Accountability Partner

An accountability partner is someone with which I can "give a regular and honest account of my choices, priorities and temptations to a godly and wise companion who points me to Christ." This means finding someone to trust and share life with. To be real with them and to allow them to be real with you will allow you to discuss the difficult questions and challenges that you face. We were not created to live alone, but in community with others.

Reflection Questions

Q: Who do you talk to about your spiritual life? Are you comfortable sharing your faith journey with another?
A: I have a small group which I share my spiritual life with. We feel pretty comfortable with it because we all understand that we are God's children. We started with the premise that we will encourage not judge.

Q: How do you celebrate and share God's work in your life with others?
A: When I become aware of God working in my life, I usually try to share it with as many people as possible. I want people to focus on the faithfulness of God rather than their own failures.

Spiritual Direction

Spiritual Direction is basically forming that mentorship relationship with someone. This was displayed through Jesus and his disciples, Paul and his mentees (or "children"), etc. It's good to share your life with someone. We are not alone and the Bible tells us repeatedly to support one another, confess our sins to each other, and to pray for one another. Even in our Christian community, it is not always appropriate to shout out your sins in front of the whole church; but we do need to have those in the church that we are close with. They become positive influences in our lives and we are held accountable, if by nothing else, by the fact that we are also an influence on them. We can be an encouragement to one another, or we could try to live this life as lone wolves. But to truly live a Christian life is to live as Christ lived: in communion with God and man.


Reflection Questions

Q: How does the idea of attending to the presence and work of God in your life with a spiritual director attract or repel you?
A: I like the idea of having a mentor to a point. It would be great to have a "spiritual father" who would push you to be better than you think you could be, who could encourage you with a great example of Christ-like behavior. But I have a hard time being taught by someone who I don't believe is taking God's word seriously in their own life.

Q: Where have you been aware of God's voice, movement or initiative in your life during the past six months or year?
A: Well, I wouldn't be at college studying to be a youth pastor if God had not called me to it and led me here.

Solitude

The devotional compares the discipline of solitude to the idea of a young couple in love; they want to spend time alone with each other to cultivate the relationship. We need that with God. The book says this of solitude: "The world of recognition, achievement and applause disappears, and we stand squarely before God without props." Removing the temptation to impress those around us or appear to be righteous, we can open up before God and be real with him -- allowing him the opportunity to search our hearts and find (and maybe convict) our true motives. It is a place of reality and intimacy. When God wants to speak to us, we should be open to listen.


Reflection Questions

Q: What tends to pop into your mind when you are alone?
A: What is everyone else doing? What could I be doing right now?

Q: What do you resort to doing when alone?
A: Usually I try to entertain, or "distract", myself by surfing the net or watching a movie, or trying to find someone to hang out with.

Silence

We are afraid of silence because we don't think that there is anything to gain from it. What am I learning? What am I accomplishing? Am I wasting my time? We like to think about witty quotes we've heard and dwell on good messages, but do we ever take the time to sit in silence and let that soak into our minds. Do we unplug long enough to let the spirit speak to us? We need to spend time in silence, in order that we may begin to open ourselves to hearing God speak in our lives.


Reflection Questions

Q: In Revelation 8:1 we read that there was "silence in heaven for about half an hour." What might be going on in heaven's silence?
A: If I were in heaven, I would be silently sitting in the presence of God gazing upon His awesome wonder. They were probably just taking some time to remember where they are and to focus on the One who gives purpose and life to those who receive it.

Q: How do you avoid or resist silence?
A: Usually, I will hang out with friends or surf the net or listen to music. Other times I may work on homework or go for a run or do something else that is aimed at bettering myself. This is why the day of rest (Sabbath) is so important -- it gives
me time to focus on God and to rest in his presence.

Secrecy

The devotion for today talks about secrecy in two different ways: the good and the bad. Both of these are important to keep secret at times.

People have a tendency to want to shout out all the good things that they have done. We will regale our peers with tales of what we have done or the volunteer work we were a part of. It's not bad to be proud of Christian service, but we must remember that Jesus said "When you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret." When we serve, it is in service to our King -- not for our own benefit or glory, but to the glory of the Father. Jesus said that we will be rewarded in heaven when we do good deeds in secret.

The other side of this is confidentiality. There are some things that we just shouldn't talk about in public; but there are also times when someone tells us something that we should not repeat. We must refrain from gossip and slander. Secrecy allows people to be at ease and comfortable with being honest and open. We should respect that.


Reflection Questions

Q: What is it like for you to keep secrets or maintain confidences?
A: It feels good to know that I can be trusted and also that when God blesses me, he knows that I won't brag (usually) or claim it for myself -- which opens me up to receive much more.

Q: How might the discipline of secrecy address an addiction to approval and image management?
A: Keeping myself from telling everyone "what I've done" will help me to be joyous in the image that God has of me as his son rather than worrying about whether I am impressing those around me.

