Tim Challies 'Discipline Of Spiritual Discernment'

Former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams’ book A Ray of Darkness, has been influential on my own journey with call and vocation. Prior church experiences taught me that introspection and self-exploration were too prideful and that it is the Christian’s duty to continually pursue difficult things, in spite of aptitude. The rationale was: if it is difficult, then it must be holy. It was this very mindset that for many years, kept me from pursuing my calling.

While reading the Spiritual Disciplines Handbook, I did not expect to come across a spiritual discipline that would be a perfect combination of my own idea of spiritual formation, and a wonderful way to connect with the Lord. What I mean by this, is that I was wanting to create a gratitude journal, but I wanted it to be deeper than just a list of things that I was thankful for. That is why I fell in love with the idea of writing responses to the questions that were posed in the Spiritual Disciplines Handbook, but still taking a few minutes to write a list of things that I am grateful for! A journal like this is also a great way for me to see the strong points in my day or week, and the areas where I need improvement. Since journaling has always

Wilhoit, James C.. Spiritual Formation as it the Church Matters. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academics, 2008.

As I read this text by Dr. Crabb, I was very challenged in my deficit motivations in which I have been functioning under since my divorce. My fear of rejection causes me to allow others to treat me negatively way beyond that which is healthy. I realized that my motive for leaving my spouse was biblical in that I believed then and now that it was the only way to help point him toward true repentance and wholeness in Christ. I was challenged to face my patterns of attempting to find happiness, soothing of self, rather then joy, godly contentment in the midst of trial (NIV, James 1:2-8). Although due to the spiritual abuse my spouse had imparted on me created a fear in me to trust my faith or my ability to understand God’s will for me an area that would be defined as a new motivation deficit under Dr. Crabb’s theory. I believe I would need to process and redefine everything that happened rather then just claimed as a deficit to untangle it from the truth faith I have, which consequently led me to seek the counsel of a church counselor this week.

Spiritual disciplines will prepare us for our journey in Christ. I feel if understanding correctly, the classical Christian Pilgrimage remind us that we all have issues requiring regular examination. In chapter eight, the classical Christian Pilgrimage tells us we are at different stages on the path of wholeness in Christ. However, in my thoughts some areas of our Christian journey we may be doing well, but in other areas we have not touched at all. Not to mention, these are the place we are not ready or capable of handling yet, however, as we mature in God and He knows what we can handle, then we are awakened. God awakens us to our true selves which have not been completely revealed. In reality, once we reach maturity to God, he reveals all that is hidden deep inside of us (the real us/you). By the same token, he let us see the inner behaviors, attitudes, desires, in fact how we measure up in them being Christ-like. I feel the awakening stage deals with the comfort of being set free of these issues that are holding us back also causing detours on our path to wholeness in Christ. Equally, the threat is being afraid to see who we really are; also how far from Christ-like we really are. We must first be awakened from our separation also alienation from God (Mulholland 79-82).

This paper starts with a description of how to make godly decisions through prayer, the Holy Spirit and reading biblical scriptures. It will explore spiritual discernment using the bull’s-eye method. The literature will discuss my past and present experiences of discernment, a counselor and clients experiences and my comments on my personal position of this client’s supplication.

How can we tell how best to dedicate our lives to the common good in the modern age? In The Call to Discernment in Troubled Times, Dean Brackley joins a long tradition of interpretation of the writings of Saint Ignatius Loyola. Considering the Spiritual Exercises as the starting point for his model, Brackley seeks to recover the place of direct, supernatural, divine influence, particularly by the Holy Spirit, on the discernment of the believer. The spiritual challenges faced by followers of the Exercises have evolved in recent times, as has the Church’s recognition of existing challenges. In the spirit of The Second Vatican Council, he expands the interpretation to account for the experiences of both powerful and marginalized in an ever rushing world, always seeking to get ahead.

The First Book of Kings introduces to us an episode from the beginning of the reign of Solomon, a king well-known for his wisdom. His petition to God has to inspire us and all those who work in public service to be just and generous. Solomon’s dream in Gibeon is reflected in the parables of the treasure and the pearl that we hear in the Gospel of Matthew. Jesus tells us that true wisdom means to leave everything behind in order to get the riches of the Kingdom of God inaugurated by Him. These treasures are within ourselves because we have been chosen by God “to be conformed to the image of Christ,” as St. Paul states in the letter to the Romans. In this way, we finish the reading of the parables of the Kingdom from the thirteenth chapter of

I have hope that many of my post-graduate years will be less spiritually trying than the last three years. There is no doubt that the perseverance accumulated from the struggles of ministry and Duke academics have formed tenacity in my spirituality. However, surviving Duke Divinity School along with the other compounding issues of the past three years have enabled me to form spiritual disciplines that will allow me to grow in my spirituality in both times of joy and

Although theology is what people expect Solomon to be known for, it is not the only category that pertains to seeking wisdom. The materialistic world, relationships, and other personal matters are topics that people seek wisdom for and they would often come to Solomon about these subjects. In fact, non-believing people search in the Bible for wisdom, although it may be a last-ditch effort for them.

King Solomon was a very admirable king, as he not only led his people to prosperous times but did it in a right and just manner. King Solomon’s wisdom and discernment were certainly his primary characteristics, and he benefited largely from each of them. King Solomon’s decision to ask God for wisdom, as opposed to anything else in the world, changed his life forever, and transformed him into one of the most prominent biblical figures. If given an opportunity to have an hour long conversation with anyone or anything, I would not be able to pass up the opportunity to learn from the wisest man to ever

Richard Foster’s Celebration of Discipline, was first published in 1978. It presented sets of Disciplines that, if followed, would serve as vehicles for a deeper relationship with Christ as well as preparation for service. These disciplines are divided into three broad categories: the Inward Disciplines, the Outward Disciplines, and the Corporate Disciplines (Foster, 2003). Each category contains four Disciplines, which indicated by their titles, moves the disciple from the very personal to the larger congregational community (Foster, 2003). Recognizing humanity’s trend to make any process a law or regulation to follow, Foster warned against this by reminding the disciple that to do so would turn

3. True Wisdom which was divinely from God, commentaries say that Solomon understood when the animals and birds spoke. Solomon could discern truth in a person just by looking at their face.

My devotionals were taken from my devotional by Oswald Chambers, Utmost Classic Readings and Prayers, for the last seven days.

One of King Solomon strengths were being responsible for building the first temple located in Jerusalem. It took him several years to complete this mission however; he was committed to God and illustrated a level of wisdom that God bestowed upon him due to his obedience. My beliefs of this type of commitment are that God granted him specific skills to allow him to be knowledgeable to build and oversee this mission. King Solomon desired for the people of the Israel descendants to pray or repent for God to accept their apology for their shortcoming or sins and those they would try to serve him in a more heartfelt manner. Their belief of these modifications within their lifestyle would have permitted them to hear from God and only he could forgive their sins. For example, he could basically wipe the slate clean removing the people of Israel’s sins away. His purpose was to strive to help the upcoming creation of the people within this region, so they could have a more abundance lifestyle. In analyzing this concept God was displaying the quality of life and his ability to have power to bless people with a productive lifestyle as long as they followed his instruction and was obedient.