Moving past abstraction

These posts are mostly personal.

That's a disclaimer. I'm in the middle of something big here, and I'm afraid that it'll be impossible to do make anything of it if I don't record it. I'm horrible at keeping a journal. I've never once ever finished a full paper journal (something I want to do), bu that itself is discipline. That's the theme here: discipline.

I had a professor in undergrad tell me that discipline is anything we do (or don't do) which sets us free. Christianity is about freedom. After all, it's for freedom that Christ set us free. We're free to love and serve Him. We're free so that, with the help of the Holy Spirit we can become more like Christ. Discipline is what keeps us from straying into legalism or license. If we're fasting, we constrain our appetites. If we're celebrating, we're rejecting a mindset that says all pleasure and joy are evil. Famine and Feast both keep us safe from extremes.

The posts that you see here will be personal reflections on my practice of righteousness or celebration of discipline. I need this in order to keep me sane and on the right path. A list of these disciplines can be found in books by Dallas Willard, Donald Whitney, or Richard Foster. Another blogger posted this list, which I borrow.

Disciplines of Abstinence
Solitude: The practice of spending time without any others or any distractions.
Silence: No noise or conversation. Just you and God.
Fasting: Abstain from food, media, entertainment, or anything else that occupies your time.
Frugality: Use your money for purposes outside your own needs for a time.
Chastity: 1 Corinthians 7:8, “Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.”
Secrecy: Do not allow anyone to know of the deeds you do or the money you give in order to avoid doing them for the wrong motivations. Only God needs to know.
Sacrifice: Stretch your sense of what you can do without for the sake of those who have less.

Disciplines of Engagement
Study: Memorize Scripture and expand your universe of biblical study helps.
Worship: Engage in corporate worship and include worship in your own prayer time.
Celebration: Practice being grateful and thankful both in your own relationship with Christ and with other believers. Express encouragement and thankfulness to others.
Service: Give your time to the church and/or to others. Ponder tithing your time.
Prayer: Take deliberate steps to pray regularly and with purpose. Praying through the Psalms is a good way to increase your “prayer vocabulary.”
Fellowship: Hebrews 10:25, “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
Confession: Practice confessing your sins to trusted people who will pray with you and be spiritual allies.
Submission: Submit to the proper people in the proper ways—fight against the sin of pride.
(quaillike.blogger.com)

Let the journey continue.