GRACE IN DEVOTIONS

We can become just as legalistic about our "DO's" as we can about the "DON'TS." I'm particularly speaking of activities I call spiritual disciplines: having regular private devotions, studying the bible, memorizing scriptures, meeting with a group Bible study,or faithfully attending a weekly prayer meeting.

In fact, if newer believers come into our fellowship from totally UNchristian backgrounds we usually put it the demands of these spiritual disciplines. These can be a fertile ground for legalistic thinking.

LET ME CLEARLY SAY that my point is not to disparage these spiritual disciplines at all. They are all good and helpful, and I seek to practice many of them myself. But spiritual disciplines are provided for our GOOD not for our BONDAGE. They are PRIVILEGES to be used, not DUTIES to be performed. To take off on a familiar qoutation from Jesus, "Spiritual disciplines were made for man, not man for spiritual disciplines."

If I've been doing pretty well, having a regular quiet tme, studying the , and so on, then I'm hopeful of God's blessing. But if I've not been doing it so well -- haven't "been faithful" as we say -- then, I might as well go back to bed. They can easily become a perfomance measurement by which we guage whther to expect God's blessing or not.

At some point, we get even more legalistic about spiritual disciplines with others. We try subtle (or maybe not so subtle) coercion by communicating ever so slightly that a person who isn't practicing the same disciplines like we are "is not committed." 

I DO THINK we should ACTIVELY PROMOTE SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES. They are absolutely neccessary for our growth in our Christian lives. And since ours is a largely undisicplined age, many believers are losing out on the benefits of those disciplines that could help them grow to maturity in Chirst. BUT WE SHOULD PROMOTE THEM AS BENEFITS NOT AS DUTIES.  Perhaps we should stop taloking about being "faithful" to have a quiet time wit God each day, as if we are doing something to earn a reward. IT WOULD BE BETTER TO TALK ABOUT THE PRIVILEGE of spending time with the God of the universe and the importance for our own sake of being consistent in that practice.

In one-to-one discipling relationship, we are there to serve, not to lord over the other person. We should encourage the use of spiritual disciplines and do all we can to help the person succeed in them, but we should never require them as a condition of acceptance -- either by God or by us. We must remember that the methods of spiritual disciplines are a mean to the end, not the end themselves.

WE TEACH GRACE BEFORE COMMITMENT, BECAUSE GRACE UNDERSTOOD AND EMBRACED WILL ALWAYS LEAD TO COMMITMENT. BUT COMMITMENT REQUIRED WILL ALWAYS LEAD TO LEGALISM.

As for me, I enjoy my devotions every single day. Im looking forward to meeting Jesus,experiencing the the LOVE OF THE FATHER and the PARTNERSHIP of THE HOLY SPIRIT.GRACE!

How are you doing?

Excerpts found in the book - TRANSFORMING GRACE.