John 15:4 : Abide in me and I will abide in you, but apart
from me, you can do nothing.
This week, I have been away in France and took four books
with me, the first was Don Millers Searching for God Knows What (I DEEPLY
recommend that you pick up either Don Millers Blue Like Jazz or this one to
read. They are short books that are completely unassuming, looking at questions
of faith in everyday life), Doug Fields: Your first two years in youth
ministry, the Bible, and John le Carre's Wanted Man. And quite obviously the one that got the most
face time with me, was the Wanted Man. When I did get around to opening Doug
Fields book, the chapter that I opened it up too, since my last read of it, was
the chapter on the importance of a youth worker/volunteers spiritual life and I
thought that I would share with you the things that I learned from it:
The number one important point in the chapter was that we
have to value our spiritual lives, or our contribution will eventually be
sidelined. That we need to be spiritually healthy individuals in order to be
able to contribute to the spiritual growth of the young people. We seem
increasingly busy doing God's work, rather than BEING God's people. We allow our service, our planning, our
control loving natures get the better of us.
When Jesus was asked what the most important commandment of
the bible was he replied:
Matthew 22:36-39
36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the
Law?”
37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your
God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as
yourself.’
Faithfulness to this first command will result in natural
obedience to the second. Our relationship with God IS our ministry, and it is
this that comes pouring out of us into the areas that we serve in. It doesn't
have to be on the bus, but can be in our homes, in our places of work, or in
our churches.
Some once told me that what moved them most about the American Civil Rights movement was when Martin Luther King Jnr said that of the 10 commandments, we
wouldn't need the other 8 if we simply followed the first two. He was a great
teacher, and he understood that putting your worship of God at the centre of
your life was more important than all the doing and going, and fixing, and
jumping, and playing and planning and on into infinity, that we could imagine.
We were saved by grace and not by our deeds, so we need to learn to live in and
praise this grace rather than try to make up for it. We enjoy being in control,
our culture very much is about this, but we have to give control to God.
I have noted a couple of questions from the book that were
challenging to me, and then some suggestions on how you can have variety in
your spirituality that may give you some new life to it. We all have times that
we feel close to God, on fire for his purpose, but all of us also know the
mundane everyday existence where it is easy to simply go from one activity to
another without engaging your heart in it. So, this is my challenge to you, try
a couple of new things out and see if God speaks to you in new ways.
1. What external, spiritual acts do I value as signs of
someone being spiritually mature?
2.Am I aware of the warning signs that lead to spiritual
disconnect?
3. What keeps me from being consistent in my time with God?
Suggestions for your
'quiet times'[i]
-Journal about a meaningful bible passage, what are the implications in
your life?
-Meditate on a single verse or phrase and consider what it means to you
now.
-Seek extended solitude. Be still and listen to God. Don't pray. Simply
be quiet and write down what comes into your mind.
-Journal about your life. Examine yesterday's actions. Did you miss
what God may have been trying to teach you.
-Read a large portion of your Bible quickly. Don't stop to think about every verse. Treat
it like a story.
-Read a small portion of God's Word and carefully digest each verse.
-Sing.
- Write your prayers to God in a journal.
-Read from a translation or paraphrase that you haven't read from
before.
-Write down life lessons that you've learned recently.
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