This is post 8 of 12 on Awakening to Authentic CommunityIn the New Testament the word used for discipleship is the same as used for discipline. So, if we say we are a follower or disciple of Jesus we are expected to live a disciplined life. Take some time to think about what Henri Nouwen says about spiritual discipline:
“In the spiritual life, the word discipline means ‘the effort to create some space in which God can act.’ Discipline means to prevent everything in your life from being filled up…discipline means to create that space in which something can happen that you hadn’t planned or counted on.”
That is a powerful statement and needs to be radically implemented among believers today. We are more caught up in the hustle and bustle of life than we realize. We are not developing the spiritual discipline if making room for God in our lives. Take some time to read Luke 6:12-19. Here we can see Jesus modeling the core areas of discipline for us. First, He was disciplined with His time alone with the Father. This was a priority. Then He moved into community with His disciples forming and developing an intimate group of friends and co-laborers. And finally He and His team moved out under the power of the Spirit and ministered together for the Kingdom. We need to heed the order of discipline-discipleship: solitude-community-ministry.
Are you growing in the discipline of making room for God so there can be space for the supernatural to happen?
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