the discipline of reading Scripture out loud

Idea 1:  take a passage of Scripture, say, the sermon on the mount, Isaiah 53, or John 17, and read that Scripture out loud every day for one month.

Idea 2:  take a book and read out loud one chapter of that book every day until you have read through the whole book.

Idea 3.  Read the bible out loud three chapters at a time, you will go through the whole bible in 13 months.  You will have to budget more time when you are reading psalm 119.

Idea 4.  Read outloud a chapter, such as Psalm 103, Psalm 23, John 15, etc, out loud before your kids go to bed.  As your kids are in bed turn the lights off.  You would do a better job than me if you stop to answer kid's questions instead of getting frustrated at getting interrupted.

the discipline of fasting

the discipline of fasting is odd in these United States I live in.  Some of you live in areas where fasting is a reality, in that people go without food because there is no food.  The lack of food is unheard of in the United States, even among the homeless people I work with.  Jesus fasted for 40 days.  Moses fasted.  Elijah fasted.  Esther fasted.  Fasting is skipping a meal or meals in order to spend that time praying instead of eating.
Some of the things that fasting has done for me.
1.  showed me how weak I am, and how food oriented I am.
2.  given me no excuse not to pray.
3.  lead me, through my hunger, to hunger instead for the bread that comes down from heaven.
4.  think about those throughout the world, my brothers and my sisters, who literally are starving to death.
5.  to show how human and weak I am.
6.  did I mention that it shows my weakness, for I feel that this is so important, maybe the center of my Christianity, to know my weakness, so that I will rely on Christ's strength and not my own.

the discipline of tithing

my grandfather and my father after him, both taught their children the discipline of tithing, or giving 10 % of one's gross income to the church.  I have another post about Ron Sider's idea of a graduated tithe, but why is tithing so important, or important at all.  I do not believe that tithing is required for someone to be in Christ, or to live forever with God, or to escape hell, because Christ, not tithing, gives us redemption from and to.  The main reason for tithing is for us to remember that it is not our money.  Whether my income is $700,000 annually or $7,000 annually I must know that it is not my money.  If you disagree with me read Psalm 24.  If you disagree with Psalm 24, then you can argue with the Bible, which is often unfruitful.
100% of my money is God's.  Tithing is a lot like baptism, a symbol of a deeper reality.  My money is God's.    I do not pay the pastor's salary, and if I think I do, I am quite wrong.  God pays the pastor's salary.  The money is and always will be His.
The car is His.
The house is His.
The road bike is His.
The ice cream is His.
Stewardship means all of my money is God's money, and what I do with 100% of it is His decision, because it is His money.
The discipline of tithing helps us to remember that it is not our money.
If tithing makes me think that I am paying God and He owes me, my tithing has become a tool of the Enemy.

the discipline of silence

the bible says that God said, "Let there be light." and there was light, so it seems that God speaks.  I myself have heard God, though not audibly, but "heard" Him speak to me.  But it is not as common as I would like. I wonder, is it because the radio is on too much or because I cannot shut my mouth.

Idea 1.  go on a audio-fast, even a techno-fast, not listening or watching things but listening to silence, in order to tune myself more to the God who still speaks.

Idea 2.  speak no out loud words for one day.  i did this once in college and it was really hard, but i think now to do it would be almost impossible.  Maybe for three hours even.  Some of you reading this are those who speak few words and this would be easy, and others of you, like me, would find this very hard.

Idea 3.  During your prayer time, spend some time without praying out loud, but asking the question, "God, what do you want to say to me?" and then listening to what he may say, for 5 minutes, 15 minutes, etc.