Tag Archives: spiritual discipline

November 11, 2025 · 5:55 AM

Armor Up

As a person who is on social media, I’ve noticed there’s less and less originality. People copy what others are doing and follow trends. In 2020 Nathan Apocodaca went viral for drinking cranberry juice while skating down the road. Thousand of people tried to recreate his video doing the same thing with the same music. It’s clear the world rewards imitation. Trends tell us what to wear, what to do and where to go. As people follow along, they’re slowly being lulled into culture and away from the discipline of critical thinking. The more we get pulled in, the less we also spend time in prayer, the Bible and spending time with God. We consume a diet of what’s popular rather than truth that creates a slow fade away from following God’s Kingdom principles.

Daniel experienced this in the Bible. He was taken from his own land and culture into Babylon, a city built on pride, indulgence and idolatry. The goal wasn’t just to relocate the Israelites, it was to indoctrinate them into a new culture away from God. Daniel was given a new name, a new diet, a new education and a new language. However Daniel pushed back on the culture change. He resisted with clarity, courage and conviction. Verse 8 says, “But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile (taint, dishonor) himself” (AMP). He didn’t go along with culture and increased his time of prayer to help him combat the temptation to be pulled into a culture that was trying to redefine him and his people.

1 Thessalonians 5:8 says, “But since we belong to the day, we must stay alert and clearheaded by placing the breastplate of faith and love over our hearts, and a helmet of the hope of salvation over our thoughts” (TPT). Paul was writing to an audience that was also in a culture that was trying to redefine their beliefs and thinking. The way we combat it is to armor up. We must protect our heart and our mind in today’s culture. Jesus taught us where our treasure is (what we value), is where our heart is. Combine that with the fact that our thoughts control our actions, we must be vigilant and make up our minds the way Daniel did to not redefine our beliefs in a culture that is trying to pull us away from God. You can start right now by asking God to cover your heart and mind with the breastplate of righteousness and the helmet of salvation.

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December 11, 2024 · 5:38 AM

Quieting The Noise

There was a time in my life when every time I got in the car, I would call someone. As soon as I got home, I would turn on the TV. I wouldn’t necessarily watch it most of the time though. Then one day my wife asked me why I did that every time. I didn’t have an answer for her, but it got me to thinking about it. I was addicted to living my life with background noise. I didn’t want to be alone with my thoughts. I then decided to make a conscious choice not to call someone every time I turned on the car. I even started turning off the radio so I could ride in silence. What I discovered was the noise wasn’t just keeping me from being alone with my thoughts, it was also blocking me from hearing the voice of God.

As you read through the Gospels, you’ll find that Jesus was surrounded by noise. The disciples always had questions about what He taught. People would follow Him everywhere wanting to hear His message or needing His healing touch. Luke 5:16 mentions that Jesus would often go away from everything into the lonely places. In Mark 6:31, Jesus invited the disciples to go with Him into a quiet place. Jesus even practiced solitude as shown in Mark 1:35. Why did He make quieting the noise a discipline? He knew He needed to hear His Father’s voice and to we needed a model to show us how to be alone, to be quiet and to be stop and wait on God.

Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world” (NLT). When is the last time you quieted the noise around you, found solitude and got still? Our breakthrough is often found in those moments. It’s why Jesus told us to go into our prayer closet. Our lives are filled with noise, and that noise is available everywhere we go. I believe God is asking us to find a lonely place, to seek solitude and to be still so we can hear His voice and honor Him. Take time today to think about where your noise is coming from. What do you need to do to quiet it? Where do you need to go to be still? God is waiting for you if only you would be intentional about quieting the noise.

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September 26, 2024 · 5:30 AM

Honoring God’s Presence

I take a spiritual growth assessment a couple of times a year to get a snapshot of where I am. It helps me to visualize the different aspects of my disciplines, see where I’m gaining ground and where I’m losing ground. I’ve noticed when certain disciplines, like listening in my prayer time, are low, there are fewer experiences with God. There’s a direct correlation between my listening to His voice and experiencing His power and presence in my life. If I want more of it, I have to make time to listen instead of just talking through that time to Him about my needs. Listening is a great way to honor God’s presence.

In 1 Samuel 3, Eli was the High Priest of Israel. He was their spiritual leader, but the first verse says, “Now in those days messages from the Lord were very rare, and visions were quite uncommon” (NLT). The reason why the messages and visions were rare is because Eli had quit honoring God’s presence. He no longer slept in the tabernacle tending to the candlestick, he allowed his sons to steal God’s offerings and turned a blind eye to their promiscuity. God had enough of it and spoke to Samuel a prophetic message of how He was going to remove Eli and his sons from their positions.

