40 Days of Discipline


8 Comments

40 Days of Discipline:  Day 40 – Review

… fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  (Hebrews 12:1-2, New International Version)

Theme:  Rejoicing and Thanksgiving

Context

Today, we conclude our 40 Days of Discipline journey with our final day of review.  We annually promote the practice of Spiritual Disciplines to encourage a deeper relationship with God.  Thank you for being a part of the journey! 

Our focus on Rejoicing and Thanksgiving this year has hopefully encouraged you to use the Disciplines to make rejoicing in God and giving thanks to God a constant part of your life.  The comments we have received over the 40 days have made an enormous difference, and we are truly grateful to those who posted on the blog.

Tomorrow is a wonderful day to rejoice and give thanks as we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus.  Hopefully your reflection on the 40 Days of Discipline journey will add to your celebration.

Question

How has your commitment to rejoice and give thanks been impacted by your consideration of the Disciplines over the last few weeks? 

Please leave a comment.  We would love to hear from you.


3 Comments

40 Days of Discipline:  Day 34 – Review

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, New International Version) 

Theme:  Rejoicing and Thanksgiving

We covered a lot of ground this week in our consideration of Counsel, Creation and Sabbath.  Today is dedicated to reviewing what we have learned over the past five days.  Please take the opportunity to catch up on any comments you have missed throughout the week.

Question:

Did you encounter any concepts, scripture passages, or comments that enrich your practice of rejoicing and thanksgiving? 

Please leave a comment.  We would love to hear from you.


5 Comments

40 Days of Discipline:  Day 28 – Review

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, New International Version) 

Theme:  Rejoicing and Thanksgiving

Service and Stewardship are certainly exciting avenues to rejoicing and thanksgiving.  Today is dedicated to reviewing what we have learned over the past five days.  Please take the opportunity to catch up on any comments you have missed throughout the week.

Question:

Have any of the passages this week been particularly inspiring as you seek to perform acts of service and stewardship while rejoicing and giving thanks? 

Please leave a comment.  We would love to hear from you.


4 Comments

40 Days of Discipline:  Day 22 – Review

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, New International Version) 

Theme:  Rejoicing and Thanksgiving

Thanks for making the past week another special time of growing together.  Today is dedicated to reviewing what we have learned over the past five days about how the disciplines of Worship and Fellowship can enable a life of Rejoicing and Thanksgiving

If you have not had a chance to review the comments for each day, I encourage you to do so.

Question:

What key takeaways are you most likely to apply from this week’s discussions?      

Please leave a comment.  We would love to hear from you.


3 Comments

40 Days of Discipline:  Day 16 – Review

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, New International Version) 

Theme:  Rejoicing and Thanksgiving

I hope you had a blessed time of reflection yesterday whether you fasted or not.  Today is dedicated to reviewing what we have learned over the past five days.  As you perform your review, please consider catching up on any comments you may have missed.

Question:

How have you been blessed by thinking about rejoicing and thanksgiving through the lenses of Prayer and Fasting?    

Please leave a comment.  We would love to hear from you.


5 Comments

40 Days of Discipline:  Day 10 – Review

I will give thanks to the Lord because of his righteousness; I will sing the praises of the name of the Lord Most High. (Psalm 7:17, New International Version) 

Theme:  Rejoicing and Thanksgiving

Today is dedicated to reviewing what we have learned over the past five days.  As you perform your review, please consider how Bible Study and Spiritual Warfare relate to Rejoicing and Thanksgiving.

A special note of thanks again to those who provided their thoughts on Bible Study and Spiritual Warfare.  Your input makes a big difference.

Question:

In the course of your review, can you identify at least one Bible Study or Spiritual Warfare practice that you need to implement more consistently in your life?    

Please leave a comment.  We would love to hear from you.


3 Comments

40 Days of Discipline:  Day 4 – Review

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! (Philippians 4:4, New International Version) 

…give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 Thessalonians 5:18, New International Version

Theme:  Rejoicing and Thanksgiving

Today is dedicated to reviewing what we have learned over the past three days.  As you perform your review, please consider catching up on any comments you may have missed. 

Our consideration of the two verses above has laid some important groundwork for our journey over the remaining 36 days.  Our aim is to make the journey transformative and not just informative.  I hope you are excited about what God has in store.   

Question:

How has your thinking about rejoicing and thanksgiving evolved over the last three days?  

Please leave a comment.  We would love to hear from you.


9 Comments

40 Days of Discipline:  Day 40 – Review

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: Love each other. (John 15:9 – 17)

Theme:  The Local Church

Today we conclude our 40 days of Discipline journey.  Thank you for being a part of this experience! 

As we close another year of studying the Spiritual Disciplines, today is a good day to be reminded that the Disciplines only matter when under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, they advance God’s kingdom.  We repeatedly emphasize that we are not just interested in information sharing, we are more interested in growing to be more like Jesus. 

For this year’s journey, we have examined our involvement in the local church.  We have focused on the part we play in making the local church as effective as possible.  If you have kept track of the questions posed every week, you have a useful collection of issues you may want to pay close attention to as you associate with a local church.

As you perform your final review for this year’s journey, one point should be abundantly clear – being a part of a local church is God’s design. 

Please prayerfully consider how God wants you to continue to pursue his mission in community. 

Question:

Having focused on the local church over the last few weeks, are you feeling led to focus more on any particular aspect(s) of your local church?

Please consider sharing your thoughts so others can be blessed.  Thank you very much to all the commentators who ensured we had feedback every day of this journey! 


2 Comments

40 Days of Discipline:  Day 34 – Review

Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.  (1 Corinthians 12:27, New International Version)

Theme:  The Local Church

Today is dedicated to reviewing what we have learned over the past five days about Counsel, Creation and Sabbath in our local churches.  It is a great time to reflect on what was covered this week including in the comments.  

As a reminder, our desire is to make this journey transformative and not just informative.

Question:

Based on your studies this week, is there anything you are now more committed to doing in your local church? 

Please leave a comment.  We would love to hear from you.


2 Comments

40 Days of Discipline:  Day 28 – Review

Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.  (1 Corinthians 12:27, New International Version)

Theme:  The Local Church

Today is dedicated to reviewing what we have learned over the past five days about Service and Stewardship in our local churches.  It is a great time to reflect on what was covered this week including in the comments.  

As a reminder, our desire is to make this journey transformative and not just informative.

Question:

Based on your studies this week, is there anything you are now more committed to doing in your local church? 

Please leave a comment.  We would love to hear from you.