual growth?

Day 3: Embracing Practices of Doing and Not Doing

In our fast-paced world, it is essential to embrace practices that slow us down and open us to God's presence. These practices help cultivate the fruit of the Spirit and foster a joyful friendship with God. It is not about squeezing the most out of our spiritual life but about responding to God's invitations and creating space for His transformation within us. By intentionally incorporating both disciplines of doing and not doing, we can experience a deeper connection with God and a more fruitful spiritual journey. [11:09]

"Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!" (Psalm 46:10, ESV)

Reflection: What is one activity you can pause today to create space for God's presence in your life?

Day 4: Aligning Our Rule of Life with Deepest Desires

We all have a rule of life, whether we realize it or not. The key is to ensure it aligns with our deepest desires and leads us toward love, peace, and relational depth. Jesus calls us to live intentionally, aiming our lives at being with Him and becoming like Him. This involves embracing practices that bring us joy and help us say yes to Jesus' invitations. It's about finding a balance between rhythm and spontaneity in our relationship with God, much like in any meaningful relationship. [07:22]

"Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart." (Psalm 37:4, ESV)

Reflection: How can you adjust your daily routine to better align with your deepest spiritual desires today?

Day 5: Starting Small and Letting Joy Lead

As we embark on this journey, we should start small, focusing on subtraction over addition, and let joy lead us. A rule of life should not be aspirational but an anchor that keeps us grounded in our spiritual journey. It is a relational theory of spiritual formation, creating space for God to work in us and through us. By beginning with small, joyful practices that help us say yes to Jesus' invitations, we can experience a more profound and fulfilling spiritual journey. [20:33]

"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand." (Philippians 4:4-5, ESV)

Reflection: What small, joyful practice can you incorporate into your day today to anchor your spiritual journey?

Sermon Summary

In our journey of spiritual formation, we are called to partner with God intentionally. This partnership is not about controlling our spiritual growth but about setting ourselves before God daily through practices, relationships, and a heart of surrender. We must plan our spiritual lives with intentionality, much like we plan other aspects of our lives that we value. This planning is not about rigid rules but about creating a "rule of life," a concept derived from ancient Christian traditions. A rule of life is akin to a trellis in a vineyard, providing structure and support for growth, allowing us to bear fruit in our spiritual journey.

A rule of life is a schedule and set of practices that align our lives with the goals of being with Jesus, becoming like Him, and doing as He did. It is not about squeezing the most out of our spiritual life but about responding to God's invitations and creating space for His transformation within us. This involves both disciplines of doing and not doing, which help us slow down and open ourselves to God's presence. In our fast-paced, digitally distracted world, these practices are crucial for cultivating the fruit of the Spirit and experiencing a joyful friendship with God.

We all have a rule of life, whether we realize it or not. The question is whether it aligns with our deepest desires and leads us toward love, peace, and relational depth. Jesus calls us to live intentionally, aiming our lives at being with Him and becoming like Him. This involves embracing practices that bring us joy and help us say yes to Jesus' invitations. It's about finding a balance between rhythm and spontaneity in our relationship with God, much like in any meaningful relationship.

As we embark on this journey, we should start small, focusing on subtraction over addition, and let joy lead us. A rule of life should not be aspirational but an anchor that keeps us grounded in our spiritual journey. It is a relational theory of spiritual formation, creating space for God to work in us and through us.

Key Takeaways

1. paced world, practices that slow us down and open us to God's presence are crucial. These practices help cultivate the fruit of the Spirit and foster a joyful friendship with God. [11:09]
4. Aligning Our Rule of Life with Deepest Desires: We all have a rule of life, whether we realize it or not. The key is to ensure it aligns with our deepest desires and leads us toward love, peace, and relational depth.

5. Starting Small and Letting Joy Lead: Begin with small, joyful practices that help us say yes to Jesus' invitations. A rule of life should be an anchor, not aspirational, keeping us grounded in our spiritual journey.

** [11:09]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:22] - Intentionality in Spiritual Formation
[00:41] - The Importance of a Plan
[01:09] - Surrender and Transformation
[01:54] - Planning with Intention
[02:28] - Understanding Rule of Life
[03:15] - The Trellis Analogy
[04:03] - Abiding in the Vine
[04:45] - Goals of a Disciple
[05:20] - Participation with God
[06:08] - Embracing God's Invitations
[07:09] - Evaluating Your Rule of Life
[08:21] - Jesus Wants All of Us
[09:24] - Practices of Doing and Not Doing
[11:09] - Slowing Down for Spiritual Growth
[12:00] - Cultivating a Fruitful Life

Sermon Clips

Nurturing a growing spirituality with depth will require a conscious intentional plan for our spiritual lives. And I think that language is really important. It's a plan for our spiritual lives. He's not saying we plan our spiritual lives because we don't. We're not in control of our spiritual formation. [00:00:48]

A rule of life is not a list of rules. I mean, you may have some dos and don'ts in your rule. That's not what it is. The Original Latin word was this word regula where we get words like regular, regulation. It's also where we get words like rule or ruler because it literally means a straight piece of wood. [00:02:48]

A rule of life is a schedule and a set of practices and relational rhythms that organize our life around the three goals of a disciple: be with Jesus, become like him, do as he did, and in doing so enable us to live in alignment and congruence with the deepest desires of our heart. [00:04:40]

We all have a rule of life, even if that language is 3 minutes old in your mental Rolodex. You already have a rule, meaning you already have some kind of a schedule instead of practices and relational rhythms that you live by. The question is not do you have a rule of life, it's do you know what it is? [00:06:35]

Practices and disciplines that slow us down, they get us back in our bodies and create time and space for us to open to God so that God can begin to develop the fruit of the spirit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness through a joyful just sense of Friendship with God and just a sense of his presence and his peace. [00:11:05]

A good rule will almost always make you do less, not do more. So it's for most modern people, right? It's not actually, oh, this sounds like a lot of work. This sounds like I probably need to declutter my life to make room for God's transformation in me. [00:12:28]

Start very small, tiny habits, micro habits. Embrace spiritual poverty and humility and just start really, really small to begin to both take out and add in practices that augment the trajectory of your life. Focus on subtraction over addition, so take out of your life more than you put in. [00:20:49]

Really in the beginning, key in on practices that are deeply joyful for you. Like it's joy that leads the human heart. There is our mutual friend AJ Cheryl who an Anglican vicer writes about Upstream disciplines and downstream disciplines. And I love that kind of and what he means by Downstream disciplines are the practices or spiritual disciplines that are just are easy. [00:21:28]

A rule of life should not be aspirational. This is not a workout program that's going to get you to your goals in three months or this is not that kind of thing. I'm really helped by the image of an anchor where a ship drops anchor to stay in a certain place. [00:24:37]

Every relationship of substance is built on Rhythm and spontaneity. Yes, you know, marriage, friendship, everything. Your best friend from college that you stay in touch with, you have some rhythm of like, oh yeah, we chat on the phone every other Friday and then you have spontaneity and every year we visit a new city together. [00:25:45]

If you rely only on spontaneity to know and grow in relationship with God, the relationship will have a low ceiling on it. And if you rely only on Rhythm, the relationship will have a low ceiling on it. But spontaneity often comes from those who prioritize Rhythm. [00:26:57]

A key practice in my wife and I's relationship is a weekly date night. It's not a legalistic rule. I don't think I'm a bad husband or she's a bad wife if I'm out of town or we're too busy or we're exhausted some week and we miss it or we don't have money in the budget that month to go whatever. [00:27:05]

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