In Matthew 13:57-58 it says, “Then Jesus told them, ‘A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his own family.’ And so he did only a few miracles there because of their unbelief.” Our belief and honor have a lot to do with how much we experience the power of God in our life. If it’s been a while since you’ve heard God’s voice or experienced Him in a real way, take a close examination of your life. Are you honoring Him in all aspects of your life? Have you been relaxed on your spiritual disciplines? When we honor God, He shows up in our life in real ways.

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

Throwback Thursday is a feature I’m using to help build some margin into my schedule to pursue other ventures. Each Thursday I’ll be bringing you a previously written devotional that still speaks encouragement to us from God’s Word.

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September 11, 2024 · 5:58 AM

Return To The Basics

I met with a person who was going through one life changing event after another and they were beginning to overlap. As they talked I began to express empathy for their struggles knowing full well the thoughts and feelings they were going through. After sharing everything, they looked me straight in the eye and asked, “What are some practical things I need to be doing to climb out of this hole.” My mind immediately remembered a quote from Zig Ziglar that says, “If you take care of the little things, the big things will take care of themselves.” I asked about their spiritual disciplines and encouraged them to get their spiritual house in order first. A week after committing to be consistent with their spiritual disciplines, they called and began to share some of the changes they had seen and some blessings they had received. Returning to the basics created changes in their life and gave God margin to move in their life.

In the book of Ruth, Naomi and her family went through one life altering event after another. Famine chased them from their home and into a foreign land. Her husband died and then so did both of her sons. She knew she needed to get back to where God’s blessing was so she asked her daughters in law to stay. One, Ruth, decided to go with her. The people were excited to see her, but she asked them to call her “Bitter” because of how my life has been going. However, once she got back, it was harvest time and God began to care for them and even open doors for a lifetime of blessings. Ruth found her way into the field of Boaz who would later redeem her, marry her and give Naomi a grandchild. God’s blessings returned once she returned.

In Revelation 2, Jesus is addressing the Church at Ephesus. He recognized that they were going through a hard time. Then in verse 4-5 He said, “But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first” (ESV). Jesus was calling them back to their first love and to do the basic disciplines they did at first. We can all get busy and distracted doing things for Jesus. We can also let life throw us out of our rhythm of serving Him because we’re just trying to keep our head above water, yet He calls us to return to spiritual disciplines. I’ve found that I’ve had to move things in my schedule, break away from certain relationships and create margin in my schedule in order to return to the basics. Once I did, I opened the door to God’s blessings and my love for Him was renewed. What are the basics He’s calling you to return to?

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January 4, 2024 · 5:30 AM

Daily Disciplines

I’ve watched the movie “Greater” a couple of times. It’s the faith based story of Brandon Burlsworth who is considered the greatest walk-on in college football history. He had everything working against him, but he persisted. One coach told him since he didn’t have talent, he was going to have to work harder than anyone else. He was first to show up and last to leave. At one point, he got a new coach and the coach found him practicing his footwork when the practice field was closed. The coach asked him if his previous coaches let him do that. Brandon replied that they never knew he did it. The coach said, “Well, they say character is what you do when no one’s looking.” Brandon quickly replied, “Someone’s always looking.”

In Paul’s second letter to the Corinthian church, he was reminding them that they were going to go through hard times. In chapter 6, let them know that how they respond matters. Verse 4 says, “Our work as God’s servants gets validated—or not—in the details. People are watching us as we stay at our post, alertly, unswervingly… in hard times, tough times, bad times” (MSG). That phrase, “gets validated – or not – in the details” jumped off the page at me. In hard times, it’s more important than ever to focus on the details of our spiritual growth. We must continue to read and study God’s Word, spend time in prayer and fasting, share our faith and put into practice what we know. It’s those daily disciplines that help us to stay our post when times get tough.

Brandon Burlsworth was only able to achieve what he did because he continued with his daily disciplines no matter what. It’s easy to make excuses right now and to slack off on our relationship with Christ, but now is the time we need to go deeper in that relationship. People are watching how you and I respond to difficult times. Are we rising to the challenge or are we succumbing? We must stay at our post, stronger than ever, giving people hope and pointing them to the One who gives peace in troubled times. Our work – our faith – gets validated in the daily details and is exposed under pressure. I believe God is calling us into a deeper relationship with Him than ever before. The way to that relationship and spiritual maturity is in the details of your daily spiritual disciplines.

Photo by Sixteen Miles Out on Unsplash

Throwback Thursday is a feature I’m using to help build some margin into my schedule to pursue other ventures. Each Thursday I’ll be bringing you a previously written devotional that still speaks encouragement to us from God’s Word.

