Spiritual Disciplines Archives - Page 6 of 6 - Sharla Fritz
July 28, 2015

A Quick Guide to Scripture Meditation

 

scriptureMeditationGuideSit still. Breathe in. Breathe out. Focus.

Sounds impossible right?

Meditation can seem difficult and impractical–even intolerable.

Meditation can appear nebulous and mysterious–even an invitation to trouble.

In fact, some types of meditation are dangerous. Eastern meditation emphasizes the emptying of the mind. Jesus warned against this in Luke 11:24-26 where He said an empty mind could be an invitation for evil to take up residence.

But Scripture meditation is different. Instead of emptying the mind, this type of meditation focuses on filling the mind with God’s Word. This type of meditation turns your heart to God’s infinite supply of grace and hope.

Still sitting still and simply thinking can seem difficult–even boring–especially to the person who craves action or thrives on crossing off items on her to-do list.

So here’s some advice for those of you who want to try Scripture meditation, but are a little fuzzy on the process.

1. Don’t expect perfection. You are human. We are living in a world with an average of eight seconds. Your mind will wander. It’s OK. Simply bring your mind back to the Scripture your are meditating on. (Hint: You might want to keep a pad of paper nearby to plunk down distracting, but important things that come to mind.)

2. Know the world will conspire against you. Just as you sit down to concentrate on God’s Word, the neighbor will start up his lawnmower, your phone will announce a tempting text message, your body will ache in a spot that never hurt before. So begin with prayer. Ask God to help you focus. Listen to the Holy Spirit whispering to your heart. (Hint: Determine a time of day that is most likely to be free of interruptions.)

3. Choose a favorite Bible verse and meditate by emphasizing different words. Repeat the verse over and over–each time emphasizing a different word. How does stressing that word change the meaning? For instance, “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). Be still–be is a verb, an action word. Stillness doesn’t happen automatically. We must take action to make it happen. Be still–take that word literally and, for now, ignore the laundry in the hamper and the dishes in the sink. Don’t jump up to answer the phone. Be still. (Hint: Other verses to try: Philippians 4:6, Ephesians 3:20, Isaiah 40:31)

4. OR Choose a Gospel story and picture yourself in the story. What do you see? smell? hear? touch? taste? Turn your attention to Jesus. How does your heart respond as you meet Him in this story? (Hint: Some stories to try: Mark 2:1-12, Matthew 8:23-27, Luke 17:11-19.)

5. Remember meditation isn’t magical. Meditation is simply a fancy way of saying focused attention. There isn’t anything supernatural about it. (Hint: The miracle isn’t in your mind–it’s in the Word.)

6. But meditation can be transformative. Romans 12:2 tells us, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” As we let powerful God’s Word roll around in our hearts and minds it changes us. It makes us more Christ-like. It reminds us of God’s love. It fills our souls with peace. (Hint: Expect God to speak to you through His Word and change you from the inside out.)

Meditation? Sounds hard. Sounds mysterious.

But it is really just focusing on God’s Word and allowing the Holy Spirit to transform our hearts.

Next step: Choose a favorite Bible verse or story and meditate on it for 5 minutes. Journal about what you learned from that time.

Filed Under: Bible Study, Spiritual Disciplines Tagged With: ,
July 21, 2015

When Your Spiritual Growth Seems Stalled: Think About Going To The Spa Instead Of The Gym

blog-banner-email-footer

After church one Sunday, a member of our congregation jokingly announced that our services would be much shorter if he gave the sermon. He would edit the message down to a few key words:

“Listen up people—do good stuff.”

If he wasn’t joking, I think he may have missed the point. Yet, at the same time I think many of us view the Christian life as a life of doing. I know I did. Even though I received the gift of God’s grace, I still had the feeling that I had to do more in order to please God. To grow spiritually, I needed to put in the time. Ramp up the effot.

I think this was because I viewed Christian life as a gym. Subconsciously I felt a certain repetition of prayers or a prescribed number of memorized Bible verses would automatically make me a stronger Christian. After all, daily doing a few dozen reps of bicep curls inevitably results in stronger arms.

Find out why Christian spirituality is more like a spa than a gym.

