Skip to main content

Rule of Life is an intentional pattern of spiritual disciplines that provides structure and direction for growth

Rule of Life is an intentional pattern of spiritual disciplines that provides structure and 
direction for growth in holiness.  A Rule establishes a rhythm for life in which is helpful for 
being formed by the Spirit, a rhythm that reflects a love for God and respect for how he has made 
us.  The disciplines which we build into our rhythm of life help us to shed the “old self” and 
allow our “new self” in Christ to be formed.  Spiritual disciplines are means of grace by which 
God can nourish us.  Ultimately a Rule should help you to love God more, so if it becomes a 
legalistic way of earning points with God or impressing others, it should be scrapped.  If the 
traditional, ancient term “rule” concerns you because it sounds legalistic, think of “rule” as a 
“rhythm of life” or as a “Curriculum in Christlikeness” (Dallas Willard), or as a “Game Plan for 
Morphing” (John Ortberg). 
In order to be life-giving, a Rule must be realistic!   It is not an ideal toward which you are 
striving to soar.  Instead, your initial Rule should be a minimum standard for your life that you 
do not want to drop below.  It’s a realistic level of engaging in the spiritual disciplines for which 
you can honestly and truly be held accountable.

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bill Wilson Author of the Big Book

The early members of AA were still closely connected to the Oxford Group. Bill continued to have misgivings about their evangelical leanings. He felt that this would prevent too many alcoholics from accepting the help that such a program could offer. Bill had been influenced by a physician called Dr. Silkwood who promoted the idea that alcoholism was a disease and not moral failing. The early members of AA became convinced that it was a disease that could be cured with a spiritual program. In order to make this cure available to more people it was necessary for Alcoholics Anonymous split completely away from the Oxford Group. In 1939, the group released a book called Alcoholics Anonymous: The Story of How More Than 100 Men Have Recovered from Alcoholism. This later became known as the Big Book. It has become the most successful self-help publication of all time, with over 20 million copies sold. Most of the content was written by Bill, but he did get a great deal of help from the earl...
Post a Comment
Read more

Increase Spirituality, Decrease Alcohol Use

  The research team, headed by Kelly, studied 1,726 adults who were participating in a randomized, controlled trial of psychosocial treatments for alcohol use disorder. All the subjects were assessed at the start of the study and at 3, 6, 9, 12, and 15 months regarding their attendance at AA meetings, alcohol use, and spiritual/religious practices. The researchers found that attendance at AA meetings was associated with an increase in the participants’ spiritual practices. This increase was especially evident among people who measured low on spirituality at the beginning of the study. Another related finding was that AA attendance was linked to improved alcohol use, and this was partially mediated by increased spirituality. When it comes to rates of success or failure associated with AA, the “Alcoholics Anonymous Recovery Outcome Rates: Contemporary Myth and Misinterpretation” report released January 1, 2008, reported as of their 2007 Survey, 45 percent of AA me...
Post a Comment
Read more