In the first chapter of Colossians, Paul describes the Gospel as "bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world". The Gospel is more than words or information that gives us orientation to God. The Gospel is like a powerful seed that grows into a mighty tree! This growth is spiritual and it happens in our souls, shaped by God to be useful for His purposes.

What happens when our culture thinks a sin is OK, when lots of people are doing the sin, and perhaps we even feel as if the sin is personally beneficial? Then what happens when the sin is widely and even openly practiced by people in the church? When it gets to this point, the church has become "enculturated", which means that the culture of the church looks no different than the culture of the world. We lose our salt and light, and we become blinded to truth and lazy with truth. Sexuality in America is an example of this. Our culture has become comfortable with divorce, fornication, lust, adultery, fornication, and homosexuality. Those in the church practice these sins, and sometimes even give approval to these. Is the church promoting the New Life, or simply the Old Life with Christian wrapping paper? The mission of church discipleship is to move each of us from the sinfulness and chaos of culture to the truth and order of scripture, and when a sin is so pervasive, such as sexual sin in America, we need God to change our hearts so that we can flee from sin and become genuine salt and light.

Admittedly, it can be intimidating to come before God to have Him change us. He might change our possessions, our relationships, our dreams in life, our reputation, our hobbies, our privilege, our generosity, our pleasures, etc. Most of us begin wanting to add Jesus to our existing lives, rather than have Jesus replace our lives, but that isn't how God is working. It isn't how Scripture describes the journey of a Christian. How do we find the courage? For us to genuinely and regularly kneel before God to ask Him to change us into the image of Jesus, as our Faith continuously urges us, we will need to trust that God loves us and has our best interests in mind. The disciplines of praise and thanksgiving prepare you for this change, as they recollect what God has done for you in the past and reflect on the very nature of God's goodness and love. Sure, we know the teaching that God loves us, but actually experiencing that love will give us the willingness to come before Him every day and eagerly desire for more and more change.

Why would anyone volunteer to go hungry? Why would any of us want the pain, discomfort, headaches, and weakness that comes about when a person fasts? Good questions. Donald Whitney, in Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, wrote that “fasting is the most feared and misunderstood of all the spiritual disciplines”. Fasting is voluntarily going without food (and sometimes water) for a period of time - " it could be for just one meal, or for a day, or even several days. And when you look at all the examples in Scripture where people fasted, you will notice a pattern. In each case, they are desperate for God. They recognize their humble and helpless state and if God's power and presence doesn't come into their situation, then they will fail or be destroyed. Sometimes they need God to rescue them, sometimes to give them wisdom or direction, sometimes to show mercy to them, sometimes to resist or overcome the lies of Satan, or sometimes restoration, etc. So what about us? Are we desperate for God or complacent?

Jesus often withdrew to lonely places to commune with God and to be refreshed. No distractions. No people. No anxiety. No busyness. It is an encounter with God's truth, love, and power. Jesus lived in a divine rhythm where as grace was flowing out from him, he needed sacred space for grace to flow into him. The discipline of solitude may seem like a practice of boredom - and we hate boredom because it feels painful. So anytime that we might face boredom, we too often choose to immerse ourselves in more busyness, more anxiety, or more distraction. Yet we need a sacred place of creativity with God, removed from the trauma and busyness that wound our souls. And when we do, we emerge refilled with power, hope and joy.

One thing is common for most American Christians: we are so absorbed in the busyness, cares and concerns of the world around us, that we have little margin to add anything into our agenda. We feel as if we can't squeeze in another thing, and so the disciplines of pursuing Jesus are shelved for sometime later. If this describes you (and it probably does), then you need to deconstruct your menu of activity with the Discipline of Simplicity.

After God had given Israel messages about His will, we notice in Deuteronomy 11 that the instructions were not just head knowledge, but to be rooted in their daily rhythms. This is also true for us. It is not sufficient just to know God's will, for we are to become what God wills. The disciplines of "absorbing truth" open us up to be saturated in the words of God so that our lives begin to align with God's will and do God's will.

We must realize that our souls are full of lies and half-truths that deceive us, hurt our joy, harm our relationships, and ultimately keep us from serving God more fully. We want truth. We need truth. Many may say, "Just read the Bible, and you'll get truth" but that is a naive suggestion that doesn't appreciate spiritual realities. For all truth can be colored and distorted by pride, ignorance, bias, agendas, and even demons. God knows that we need guidance, mentoring, and challenge in the pursuit of truth, and seeking truth together with the Holy Spirit is an essential discipline.

All disciplines create tension between where we are, and where we need to get to. They open us up to the power of God so that we may become reshaped, but most of us find our lives already so full of the world's routines, that we can hardly find a moment to read a morning devotion. Our worldly routine is the enemy of Christian adventure. Where to begin? Of top priority is the movement from pride to humility, for pride is a fundamental block to God - as Peter writes in 1 Peter 5:5, "God opposes the proud." Most of us are infected with pride, preferring that others serve us and be beneath us. But, God has given us direction that we are to be servants rather than the bosses of others. Today's message is on the discipline of serving. It is a discipline as important as prayer and the pursuit of the Word of God, and yet one that we too often neglect.

We operate in three places. The first place is our home, and the second place is our work. Our third place is any relational space where we engage with others - and this could be anything from a neighborhood barbecue to a book club. Participation in our third place is critical to our well-being and harmony with the world around us. God actually created a third place for us, called The Church. It is not only a relational place with other people but significantly with the Spirit of God. It is where we pursue God's vision for us to become like Christ. As we come into this third place with our anxieties, struggles, corrupt thinking, and dysfunction we will find that God does a wonderful thing ... God creates in us and renews us. This creative activity brings about peace, order, and joy. This is not automatic or without our involvement. We must have a willing spirit that cooperates with God's plan. Specifically, our activity is the practice of disciplines.

The word "Faith" is jam packed with a lot of meaning - meaning that can be elusive to modern day Christians. For example, we may think it is trusting that something is real without without evidence ... yet it is more. So, when Jesus tells his disciples that even a little faith can move a mountain, He is not speaking about what they think or what they trust, but that even the smallest connection with God can mean great power flows out. The same Faith that resurrects us, is the Faith that does miracles.