But lately, I’ve been thinking that Christian spirituality isn’t actually like going to a gym. It’s much more like going to a spa. At the gym you work. You run. You lift weights. You sweat.

But at a spa everything is done for you. Experts rub the kinks out of your aching back. They soften your rough skin and make your calloused feet look pretty again. All you need to is show up. You don’t have to drag out your determination and willpower to perform your workout routine. Instead, you need to loosen your resistance and ambition for a time and simply receive.

Of course, Bible memorization and prayer and service are all good things—things God instructs us to do. But as I’ve gone a little further in the journey of faith I realize that it isn’t my effort that makes me a stronger Christian—because all of Christian life is a life of reception. No matter how many minutes I spend in prayer or how many chapters of the Bible I read, I cannot make myself more spiritual. It’s God’s Spirit who works out the kinks in my faith. He softens my heart and makes my spirit beautiful again. All I have to do is show up.

It’s the difference between pulling on my resolve to catch up in my read-through-the-Bible-in-a-year plan and sitting down with God’s Word, simply asking Him to give me what I need to make it through the day. It’s the difference between checking off “Daily Devotions” on my to-do list and actually connecting with the God of the universe.

Our Christian growth doesn’t depend on us, but we do need to show up. We need to carve out time in our busy, noisy lives to receive the comfort and love God is continually holding out to us. We need to excavate space in our crowded hearts to receive the grace we so desperately need.

Christian spirituality is a not a life of doing. It is a life a receiving. Receiving from the persistent, compassionate, and tender God who calls Himself my Father.

Next step: Write a prayer of thanksgiving to God that your spiritual growth does not depend on you. Ask Him to show you what you need to receive today.

Soul Spa Kit003

If you would like more ideas about connecting with God, check out my free Soul Spa Kit: 59 Ideas for Creating Your Own Spiritual Retreat. Simply fill out the form below to sign up for my e-newsletter and receive this free gift.


Filed Under: Spiritual Disciplines Tagged With: ,
June 16, 2015

Soul Spa

blog-banner-email-footer

Do you need a place to rest your heart?

We all live busy, stressful lives. Our souls feel like they are being pulled in a hundred different directions. We are desperately soul-tired, but not sure how to find the rest our spirits need.

When our muscles ache or our skin needs a moisturizing treatment, we know where to go. A spa can provide a relaxing massage or a soothing facial. But where do we go when the most important part of us needs care?

Believe me, I can relate. As a Bible study teacher, Christian speaker, author, blogger, church musician, and piano teacher I feel pulled apart every week. My spirit grows tired and worn. I know I need to take time to rest. I know my soul needs the care only the Savior can provide, yet I continue sprinting through my days, not paying any attention to my soul’s cry for help.

Finally, after years of ignoring my spirit’s need for rest and restoration, I decided to change. I began to learn how to bring my exhausted, fatigued, and shattered soul to the God who alone can restore it. I studied holy habits that Christians have used for centuries to draw close to the Savior. As I explored these practices, I found that they opened my heart to God’s working in my life. They gave Him the time and space for Him to restore my soul. All of these experiences led me to write Soul Spa–a book that is like a spa for the spirit.

I invite you to come to the Soul Spa where God is eager to meet you and care for your heart. Using spa analogies, this resource will guide you to engage in spiritual practices such as Scripture meditation, Sacred reading, discernment, fasting, and prayer. In the book you will learn how to develop your own personal plan for soul care.

Features of Soul Spa: 40 Days of Spiritual Renewal:

  • daily devotional readings
  • in-depth Bible study questions
  • exploration of Spiritual disciplines
  • reflection/discussion questions
  • perfect for personal or group study
  • memory verses
  • creative ways to spend time with God
  • instructions to form your personal soul care plan
  • fun spa activities to enhance the group experience.

Come to the Soul Spa where the Holy Spirit will nurture your soul with grace, mercy, and peace.

204196

  Check out my new at CPH or on Amazon!

Filed Under: Spiritual Disciplines Tagged With: ,
October 7, 2014

Entertaining Strangers

We may balk at entertaining, but Christ calls on us to practice hospitality.

