Action | The Practical Disciple - Part 4

Posts in Category: action

Staying Focused in Prayer, Lessons from My Lenten Discipline

 

Do you struggle with staying focused while you pray? You aren’t alone. In fact, this is the number one prayer problem people share with me. This shouldn’t surprise us in a culture that constantly interrupts us by texts, notifications, commercials every seven minutes on television and a host of other distractions. It’s a wonder anyone can focus.

Good news -You don’t have to be a victim to your wandering thoughts. With a few simple strategies even the most ADD person can reign their thoughts in and spend quality time with God in prayer. I was reminded of this simple fact recently when focus became a HUGE problem for me over the past four weeks. Here’s what happened and how I fixed

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The Prayer Work We Must Do To End Violence

The prayer work we must do to end violence

“I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone – for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.” —I Timothy 2:1-2

As Paul wrote to the young man Timothy a letter of encouragement, he knew the fears of being on a mission in a hostile culture. The prospect of persecution loomed large. The spiritual solution to this threat was first and foremost prayer. Specifically, Paul called upon Timothy to pray for “kings and all those in authority”. He emphasized the importance of this by

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How To Move Out Of Anxiety And Into God’s Peace

How to Move Out of Anxiety and Into God's Peace
 
Anxiety can paralyze you. How many nights have you spent lying awake stewing anxiously over a conflict? Have you ever had a sudden change of circumstance leave you bewildered and unable to move?
 
Paul’s letter to the Ephesians offers a simple three-fold pattern for how we can faithfully move out of our anxiety and into action. Doing so brings you to a place where you can experience both the peace of God and the God of peace.
 

1. Release anxiety by turning to God in prayer

Paul wrote,

‘Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with

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Gossip, Five Ways Nehemiah Teaches You To Survive It.

Gossip, five ways Nehemiah Teaches You to Survive it

Gossip can eat you alive; particularly, if you’re a leader. But, gossip is nothing new. Nehemiah, a lesser known figure of the Bible, stayed heroically faithful in the face of malicious opposition. You can learn much from his example.

If you don’t recall who Nehemiah was, he was a high official in the court of King Artaxerxes I, a Persian king. Nehemiah sought permission to go back to Jerusalem to rebuild the city and it’s walls.

He was granted permission and returned to Jerusalem in 445 B.C. as the provincial governor of the region. He restored the walls with the help of people

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Bible Study and Application: Setting Spiritual Goals

Setting Spiritual Goals

In my last post, I shared three ways God calls you through scripture: Principles, Tasks, and Changes. Today, you are going to learn exactly what to do to apply what you learn in bible study to your daily life. Specifically, how to set spiritual goals for living out God’s Word based upon the principles and tasks you encounter. Here’s how it works…

SHOW NOTES

PRINCIPLES

Principles are lessons that you implement indefinitely. These are ongoing standards of thought and conduct. Some principles such as, “love your neighbor as yourself” may prompt you to fulfill a specific task, such as,

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Are you abusing Phil. 4:6? “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer…”

8a1cce78429df942e8ad31256b3266ffPhillippians 4:6 is what I call a coffee cup verse.  It gets splashed around on mugs, tee-shirts, hats, and regalia.  It also gets tossed at people going through stress-laden experiences as the be all, end-all, prescription for facing hardship.  Frankly, doing so abuses the text and often times sets up that person to feel like a failure.

I’ve been in hard times and read this verse prescriptively.  I told myself, “Okay, just stop worrying and start praying.”  I tried.  I tried REALLY  hard.  Usually, I failed.  I couldn’t just turn off my anxiety because someone said, “It’s now time for you to choose to no longer be anxious.”

So, what’s the problem?  This verse is

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