Day 1
Lam 3:26-28  it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD. 27 It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is young. 28 Let him sit alone in silence, for the LORD has laid it on him. NIV

'One of the fruits of silence is to let God be our justifier .We do not need to straighten others out.' CELEBRATION OF DISCIPLINES BY RICHARD J. FOSTER _CHAPTER 7 :_DISCIPLINE OF SOLITUDE _ (page_101_)

We all feel the need , as Foster points out , to use our mouth to correct the wrong impression people have of what we said or did . Hence most of our talking is in justifications. Solitude or the time we choose to be silent so that we may tune in God, deprives us of this ability which makes us very vulnerable. No wonder solitude opens us to hear God since we then would have to trust Him to look after our reputation in the hours or days we are silent.

However difficult this discipline is , it is a necessary disciple if we are to grow in our faith. We must learn to have a real quiet time regularly when we close others out and close in with God. It leaves us much closer to God and then it also frees us to deal with others honestly and be interested in their welfare rather than our welfare. This only happens because we have entrusted our welfare to God.

I therefore agree with Foster that the benefit of silence is to let us surrender our interests to God, believing that he is both willing and able to look after our interests. Secondly it makes others happier with us as they discover we're no longer critical of them or even no longer spend heated arguments trying to correct them and justify our selves. The end is better relationships both with God and man.

 

Day 2
Prov 4:23 Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. NIV

'Life must be organized by the heart if it is to be organized at all .It can be pulled together only from the inside

REVOLUTION OF CHARACTER BY DALLAS WILLARD AND DON SIMPSON:_CHAPTER 2 :_THE HEART CENTRE OF OUR LIVES… (page_29_)

The writers deal with very complicated matter but try to make them simple. The matter of the heart and spirit are not simple. But I agree with them that any transformation you expect in men or society must begin at the heart. Once the heart of man sees the need to change then despite the radical challenges that that decision will result in … the changes will happen.

If we want transformation we must convince the heart of man of the need then he will be willing to make sacrifices that are necessary for the transformation. Ever heard of the boy who was forced to sit but he told the mother that although he was sitting, he was still standing on the inside!!It means that as soon as the mother left he will revert back sitting.

It is useless to get changes that do not come from the inside of man. Once the heart changes all the outside will change

 

Day 3
Rom 13:1-2   1 Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2 Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.NIV

they come to perceive that authority does not reside in positions or degrees or titles or tenure or any outside symbol. The way of Christ is another direction all together-the way of spiritual authority.

CELEBRATION OF DISCIPLINES BY RICHARD J. FOSTER _CHAPTER 8 :_DISCIPLINE OF SUBMISSION … (page_123_)

The way of submission has been assumed to be respecting superior who are assumed to be the ones with titles or positions. I agree with Foster that, that is not really where authority resides .it is the man who drives his authority from God who ultimately will influence others. He has something that will put him in place to be obeyed even if he has no title. But I also agree that even human authorities that have no spiritual authority should be obeyed unless obeying will bring destruction .Jesus paid taxes to the hated Roman colonizers.

But we need to be careful that we do not do what displeases the lord in the name of obeying. Whether the person is a Christian or not, ultimately we must find out whether obeying him will honor or dishonor God. If it dishonors him, even if the person is bishop we must choose not to obey and suffer the consequences

 

Day 4
Gal 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. NIV

Right here we must see the difference between choosing to serve and choosing to be a servant………But when we choose to be a servant we give up the right to be in charge .There is great freedom in this. If we voluntarily choose to be taken advantage of,then we cannot be manipulated.'

CELEBRATION OF DISCIPLINES BY RICHARD J. FOSTER _:_CHAPTER 9 :_DISCIPLINE OF SERVICE ,(page_132_)

This is a very revolutionary idea. To be politically correct demands that. we fight for our rights and not allow any one to take advantage of us. Even Christians want a choice to decide who to help or who not to help. When someone takes advantage of us we feel justified to condemn them. We argue that even Jesus and Paul insisted on his rights.

So when Foster tells us that once we are servants we loose the right to choose, then we feel a certain discomfort with the argument.

But for sure for Paul to say he is no longer the one that lives but Christ that lives in him would imply he does whatever Christ chooses and not what he chooses. It is true that when we choose to serve then we can also choose not to serve but if we are slaves or servant then our job description at all times is service. I also agree with him that once you choose to be Christian servant, then your joy will be to serve him even if in the process others see as if you are being taken advantage of. Is this not the essence of getting to be a follower of Jesus?. We become his servants. To fulfill our call will require that we live for this service.

Since serving Christ means serving his creation then it will mean we are ever one's servant. The implication of this is that, each day we shall be watching out for who God is bringing our way to serve. It will also mean we shall expect Jesus to meet the cost rather than the people we serve. The owner of restaurant pays the waiter as long as he agrees to wait on the customers. We are Christian waiters who should spend out lifetime waiting on the world so that they may taste what Christ offered via his cross.

 

Day 5
Matt 5:44-45 But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. NIV

'Gandhi… was inspired by the teaching of Jesus in the gospel of Matthew about loving our enemies, the power of turning the other cheek, and going the extra mile' JESUS BRAND SPIRITUALITY BY KEN WILSON_CHAPTER 3 :_REPAIRING THE WORLD, (page_55_)

Wilson deals with a very big challenge for us as a church.

Gandhi is also quoted to have said …he admired Jesus but not the Christians.

This is the part of Christianity that is difficult to pretend to do. How do you love your enemies when you know they seek your down fall? How do you give the other cheek to someone who want to destroy you?

This is why the story of Easter is crucial to the gospel. Jesus knew it was not enough to teach us to do the right thing. We need to be born again and have the holy spirit help us to do the impossible things Jesus is asking us to do. Only after you say with Paul you no longer live but Christ lives in you, will you be in a position to have no selfishness and only seek to do that which will bring glory to God.

This will motivate you to seek others' good and hence you may want to use your resources to ensure the weak are protected , the poor are empowered and the environment is protected so that all current and future generations can enjoy it.

Once your interest is God's glory, you will have joy even in suffering. With Paul you will count it a privilege to suffer for Christ.