When I was in high school, a Christian group called Joy, Inc. came to sing at our church. Our family agreed to house a couple of group members for the night. And in the morning we drove them back to the church so they could be on their way to the next concert.

One of the guys that stayed at our house added this cryptic message after his goodbye, “When you get home, read Hebrews 13:2.”

All the way home, I repeated–Hebrews 13:2, Hebrews 13:2, Hebrews 13:2–to myself so I wouldn’t forget it.

At home I raced to my nightstand and opened my Bible to Hebrews 13:2:

Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.

Ahh. Funny guy.

I may not find me entertaining strangers often, but hospitality is one of the ways we can show Christ’s love to others. But I have to admit I often get hospitality all wrong. I make it more about the table settings than the people. I pay more attention to the dinner rolls than to the guests.

Lately I’ve been studying the spiritual disciplines. Hospitality is listed as one of those spiritual disciplines. It seems odd to think of hospitality as a way to grow in faith.

But I think that hospitality can be a spiritual exercise if it stretches us to love others as Christ loved us. It helps us grow in faith if we step out of our comfort zone and invite people over even before the house is perfect (because if we wait until the house is spotless, hospitality may never happen). Hospitality helps us grow in service, humility, and putting other first. It helps us to receive God’s blessings as we share what we already have with others.

Romans 12:13 says:

Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

I’m encouraged by that verse. We are to practice hospitality. We won’t always get it perfect, but the more we practice it, the more we’ll improve. So I’m learning to make hospitality more about the people than the food, more about the love and laughter than a clean house.

Practice hospitality.

Next Step: Take a chance and practice hospitality. Don’t worry about place settings and fancy food. Make people feel valued and special.

Filed Under: Spiritual Disciplines Tagged With: ,
July 8, 2014

Why We Need to Make an Effort to Rest.

This week I’ve needed to make an effort to rest.

Somehow my husband came down with a summer cold and though I really tried to avoid getting it, I was unsuccessful. All week long I’ve been dragging around the house, sneezing and sniffling. My body has felt very tired. So I’ve gone to bed early. I’ve slept in a little longer in the morning. All to obtain rest.

An Oxymoron to Ponder

All this working to get rest got me thinking about a verse in Hebrews that has always seemed like an oxymoron to me:

Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience. Hebrews 4:11

Make every effort to enter rest? Work hard to rest? Strive to rest?

What does that mean?

A passage from Jane Rubiettas’ book, Resting Place, helped me understand it a little better.

“Our fear factor kicks in when we consider going without work, when we contemplate actually viewing God as our Shepherd, who longs to lead us beside waters of rest, who eagerly anticipates restoring our soul, who wants nothing more than to have us lie down in green pastures. Fear looms larger, more real on the horizon of our mind than faith and reduces us to primal survival instincts: I must take care of myself. I’m my own bottom line. God doesn’t love me. God won’t care for me,”

What she is saying is that the reason we continually need to make an effort to rest is that it goes against our natural tendencies to believe that God has our back. We think we have to keep working. Because salvation can’t possibly so easy. Because God won’t really provide everything I need.

The bottom line is–a lack of rest demonstrates a lack of trust in God.

Wow.

Make an Effort to Enter God’s Rest

This new insight makes me realize that the reason I continually need to make an effort to enter God’s rest is that I need to push back my natural tendency to think that if I did just a little more I’d be more successful. God wants us to enjoy our work, but He also wants us to rest in Him, in His provision, in His love.

Satan will always try to get us to doubt God’s love for me. He will whisper that I need to work a little harder to get God to like me more. My human nature will always believe that it all depends on me.

But God invites us to rest in His sufficiency. God promises to fulfill all my needs.

To rest in His love. He whispers His love in His Word

To rest in the fact that there is nothing I can do to make Him love me more than He already does. The Father demonstrated His love for me, by sending Jesus to take the punishment I deserved.

Next step: Today make an effort to rest. When you find yourself working harder, pushing faster in order to impress others or God, remember that God invites you to rest in His love.

Filed Under: Spiritual Disciplines Tagged With: , ,
June 24, 2014

Three Simple Things to Help You Find Joy in God’s Presence

The only reliable source of joy is in God’s presence. But how can we find that? A little experiment with three common objects helped me focus on God’s presence and find more joy.