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October 26, 2022 · 6:04 AM

A Disciplined Life

Around the turn of the millennium, most Americans were following a sport we knew very little about or even cared about until that time. Lance Armstrong was dominating the Tour de France like no one else. All of a sudden people were wearing yellow “Live Strong” bracelets and watching cycling. His story was compelling since he had overcome cancer and found a way to dominate a sport we cared nothing about. People accused him of cheating, but that’s what losers do…we thought. When it came out he was, it was hard to take. We’re familiar with how strict athletes are with their diet, their exercise and discipline. We chalked his success up to that instead of him doing the unthinkable.

The Bible tells the stories of everyday people, their choices and the results. Samson was a man who had taken a Nazarite vow from birth. It was a very disciplined life. He couldn’t cut his hair, drink wine or be near a dead body. It was a life of abstinence from indulgence in order to honor God. Samson followed the vow, but found ways to indulge himself in other areas that cost him his life and reputation. However, he wasn’t the only one to be a Nazarite. Samuel was given the same vow as a kid. The difference was that he honored the commitment in all areas of his life. God honored him and the people respected him. His commitment to his vow resulted in a life that was distinguished. He had seen from his predecessor Eli what happens when people indulge in their fleshly desires over their commitment to God.

1 Corinthians 9:25 says, “A true athlete will be disciplined in every respect, practicing constant self-control in order to win a laurel wreath that quickly withers. But we run our race to win a victor’s crown that will last forever” (TPT). Paul compares us to an athlete here who is disciplined in all areas of their life. We all have the choice to honor God in all aspects of our lives or to honor Him in some areas and to indulge in others. It’s human nature to follow in the steps of Lance Armstrong and Samson. They’re examples of what happens when we give into our flesh. Samuel is an example of someone who is Spirit led. That’s the life we’ve been called to and the one we committed to when we accepted Christ. It’s not about being perfect or even trying to use our behavior to honor God. It’s understanding we’re called to a life of discipline with our eyes on eternity. We shouldn’t be trying to see what we can get away with and still get to Heaven. Instead, we should seek God and try to honor Him in all areas of our life.

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March 22, 2022 · 5:34 AM

Making Better Choices

If I needed to lose weight, without buying what you’re selling, what two things would I need to do? In almost every instance, you would tell me to eat right and to exercise. If I would do that, I would lose weight, but the benefits don’t stop there. Doing those two things would change so much more. I would begin to have more energy, feel better, have lower blood sugar, lower cholesterol and so many more things. By doing two simple things, I can affect many areas of my life. The problem is that there are so many options out there that I and so many others choose daily not to do those two things. Then we wonder why we have all these other problems.

In our spiritual life, we have the same choices that we have to make daily. Many of us struggle with poor discipline that results in the inability to hear God’s voice, no resistance to temptation, low faith, poor prayer life and many other things. We wonder why some people make living the Christian life look easy while we struggle. A lot of it boils down to choices we make daily where we choose other things over the spiritual disciplines God has called us to. The New Testament has many of these disciplines that we must follow. Dif you try to employ all of them at once, you can easily get overwhelmed. So start with a couple and add more as you grow.

Three disciplines that you can choose daily are found in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. It says, “Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus” (NLT). Choose joy every day. It’s not based on your circumstances. It is rooted in trusting God, and it’s the source of your strength. Being in a continual mindset of prayer will keep you connected to God throughout your day. It will increase your faith and increase your ability to hear His voice. Being thankful in all circumstances will create an attitude of gratitude. It will help you to see God’s hand in whatever you go through, helping you to trust that all things work together for good for those who love the Lord. Doing these three things daily will have a major impact on your life, your attitude and your relationship with God. Start choosing to do them today.

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January 6, 2022 · 5:30 AM

The Discipline Of Fasting

Earlier this year I went to visit a doctor. One of his first questions was, “How often do you fast?” I gave him a puzzled look since that is a church question and not a doctor one. He said, “I fast once a week and the health benefits are amazing.” While you do gain health benefits from fasting, I believe the spiritual benefits far outweigh the physical ones. Fasting is a spiritual discipline that seems to have been lost in today’s modern church. We’ve relegated it to a once a year thing instead of a regular discipline, and we’re missing the power that comes with it. God instituted it in the Old Testament, but Jesus validated it for New Testament Times as well.

In Daniel 6, there is a story that most of us are familiar with. Daniel was a person who practiced spiritual disciplines. I believe he was promoted because of them, but there were those who didn’t like his being promoted and they wanted to take him down. They convinced the king to put anyone who prayed to any being other than the king into a den of lions. When Daniel found out about it, he didn’t stop practicing his spiritual disciplines. The men told the king and he had no choice but to throw Daniel in the den. The king liked Daniel, but he had broken his new law. Daniel 6:17-18 says, “A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den. The king sealed the stone with his own royal seal and the seals of his nobles, so that no one could rescue Daniel. Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night fasting. He refused his usual entertainment and couldn’t sleep at all that night” (NLT). As you know, God honored Daniel’s prayers and the king’s fasting.

