Doorways and Disciplines

Spiritual Doorway: A way that you connect with God that comes natural, easy and with power. Your spiritual doorways are the methods that allow you to feel the heart of God, to delight in his goodness, to rejoice in his presence, etc.

Spiritual Discipline: A way in which you connect with God that may not come easy, but is still necessary. Spiritual disciplines don’t necessarily “feel” as good as doorways and require more work, but pay off in ways that doorways cannot.

Everyone has different doorways and disciplines.

-Relationships: Fellowship brings you close to God’s heart for those people. You feel God’s love through loving and being loved by others. You heart breaks for those closest to you. If you don’t get fellowship, you feel disconnected from the spirit. Regardless of whether this is a doorway or a discipline, every relationship you have is meant to make them more like Christ. Every relationship you have is meant to make you more like Christ.

-Intellectual: You find God through studying. Intellectual pursuit allows you to see God clearer, to hear his voice, to observe his actions. Whether you are studying how flowers are pollinated or the ancient Jewish texts or simply the bible itself, studying allows you to investigate who God is. Studying challenges both who you are and your conception of who God is. Your thoughts of how great God is expand through study.

-Worship: You come closest to God in corporate worship. You feel his presence when you are immersed in the body, singing as one voice. You feel connected to God and others when you are surrounded by a great host of praise. You catch a glimpse of heaven when you are singing, dancing, praising or what have you.

-Activist: You come closest to God in confrontation. You long for justice. You are most energized when you challenge church. You feel God’s heart when you are challenging and pushing others. In teaching and challenging, your own relationship with Christ is taken to a new level. You yearn to feed the hungry. You desire to comfort the heart-broken. You fight for the lost. You feel God’s heart when you fight for those he longs for. The Church of Jesus Christ should be passionate about the poor. God’s name is dishonored, if we let Christians go hungry. We live in a community with the blood of Christ poured on it; we have the responsibility to care for others.

 -Contemplative: You come close to God when you are alone, when you are silent, when you are in solitude. You seek God in deep and intimate prayer, where there are no distractions. It is just you and God. You sit in meditation and contemplate the greatness of God. You feel his presence and peace in being still and know He is God, He will fight for you.

-Service: You come close to God in helping others. You are energized just by setting up chairs in a room. You feel God’s delight when you are in the background and unseen. It brings you joy to bless others. By giving your love to others, God is pouring out even more love into you. It is a cycle that continues to grow and grow. Service identifies you with Jesus, the great servant.

-Creation: You are closest to God in nature, walking, reading. You see is power in the storms. You see his peace in the meadow. You feel his delight in the sunlight. You admire his creativity. You rejoice with all of his creatures.

*Prayer is not a doorway or discipline, because it should be practiced all the time. Why Pray? Communication. Lifeline. Requests. Thankfulness. Mourning. Raw Emotion. Community. Coming before the throne. Reconciliation. Shows dependence. Teaches us. Weapon. But this is a topic for another day.

We should all seek to know God, and the methods above are simple ways to understand how to do it. All of these can be abused. The one’s you’re the most comfortable with are the ones you’re going to judge others with. Just because someone else relates with God differently, doesn’t mean they are more or less connected with Christ. We are all different. You don’t need to do every discipline all the time. It should not be a burden.

There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

Spiritual gifts are not given for our sake, but for the sake of others. I think many of us do not use or even know about our gifts because we are simply trying to please ourselves with them. When the apostles prayed for healing and miracles and blessing, it was for the advancement of the kingdom.

Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.
 Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? Now eagerly desire the greater gifts.

Be you (as cliché as it sounds)

So often we can be envious of other’s roles in the kingdom. We can get so wrapped up in advancing the kingdom a certain way. But you cannot be anything you want to be. However, you can be everything God wants you to be. You are the only you God made. When we don’t get you, the world misses out, the kingdom misses out, the Body of Christ misses out. You need to be you. You can't be your hero, your parent, or your big brother. All you have to give is what you have been given to give. Your Father is too gracious to assign you to a life of misery.

You are a brand new idea
When you use the gifts and passions God gave you, you discover an uncommon joy. Rerelish your moments of success and satisfaction. Concentrate in who you are and what you have. At your best, who are you? When you do the most what you do best, you pop the pride buttons on the vest of God. When do you feel God's pleasure? If you am me, how can you mess you up? You were made for the part, so speak your lines with confidence. How you relate to God and his kingdom affects everything. Dread him and hate your work. Trust him and love it. Remember, no one else has your talents. No one. God elevates you from commonhood by matching your unique abilities to custom-made assignments. Don't see yourself as a product of your parents' DNA, but rather a brand new idea from heaven. 

So let’s seek God uniquely. Let’s use our gifts uniquely. Let’s be the brand new idea that God created us to be.