Lighted candle. Silver cross. Smartphone.

What do these three items have in common?

At first glance in might not seem they have any connection.

But all three items proved very useful in my quest for my joy.

I have been concentrating on finding joy in God’s presence. Because really, the Lord is the only reliable source of joy. Sunny days make me happy, but this past week we’ve had rain almost every day. Friends bring a smile to my face, but sometimes they are busy–too busy to get together. I love chocolate, but not what it does to my hips.

However, whenever I turn my attention toward God, I discover joy.

So I set out how to do that more often. I asked myself: How could I remind myself to stop and turn my heart to Christ at different times during the day?

Here are three things that worked for me:

1. I lit a candle during my devotional time in the morning. Somehow this made Jesus feel more present as I read His Word to me that day. Christ, the Light of the world, filled the room, illuminated Scripture, and chased all the dark out my heart.

2. I took a small silver cross that usually sits on a bookcase in the family room and started placing it in odd places around the house. Because the cross had sat in that one place on the bookshelf so long, it had become almost invisible. Now when I saw it in the kitchen, near my computer, on my vanity tray it reminded me: Jesus is here. My Savior loves me. Christ makes this place sacred.

3. I set the timer on my smartphone for 20 minutes or 35 minutes or any other random time. When my gadget beeped, it reminded me to stop what I was doing for a minute, close my eyes, and put myself in God’s presence. Sometimes I would also take the time to listen to a Christian song that would help me see Christ in my mind’s eye. Set an alarm on your watch or phone to beep at various times during the day to remind you–God is near.

God is here. What an amazing thought! He is always near, but I don’t usually pay attention.

What I found was that when I did pay attention, I found joy. Joy in that moment. Joy that spilled out into all the other moments in my day.

Psalm 16:11 tells us:

You make known to me the path of life;
    in your presence there is fullness of joy;

Joy is found in God’s presence.

And these small items helped me to remember:

God is here.

 Next step: Choose one of the items above to make you more aware of God’s presence. Light a candle. Place a small cross in unusual places. Set your alarm on your smart phone as a call to focus on Christ with you.

Filed Under: Spiritual Disciplines Tagged With:
June 10, 2014

Do You Want to Be Alone? Using Silence to Hear God’s Voice

Solitude and silence are elusive commodities. But sometimes we need silence to hear God’s voice.

When I was a young mom, the thing I craved more than anything was to be alone. An introvert at heart, I draw energy from time by myself with a good book.

But in the days of babies and toddlers time alone was a rarity. Kids were always hanging onto me, sitting on my lap, even insisting on following me into the bathroom.

Lately I’ve been reading about solitude and silence. Richard Foster, the author of The Celebration of Discipline, writes:

Solitude is more a state of mind than it is a place…There is a freedom to be alone, not in order to be away from people but in order to hear the divine Whisperer better.

This world has so much noise. Music blaring. Car horns honking. Phones ringing. It is hard to find a place where it is quiet enough to  hear the Divine Whisperer.

The world demands our attention. Work responsibilities summon us. Family members need our time. Even church activities call for a place in our schedule. It is hard to concentrate on the Divine Whisperer.

So sometimes we need to get alone to hear God speaking. We need silence to hear God’s voice. Remember the story of Elijah on the mountain? The Lord told Elijah:

“’Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.’”

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.” (1 Kings 19:11-12).

God told Elijah to go and be alone in the presence of the Lord–alone so He could hear the gentle whisper.

God is, of course, always with us. We are always in His presence. But sometimes we need to find a quiet place in order to sense His nearness.

I encourage you to find sometime today to be alone in God’s presence.

Sit in a quiet place, still your thoughts, and tell God, “I’m here.”

Speak to Him about all that it is in your heart.

Listen for His gentle whispers of love.

Next step: Make an appointment with God. Find a way to get alone–ask your husband to watch the kids, get a babysitter, go outside in your backyard and sit in the shade for an hour. Open your Bible and hear God whisper to your heart.

Filed Under: Spiritual Disciplines Tagged With: , , ,
« Previous Page