Discernment

Today's practice is that of discernment. I have generally thought of this as a spiritual gift in the past, but really it is the practice of trusting in God's best intentions and seeking them out. There was an interesting quote in the devotional that snagged my attention:

"St. Ignatius of Loyola notes that sin is unwillingness to trust that what God wants is our deepest happiness. Until I am absolutely convinced of this I will do everything I can to keep my hands on the controls of my life, because I think I know better than God what I need for my fulfillment."
-David Benner

The focus of this principle is in the fact that we don't know everything, but God does. When we rush to make a decision or make important choices without first seeking God's will and WAITING for the answer, we fail to practice discernment.

Reflection Questions

Q: How does the way you spend your time and energy reveal what is important to you and reflect the deep desires of your heart?
A: I enjoy spending time serving and doing ministry. Showing God's love is what is important to me.

Q: When making decisions, do you procrastinate or become so uncomfortable with waiting that you jump in and decide so you don't have to endure uncertainty?
A: That is the natural tendency -- to first procrastinate and then make a hasty decision -- but I am being taught to wait for the answer. This is hard because it has pushed me past the "due date" of decision as I see it and has me trusting wholly in God's good will.

Detachment

Detachment is the practice of letting go. Jesus came to the earth and forsook all of his "superpowers" and denied himself for the sake of us. He did not look to what he could do or what immediate facade of glory he could bestow upon himself, rather he continually looked toward God's purposes and worked to fulfill His purposes rather than his own. We are to follow this example. Jesus said that whoever would follow him would have to deny themselves and follow after him. We should not cling to earthly possessions or self-glorification, but should see the importance in God as the center of our lives. This is, after all, the 'chief end of man' (Westminster Catechism.)

Reflection Questions

Q: How do you handle failure and weakness, suffering and loss? What does this tell you about how you attach and adapt to the world's view of success, power and self-worth?
A: I don't usually see things in the same way the world does. I consider success a righteous relationship with God -- nothing more, nothing less. I do well here, but that is merely an outcropping of the character with which seeking God first has made in me.

Q: What are some specific ways in which mistakes and failures have worked for your good?
A: Every time that I lose something, I have the opportunity to gain so much more. Especially moving to college and leaving my life back home was a challenge for me; I knew that I would miss all of it and have to start over. But through the letting go of what I had "achieved," God was able to show me more about myself and who I am in Him.

Confession and Self-Examination

Today's discipline can basically be summed up by saying, "Be real." Be real with God, be real with others, be real with yourself. Don't pretend that you are something that you aren't. Be joyful in who God made you, yes; but do not claim to be without sin. Don't think that there is nothing left for you to improve. If you are in a right relationship with God, he will show you what you are to do. You will become more like him in your character and you will realize that there is always something to be learned. This should not disappoint us, but should rather excite us with the possibilities of what God wants to do through us and in our lives.

Reflection Questions

Q: Does your confession tend to be along the lines of "Forgive my sins, dear Lord" rather than specifically naming your sins one by one before the face of God? What does the lack of specific confession do to self-awareness?
A: It causes thoughts of being human and fallible as excuses for sinning and displaces the guilt, shame and responsibility.

Q: Which of your sins hurts those closest to you?
A: My attitude can sometimes be very bitter.

Unplugging

Ironically, I type this while listening to music on my computer and mourning the death of my cell phone. With my internet not plugged in either, I have no communication with the outside world. This is where we need to learn to unplug. Turn off the music (which I did,) put the cell phone on silent, stop checking e-mails and texting, log off of facebook. Instead of facebook, why not instead talk to someone face to face. The author of today's devotional told a story of a time when a friend of his in an office ten steps away from the author's office sent him happy birthday wishes electronically without ever coming to share the merriment in person. God did not create us to be plugged into the Matrix; He made us to cultivate relationships with him and with each other. After all, Jesus said that the two greatest commandments were first of all to love God, and secondly to love your neighbor. How can we do that without first silencing the toxic squeal of electricity?

Reflection Questions

Q: Are you online for both work and pleasure? What do you like about being online? What don't you like about it?
A: Yes, I use the internet for school as it is required and also to connect through facebook and e-mail with friends and family. The internet is a powerful tool and it's cool that I can connect with someone without having their number or knowing if they're busy. I don't like that it is an easily accessible distraction that has the ability to distract me from what I need to be doing, i.e: homework.

Q: What sort of temptations does cyberspace hold for you? How do you address these temptations?
A: Cyberspace sucks me in and doesn't easily let go. If I start playing online games, I will never want to stop. Just checking facebook real quick can turn into surfing through profiles, pictures, and news feeds. The only thing I know to do (second to prayer) is to do what needs done before I even check what's going on in the cyber-world.