When prayer isn’t getting you the answers you need, it’s time to fast. If you’re medically unable to fast, ask a friend to fast for you. God shut the mouths of lions because of fasting in this book. In the New Testament, spiritual battles were won and people were healed because of it. I often recommend a three day, water only fast to people. It’s difficult and challenging, but very effective. Fasting isn’t supposed to be easy. We constantly give in to our body’s cravings and fasting helps you to learn to deny those physical cravings. It also helps when it comes to denying your fleshly ones too. If it’s been a while since you’ve fasted and you need an answer from God, begin the spiritual discipline of regular fasting and watch God Move in your life.

Photo by Ingo Stiller on Unsplash

Throwback Thursday is a feature I’m using to help build some margin into my schedule to pursue other ventures. Each Thursday I’ll be bringing you a previously written devotional that still speaks encouragement to us from God’s Word.

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October 18, 2021 · 5:44 AM

Honoring God’s Presence

I take a spiritual growth assessment a couple of times a year to get a snapshot of where I am. It helps me to visualize the different aspects of my disciplines, see where I’m gaining ground and where I’m losing ground. I’ve noticed when certain disciplines, like listening in my prayer time, are low, there are fewer experiences with God. There’s a direct correlation between my listening to His voice and experiencing His power and presence in my life. If I want more of it, I have to make time to listen instead of just talking through that time to Him about my needs. Listening is a great way to honor God’s presence.

In 1 Samuel 3, Eli was the High Priest of Israel. He was their spiritual leader, but the first verse says, “Now in those days messages from the Lord were very rare, and visions were quite uncommon” (NLT). The reason why the messages and visions were rare is because Eli had quit honoring God’s presence. He no longer slept in the tabernacle tending to the candlestick, he allowed his sons to steal God’s offerings and turned a blind eye to their promiscuity. God had enough of it and spoke to Samuel a prophetic message of how He was going to remove Eli and his sons from their positions.

In Matthew 13:57-58 it says, “Then Jesus told them, ‘A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his own family.’ And so he did only a few miracles there because of their unbelief.” Our belief and honor have a lot to do with how much we experience the power of God in our life. If it’s been a while since you’ve heard God’s voice or experienced Him in a real way, take a close examination of your life. Are you honoring Him in all aspects of your life? Have you been relaxed on your spiritual disciplines? When we honor God, He shows up in our life in real ways.

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

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December 21, 2020 · 5:53 AM

Growing In Grace

If you ever see my son, most of the time it feels like he’s wearing high water pants. No matter what we do, we just can’t seem to keep pants that fit him. He’s constantly growing and there’s nothing we can do to stop it. We always joke with him about it asking him if he can stop it or grow younger instead. Even as a child he knows that you can’t stop growth and that it happens naturally. It’s the same thing in the animal kingdom, with plants and most living things. They naturally grow and there’s nothing you can do to stop it. God designed physical growth to be natural, but he made other types of growth to require effort in order to create it. If you want to grow your knowledge, you need to apply effort in education. If you want to grow your muscles, you need to apply effort in working out. There are many things like this in life including your spiritual growth.

One of the main concerns of the writers of the New Testament was our spiritual growth. It’s not the type of growth that occurs naturally like physical growth. It’s like the others where it requires effort and discipline on our part. They wanted us to know that there’s more to Christianity than just accepting Jesus as our savior. That’s the beginning of a lifetime of growth. Sadly, for many Christians, the stop there or just past that point in their growth. They fail to adopt spiritual disciplines that will help them grow closer to Christ and to become more like Him in their life. The writer of Hebrews, Peter and Paul all addressed Christians to encourage them to move from milk to meat and to go from infants to mature believers (Hebrews 5:12-14, 1 Peter 2:2, 1 Corinthians 3:1-3).

Peter addresses is again in 2 Peter 3:18. He wrote, “But continue to grow and increase in God’s grace and intimacy with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ” (TPT). Growing into mature believers is our goal, but it requires that we do more than go to church once a week. It requires reading the Bible, doing Bible studies, spending time in prayer, reflecting on Scripture, sharing our faith and applying what we’ve learned. If we do these things, we will grow in God’s grace and in our intimacy with Him. The point of sending His Son to save us was the restore the relationship between us. Growth in relationships don’t occur naturally. It requires that we spend time getting to know the other person. The more our relationship grows with someone, the more we adopt parts of their personality into our life. The same is true when we grow our relationship with God. We become more like Him and that’s His desire for each of us.

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