You and I are both slaves to something or someone. Despite the way autonomy, independence and individuality are pressed into the fabric of our being, it is a delusion. You, me, the guy next door, all of us without exception are enslaved. Whether we be bond servants of Christ or enslaved to our own desires and passions...we are enslaved.
I know why some Christians try to introduce people to the gospel of Christ by saying we all have a God-sized hole that only Jesus can fill. I understand why the analogy is attractive to them, but I find it really ridiculous. It would be more accurate to say we created for worship and therefore, we will worship something. We are compelled or driven to worship. Left to our own and without divine intervention, we will worship ourselves by pursuing anything that provides us temporal relief and enjoyment. Temporal relief from what you ask? The compulsion to worship.
The next step in my plan toward discipline is to reread several books. Elyse Fitzpatrick has written a fabulous book titled "Idols of the Heart." One of the benefits of spiritual discipline is being to identify what you are worshiping. I plan on rereading "Idols of the Heart" as well as "The Secret of Self-Control" by Richard L Ganz. I also have "Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life" by Donald Whitney. However wonderful these books are, and I recommend them and their authors, it is for naught if I do not first spend time in prayer and in the Word.
There are so many things to learn and I have a much better opportunity to learn them if I will submit myself to discipline. I need prayer. I need God's intervention. My want to is puny and my need to is enormous. Somebody keep me honest and ask me how I am doing on these goals.
Please?
I know why some Christians try to introduce people to the gospel of Christ by saying we all have a God-sized hole that only Jesus can fill. I understand why the analogy is attractive to them, but I find it really ridiculous. It would be more accurate to say we created for worship and therefore, we will worship something. We are compelled or driven to worship. Left to our own and without divine intervention, we will worship ourselves by pursuing anything that provides us temporal relief and enjoyment. Temporal relief from what you ask? The compulsion to worship.
The next step in my plan toward discipline is to reread several books. Elyse Fitzpatrick has written a fabulous book titled "Idols of the Heart." One of the benefits of spiritual discipline is being to identify what you are worshiping. I plan on rereading "Idols of the Heart" as well as "The Secret of Self-Control" by Richard L Ganz. I also have "Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life" by Donald Whitney. However wonderful these books are, and I recommend them and their authors, it is for naught if I do not first spend time in prayer and in the Word.
There are so many things to learn and I have a much better opportunity to learn them if I will submit myself to discipline. I need prayer. I need God's intervention. My want to is puny and my need to is enormous. Somebody keep me honest and ask me how I am doing on these goals.
Please?
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