Daniel Raducu's Key Ideas from Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life
by Donald S. Whitney

We are qualified to see the Lord by the Lord. What does this mean?

We cannot produce enough righteousness to impress God and gain our entrance into heaven. Instead, we can stand before God only on the basis of the righteousness that was gained by Jesus Christ. Only He lived a life good enough to be accepted by the Father and to be considered worthy. He was able to do this because He was God incarnated in the flesh. Living a sinless life qualified Him to be a sacrifice for the Father to accept in the name of others who by sin disqualify themselves for heaven and for a relationship with God.

As a result, all who come to God and trust in the person and work of Jesus to be justified before God are given the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1: 13-14). 

This presence of the Holy Spirit creates a new hunger for all who live in it that they have not had before. For example, they want God's Word - the Bible - which they previously considered boring or irrelevant. Now they have new desires, such as the desire to live a sinless life and to have a mind that is not tempted by sin.

That person begins to cherish and pursue holiness.

Anyone who does not seek holiness will not see the Lord. And the reason he will not see the Lord in the heavens is because he does not know the Lord now.

But holiness is sought only by one who has received Jesus as Savior for his life and who has thus received the Holy Spirit, because those who are inhabited by the Holy Spirit are constrained to pursue holiness.

To the question: How can I become more like Jesus Christ?

We find an answer in 1 Timothy 4:7: "Be disciplined for godly devotion." - In other words, if your goal is holiness - and holiness is your goal if you are inhabited by the Holy Spirit because He makes holiness your goal - then how do you pursue this goal?

We will find an answer in the following chapters, but I want to emphasize that the purpose of the disciplines is a godly devotion; and when we remember this, the spiritual disciplines are transformed from chore into pleasure.

Be wise about money and let God alone drive you for who you are supposed to be and to do.

Don't let money define you. They are only a tool and they have only four jobs:

• spend
• save
• invest
• donate

Here is an example on how to divide money to fill those categories:

• 60% necessities
• 10% emergencies
• 10% investment & learning
• 10% donating
• 10% fun

You are free to withdraw from any category and add up to another. But this is a good starter for most of us. 

The reason we use our money and the things we buy is the best indicator of our spiritual maturity is that we devote such a large part of our lives to it.

Because we invest most of our days working in exchange for money, in a very real sense money represents us. 

So, the way we use them shows who we really are, what our priorities are and what is in our heart.

Test

Test

Well, first of all, in 1 Corinthians 10:26 it says, for, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.” God is the master of all things, including your possessions.

But He wants us to use and enjoy the things He has allowed us to have, but as His stewards, we must remember that they belong to Him.

Giving is more than an heartless debt or an obligation to a congregation or a person , it's an act of worshipping to God. ( I know you all heard a person in your life which gave something and then said something like this: "in Jesus name". At least when I say it, I try to mean it.)

There is a little story in Marc 12:41-44, I recommend you read it. It tells us about a poor widow which gave gave everything she had because she believed that God will take care of Her. And there were others who gave half of what they haved but which valued much more than what the widows gived. What's the problem or what's the difference?

Why would she do something like this, its irrational. The answer is quite simple. She had faith. The others had too, but not as much as she had.

Your giving can be and it probably is an indicator of your faith that God will take care of your needs.

Imagine some parents who see their child graduating from high school or college, or marrying a godly life partner, or they see their child doing something that fills their eyes with tears of joy. 

If you were to tell to those parents, "Hey, think of all the sleepless nights because of that baby, all the dirty diapers, the tens of thousands of dollars that that baby cost you and which you could've spend on the things you want, at all the time that your child took you, during which you could do what you wanted", they would answer you: "He deserved every so-called sacrifice, because what I received in return was worth every effort."

Suppose I came to my wife on Valentine's Day, pulled out a bouquet of yellow roses, which are her favorites, and said, "Happy birthday!"

She would say, "How beautiful the roses are! Thank you! You shouldn't have spent so much money."

I would formally respond to her joy: "Don't thank me. Today is Valentine's Day and, as your husband, it is my duty to bring you a gift."

How would she feel then?

She would probably be ready to crush every rose on my nose!

Now suppose I did the same thing, but instead I said, "The best thing I can do with my money is use it for you, because I love you so much."

The same amount of money. The same gift. But one gift is motivated by law, and the other by love. And motivation makes all the difference.

Likewise, God wants you to give, not as a formality for what is needed or as an obligation, but as an outpouring of your love for Him.

There are three kinds of generosity: the one made in force, the one out of obligation and the one full of gratitude.

Generosity in force says, "I have to give."

The generosity of duty says, "I am obliged to give, as others do."

The generous generosity says, "I want to give."

God wants you to rejoice when you give.

Imagine this: you are in a physical meeting and it is said that it is a time of donation for a person in need. After you donate, the person who received that donation enters the room door. And this person is actually the most important person in your life: "your mom, your wife, your dad or anyone you value the most".

How would your giving be like if you knew that the donation was for that person, and you knew its needs and the urgent need of help.

1. The world wants your money (which is actually God's as we've discussed in the beginning ). The ads show this clearly.
2. Christians have the same sinful desires as all other people - the Bible calls these desires "earthly flesh" - to spend money selfishly.
3. The evil one tempts us to spend our money because he wants to destroy our lives. But, if God truly loves us, then we must believe that He will tell us how to use our money so that it will bring us the greatest benefit and greater joy than we would have if we used it as we wished ( as our flesh wished ).

Disclaimer: God never says that if you give faithfully, He will give you a lot of money or other earthly blessings. But He says He will bless you in this life if you love Him and trust Him enough to give generously.

Word meaning the Word of God.

There can be no healthy christian life without nourishment from the milk and flesh of the Scripture.

In the Bible, God tells us about Himself and especially about Jesus Christ, the incarnate Word. The Bible reveals the Law to us and shows us how we have broken it. We learn how Jesus, without having sinned, died in the place of those who broke the Law and how we must repent and believe in Him in order to be in a proper relationship with God. So the God's will and His ways are revealed in there.

Don't you want to see the desires of your creator. If we want to love and know God, we must begin to know God's Word

Daca nu ne disciplinam sa ascultam Cuvantul lui Dumnezeu in mod regulat, s-ar putea sa-l ascultam doar accidental doar cand avem chef - sau sa nu-L ascultam deloc.