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This week Jerry Weinstein covered the Bible Study for Rabbi Glenn and taught on Spiritual Disciplines, focusing on the Spiritual Discipline of Celebration or Joy. Much of the study came from Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster and The Life You’ve Always Wanted: Spiritual Disciplines for ordinary people John Ortberg. The notes from the study are below:
12 Spiritual Disciplines – Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster
Spiritual Disciplines are tools to allow us to get closer to the Lord. These disciplines help us to grow in our faith, knowledge, and sanctification. They are not the goal themselves but rather tools to focus us on the Lord in various ways.
The Inward Disciplines
- Meditation – Instead of emptying your mind like in Eastern meditation, Biblical Meditation is to fill our minds with God’s Word and think about it in a very deliberate fashion.
“Christian Mediation, very simply, is the ability to hear God’s voice and obey his Word.” COD, 17.
“Blessed is the one…whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.” -Psalm 1:1-2
- Prayer – The primary way we communicate with God and how he transforms us. Rabbi Paul teaches us to “pray without ceasing”, prayer should be a natural part of our day to day lives as we communicate with the Lord and pray for the things He has placed on our hearts.
- Fasting – Fasting can be either a food only or food and water Fast. The purpose of fasting is to allow us to get closer to God and realize how dependent we are on him. Fasting allows us to become more Humble and understand what sin issues we may have in our lives, it brings things to the surface.
“When I wept and humbled my soul with fasting, it became my reproach.” -Psalm 69:10
- Studying – Studying God’s Word is one of the primary ways He communicates with us and transforms us into his image. It is Knowledge of the Truth that sets us free.
“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” -John 8:32
The Outward Disciplines
- Simplicity – In contrast to the materialism of our lives today Scripture teaches us to live in a way that is simple, less complex. Internally this means practicing disciplines that help keep us grounded and not chaotic. Externally this means not chasing after material wealth.
“Then he said to them, ‘Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.’” – Luke 12:15
- Solitude – “Jesus calls us from loneliness to solitude.” COD, 96. The discipline of Solitude is to remove ourselves from the bustle and chaos around us and find a still and silent place to pray and be with the Lord. We see both Yeshua and the Apostles practice this Discipline in their ministries.
- Submission – Properly exercised (this is not about letting people take advantage of you) this discipline allows us to submit ourselves to God’s great authority. It is to place the burdens and hopes of our lives on his shoulders, and to have Him guide us down the paths He would have us walk. Through submission, we experience real Freedom as we are freed from ourselves to become more like Him.
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:6-7
- Service – To serve others is a proper form of Submission to Adonai’s Will, but it is also about staying humble and caring for others.
“ Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” -Mark 10: 43-45
The Corporate Disciplines
- Confession – The forgiveness of God through Messiah Yeshua is complete and absolute:
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” -1 John 1:9
Confessing our sins to the Lord is something to be done in prayer and on an individual level but there is also a place for confessing our sins to others:
“Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” -James 5:16When we confess our sins to others it allows them an opportunity to pray for us and encourage us. It can also be helpful for them to remind us of the forgiving power of our great Creator. Bringing secrets sins to the light with a trusted person in the Lord can help us to break a cycle of sinful behavior as well.
- Worship – Worship is to give God the praise that is due Him. Adonai is deserving of all praise and Worship. We need to worship him not just with our hearts and emotions but our minds as well. To worship in Spirit and in Truth is to worship the Lord through His Holy Spirit with all that we are.
“But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” – John 4:23-24
- Guidance – The spiritual discipline of Guidance is to ask the Lord to guide us in our lives. Throughout Scripture we see how the Lord lead the Jewish People and guided them out of the Land of Egypt. The Lord still guides us today, primarily through prayer and studying His Word, but also through nature and various other ways. God also allows appoints people to lead our communities and help guide us as well.
- Celebration – The spiritual discipline of Celebration or Joy is to rejoice in the Lord. It is even a command of the Lord to have joy in our lives. To be a follower of Messiah Yeshua is not to be joyless but to be joyful
“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” -Philippians 4:4