Carll F.

Ochoa 05-10-20 Reading Reflection

Celebration of Discipline

This book, " Celebration of Discipline" by Richard Foster, expands my understanding of the
spiritual disciplines. I learned that spiritual disciplines are not a transcendent goal in the
Christian life only for spiritual giants, but ought to be part of everyday life for an ordinary
individual. And these disciplines are God's means of grace, that He puts us in a place where
He can transform us and bless us. And also, important to remember in doing these disciplines
is that the goal is to experience a life of relationship and intimacy with God. Moreover, I
recognized essential components for the Christians that these exercises develop in their lives.
These disciplines teach believers to listen to God. In meditation, we discern God's word for us
and obey it, and also as the prelude to intercession. Discerning his will first will keep us from
self-centered prayer and will consequently lead us to pray according to his will. In solitude, we
are in a state of mind and heart that we can listen to God in his all-embracing silence, as well
as we experience His guidance in our lives. Not only the spiritual disciplines cultivate in us a
listening ear for God, but also an attending ear for people. Spiritual disciplines are not
individualistic exercises, but exercises that allow us to involve in other people's lives.
Meditation, for instance, enables Christian to live better lives and make an impact in the world.
The author says that compassion for others is a necessary attitude, and this compassion and
sensitivity for others are the fruit of solitude. We gain a better understanding of people as we
study their lives and what controls them. We live a simple lifestyle for us to have a better
opportunity to help others, and we learn to give way to others and set their interest above ours
as we exercise submission and service. And these disciplines require humility, which develops
in us when we submit ourselves under these disciplines. Moreover, these disciplines liberate.
Solitude, for example, take us away from the confusion and noise around us into the presence
of God. Submission liberates us from our self-centeredness as we give up our rights for others,
while confession frees us from ourselves and releases us to worship. And every fulfillment and
experienced freedom through these disciplines results in a doxology of celebration.
Understanding these things about spiritual disciplines is important for me. This knowledge tells
me that these spiritual disciplines are God-centered, which are mere instruments of God to
transform me by His Spirit, conforming me to the image of His Son. Further, this perception
prevents me from doing these disciplines as self-centered exercise, but as disciplines that
enable me, in humility, to live a better life for the service of other people.
Carll F. Ochoa 05-10-20 Reading Reflection

Conformed to His Image: Holistic Spirituality

After reading facet seven of Kenneth Boa's book, "Conformed to His Image,” I have learned
that we tend to compartmentalize the components of our lives when we do not submit every
part of our lives under Christ's Lordship. Christ is central in a holistic spirituality. We believe
that we are more than material creatures because God created us with both material and
immaterial components integrated. Therefore, as human beings, we can only find meaning and
purpose if we seek it beyond the material realm and find meaning and purpose in our
uncreated God revealed to us in Jesus Christ. However, because man, blinded to the spiritual,
finds in the material world his meaning and purpose, his search for it ends in frustration.
Without God, man's life remains unintegrated, compartmentalized. Hence, we can only
experience wholeness in God, as we humble ourselves before Him and receive His wisdom.
We can perceive even the mundane elements of our lives as significant if we subject our lives
under Christ's control and let every component become the expression of Christ's life in us. We
can only achieve real transformation if we acknowledge Christ not just as a component, but the
unifying center of our lives. Furthermore, people tend to compartmentalize their lives into
secular and spiritual, and if we still see this in our lives as Christians, this affects our personal
growth and witness to the world. Dichotomizing our lives like this can lead us to compromise in
the areas of our lives that we label as worldly, for example, our secular job that we either see it
as less significant or an idol. We become capable of living an integrated life as we put all
things centered around Christ, seeing all elements of our lives as spiritual. An integrated life
realizes its every part as a spiritual pursuit with an equal opportunity to glorify God. Further, a
person who experiences an integrated life sees himself as a steward of God's grace.
Therefore, he sees that God owns everything in his life and has entrusted to him for him to
take care of and manage faithfully. Moreover, we often think of stewardship about our
finances, ministry, and time. However, the author also reminds us that part of our stewardship
is our relationships. Therefore, spending quality time with our loved ones and other people
should also be a spiritual pursuit, as God's stewardship that we ought to take care of and
cultivate.
Carll F. Ochoa 05-10-20 Reading Reflection

Grand Weaver: How God Shapes Us Through the Events of Our Lives

This book, "Grand Weaver" by Ravi Zacharias, made me ponder on what God is doing to mold
me by the circumstances of my life. This book made me reflect on my uniqueness as God's
creation. I realized that God designed every aspect of my life for His purpose, even the things I
think in me that are flaws. This recognition leads to the contentment of what God has given me
and to use it to His purpose. Further, sometimes we find our momentary troubles irrelevant to
the purposes of God in our lives, as hindrances to the good intentions of God for us. But the
author tells us that even our disappointments matter and profitable to shape us according to
his will. These unfavorable circumstances of our lives develop our faith in Him, strengthen our
minds, and make us meditate on the suffering of Christ, seeing every event in light of the
cross. Moreover, because God authors our calling, our calling must be significant to us. Giving
importance to God's calling is to submit to his plan and discover where he wants us to be. We
determine our God-given calling by immersing ourselves in prayer, living in humility, seeking
the wisdom of godly people, and committing ourselves in exalting Christ in everything we do.
Furthermore, morality also matters in our lives, boundaries that God has determined for his
creation. However, submission to God's moral standards should not attempt to reconcile us to
God, but as an expression of loving commitment to God who redeemed us into a covenantal
relationship with Him through his Son. God's moral standards do not restrain us but boundaries
that he has designed for all our choices. Furthermore, what I learned from this book about
God's design for our spirituality is that Christ is central to it. Spirituality, not based on the truth
(i.e., Christ and scriptures) leads to legalistic or superstitious expressions, and thus false
spirituality. Moreover, in the topic of human will, I learned that in submitting our will to God's, it
is necessary to realize that it is God who works in us by His Spirit, and thus we can do his will
in our lives. Further, to see his patience and the manifestation of his love in our lives should
prompt us to faithfulness in serving him. Moreover, this book tells that worship is prime and
vital in human experience. And when God as the focus, we experience real pleasure and
meaning in our worship. Our destiny also matters. And as Christians, whom God conforms to
the image of Christ must also see himself like Christ, whose home is with the Father.