The Disciplines

I have felt strongly over the last month that this year Spiritual Disciplines will be a recurring theme for our teachings. I prefer to calendar out my teaching series so that I can work ahead, and do my best to deliver the best message possible. I have a theology that if I do what I can do, then God does what He does. I never want Him to be ready to do something that I'm not prepared for, thus short circuiting it. You may think that God could trump me, and I think in many ways he can and does (Thank God), but a lack of faith by people in Nazareth kept Jesus from performing miracles he wanted to do. I want to gear up in faith and be prepared. Now for what it's worth, I think sometimes I prepare my teaching in one area, or focused in one direction, then God totally uses it in a different way. That's alright. He can do what he wants, but I think I still played a role in preparing the way I did. I don't always do my best at preparing, but I'm trying to improve.

So anyhow, throughout the year their are buffer weeks between series, I call those messages "stand alone". And ever since I taught that introduction to fasting, I have felt that the Disciplines will be a recurring theme in my stand alone messages. Tomorrow I'll be teaching on the discipline of Solitude. I hope you're there so I won't be in Solitary!!!

--Ben