S is for Spiritual

Spiritual Focus:-your inner stability, being strongly anchored to your Lord and prepared for inevitable turmoil and stress

We did four different bible studies in our growth groups.
The first was on loving one another (John 13:34-56; 17:18, 20-21, 23b and I John 3:11-18).
The second was on the heart of conflict (James 4:1-3). We talked about destructive conflict, what good conflict is, how our own desires turn to sinful demands and we judge others.
The third was on why God allows adversity in our lives. Often our adversities seem completely senseless and irrational, but not to God! It is neither senseless nor irrational to Him. We went through many reasons for adversity:
Pruning, to reveal unholy lusts and pride, to learn dependence on God,
learn perseverance, to be of service to others (also coming along side those
also going through hard times), entering into the privilege of the fellowship
of suffering, and to develop a deeper relationship with God.
The fourth was on the disciplines of silence and solitude (which Brian posted on some earlier). This was the intro to our time with God later in the day.

Another part of the Spiritual section was on spiritual vitality. Unfortunately this was the day we were sick, so we only heard parts of it through a baby monitor!
Your spiritual vitality must emerge from three foundation truths:
God is God
God isn’t safe, but He is faithful
God is good
Under your commitment to missions, under your zeal for the work, these three must be set.

We talked about dealing with your fears. What do you fear? Deal with it with God; if you don’t, God may deal with it for you, and that’s not always as fun.

Soul care was the main focus. Again, go back in the December archives to Silence and Solitude to read more.
When asked the question of what you do for rest or relaxation, most of us are caught off guard and mumble something about reading.
What is rest? Rest is NOT motivated by accomplishment, by provision, by success. Rest is declaring your dependency on God for those three things.
Are we restless for the cause of the gospel? But “what good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?” Mark 8:36
Our own souls need to be restored, revived, nurtured, have the ability to bless God and others, rest, need it be satisfied, experience loss & recover with grief, the magnify the Lord.

Integrity is the hidden parts of you consistent with the parts on public display. This takes spiritual work in the quiet space of our lives.

Work 6 days/Keep one day as a special day. We never got into a discussion as to what day that had to be, just one day out of seven needs to be a special day for the Lord. On that day:

-Cease: from work, the need to accomplish, be productive, worry, need of efficiency, passiveness, the humdrum and meaninglessness that result when life is pursued without the Lord at the center
-Rest: spiritual, physical, emotional, intellectual, social
-Embracing what God values: intentionality and deliberateness, wholly different set of values from world around us, unhurried, uninterrupted, quality leisure time with others, caring for people and not things, giving instead of requiring, embracing your call in life
-Feasting/celebrating: feasting on the presence of God, with music, with beauty, with food, with affection
Our great grandfathers called it the Holy Sabbath, our grandfathers the Sabbath, our fathers Sunday, we call it the weekend.

THE BIG LESSON: We *must* take care of ourselves spiritually or we won’t be able to continue caring for others.