My First Few

Ahhh, here I go again. Fresh off some inspiration, I want to write to inspire. Whether I somehow inspire you to joy, laughter, reflection, or the infamous "other" at the end of any list, I will be satisfied. Writing is very little unless interacted with.

Yesterday, I was sitting in the awkward moment of the evening, between not wanting to do homework, but not tired enough to go to bed (I feel like I've written this before. Deja vu?). As typical when I encounter this phenomenon, my computer ends up on my lap, internet wide open to my hungry and bored mind. Don't worry, no disaster here. I am at heart an innocent surfer, at worst a time waster.

I decided to "waste my time" listening to the second half of Andy Stanley's sermon "Five Catalysts of Faith." Sadly, when I went to Northpoint's website (which is Stanley's church website if you hadn't already guessed) I found that the Faith Catalyst series had been removed! You can imagine my disappointment as I pondered the horrific reality that I had only listened to part I. Part II would most likely be out of my financially frugal reach. As a generation trained in the art of googling, however, I embarked to find the series elsewhere.

Shortly after beginning my search, I found an entire website devoted to the catalyst series, which was much more in-depth than the original 2 part series. The website is called "Five Things God Uses" and is devoted to each of the five faith catalysts in turn on a separate page with separate, full-length messages. The icing on the cake? It's free and completely legal.

I pressed play on the third of the five faith catalysts: Private Disciplines.

I guess I should interject the definition of a catalysts here. A catalysts is: a substance that increases the rate of a reaction; a precipitator, a facilitator. In other words, it's basically a stimulant that helps something happen faster than it would on its own. Also, I should interject the first two faith catalysts: 1). Practical Teaching and 2). Providential relationships. Okay, back to the message...

A discipline is basically doing something that you don't want to do now, so that you can do what you want to do later. The funny thing about disciplines is that they don't always stay disciplines. Sometimes what starts out as an obligation ends up being a complete joy, something you can't imagine your life without. Take music for example. When I was younger, I took piano lessons (insert your past and your instrument here). I was required to practice for 30 min. a day, whether I felt like it or not. That, my friends, is a discipline. I practiced even though I didn't feel like it (doing what I didn't want to do now) so that someday (later) I would be able to play fluently (doing what I wanted to do). Piano lessons—which started out as a discipline—have become a complete and utter joy in my life: I can't imagine my existence without a love of music in it.

Spiritually speaking, growing our faith requires disciplines. Not just any disciplines, though. Matthew 6:1-17 gives us an overview of how our disciplines should look. I won't copy and past the whole passage here, but the overall idea is captured in the first verse:

"Beware of practicing your acts of righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with you Father who is in heaven."

The acts of righteousness (disciplines) we do aren't to be done publicly. That's why they're called PRIVATE disciplines. The passage talks about 3 disciplines in particular: giving, praying, and fasting, of which only the first two will be mentioned in this post.

When it comes to giving, money isn't the issue. Faith is. We often trust God for what will happen after we breathe our last, but not for while we're still breathing. It's a lot harder to trust God in the here and now because we struggle with our sense of personal control. I tend to fall on the side of giving no more than what is needed to satisfy my conscience. But God doesn't want my money in order to use it to satisfy needs (although that may be a byproduct). He wants my faith. He wants me to trust Him more than I trust myself or my resources.

Prayer is important as a private discipline too. Like giving, prayer is about something more than the obvious. Prayer is about our time. God wants me to devote a PORTION of my time to Him as an offering that ALL of my time is His anyway. The importance of "private prayer" is that it removes any hindrance we may have about getting personal with God. We can get on our knees if we want; no one's looking but God. We can say what we need to; no one's listening but God. Getting intimate with God through private prayer grants us a supernatural assurance of His presence and care. Isn't it mind boggling that what we do matters to God?

Two interesting points about prayer stand out to me from Stanley's message.

1). I need to pick a prayer slot that isn't already "naturally" focused on God. Meaning, church and emergencies are out, since I tend to turn toward God during those times "automatically."

2). People live as if they'll run out of money before they run out of time, even though the reality is that we'll run out of time first.

My faith grows as it intersects with God's faithfulness. Do I really believe that if no one else sees, He will—and He will reward me? How would I live differently if I did? The challenge to practice these disciplines is to persevere while they are still disciplines, and trust that they will eventually become joys. It reminds me of the technique for helping a new puppy get used to his collar (which I read ages ago in one of the many dog books I owned). You have to start small. Determine an amount of time the puppy will wear the collar and take it off once that time is up. Over the next week or so, increase the amount of time the puppy wears the collar. Soon, you'll notice the puppy actually misses NOT wearing the collar. It becomes a part of him.

When I wake up in the morning, I will find a place where I can be purely alone with God, even if that means I have to go into my closet. When I get my paycheck, or receive a financial gift, a percentage will go to either the church I'm attending or a ministry I believe in. If your interested, join me in giving God your first few too.