Slow down and create space for silence and solitude each day. But, here’s the key … Creating space means allowing time for reflection and contemplation with God … listening to Him … I think we often create space and just fill it with whatever we want … How about just guarding that space and meet God during that time — and ask Him what He wants to say to you … what He wants you to do in that time …

Ps 46 [10] Be still, and know that I am God!

Luke 5:[15] But the news about Him spread even more, and large crowds would come together to hear Him and to be healed of their sicknesses. [16] Yet He often withdrew to deserted places and prayed.

I’ve generally been drawn to churches that have a social justice message.  To me, it meant practicing the love of Christ.  If I could just learn to love like Christ, then I would solve the world’s problems. Eventually, no matter my intentions, I began to see that I wasn’t having much effect on the world’s problems or even my own and my community’s.  But Christ’s message was more than his love for us.  Through study, I’m beginning to grasp that I can’t love the way Christ loves, I have to let Christ in me through to love like that.  And I do have my share of obstacles that I allow to get in the way of Christ living through me.

One of the thoughts from discussion today was how I respond when people accuse me of being judgmental, believing in Christ in the face of science.  I retreat.  I generally avoid confrontation, even when it’s something as important to me as talking about Christ.  I see this as one of my biggest obstalces that can keep me from letting Christ love through me.

When it comes to cultivating our lives, we have to get this one simple life principle: don’t manage time, rather order your life in light of the time you have. Jesus did this. He lived out daily priorities.

Luke 21 [37] Each day Jesus was teaching at the temple, and each evening he went out to spend the night on the hill called the Mount of Olives, [38] and all the people came early in the morning to hear him at the temple. Time is morning, afternoon and night. Don’t squeeze the most out of time. Time is not a commodity to use … I can’t save time, I can’t waste time and I can’t manage time — Instead, order your life. Ordering our lives means prioritizing … it means figuring out that matters most … and then creating the space in our lives to do them. It’s not managing time — it’s managing our priorities.

Jesus went to the Mt of Olives every night to pray and be alone with God. But, he also had balance. Look at Jesus’ life — he ordered his life with a few. They did just about everything together. They confronted the religious leaders together. They healed people together. They hiked through ancient Palenstine together. They did just about everything together. We need to focus on the spiritual priorities first: my life with God, my life with family, my small group and my life with my neighbors.

To experience all that God has for us, Jesus askes us to abandon our own agenda and follow him. It actually becomes easier and easier to hear his voice and follow him the more we do it.

Luke 9 [23] Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me. [24] If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. [25] And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but are yourself lost or destroyed?

It’s a struggle. We want control. It’s a risk. We want to stay safe and not trust an invisibile God. We want things our way. We don’t want to be accountable to an invisible for what we do.

Yet, this is the way to experiece life to the fullest.

How do we live a more balanced life?

We need to rearrange our lives so that we live balance spiritual practices like Jesus did. What are the spiritual practices of Jesus? He engaged in praying and but also stepped out in faith. He meditated on Scripture but he also acted on what Scripture said to do (Matthew 4). He spent time worshipping God and but also sacrificed his time and life for others. He spent time in silence and solitude with God (Mark 1:35; Luke 5:16) but he also served others. He did life with a few but he also slowed down for reflection with God. He mentored others in how to do life with God but he also lived out a personal, spiritual relationship with God too. He engaged in things but he also abstained from things (i.e., fasting, sexual sin, etc.). He was practiced staight up honesty but also was loving and compassionate. He balanced spiritual practices.

Living a more balanced life - getting back into the rhythm of life that you were created to live out is a journey – not a destination. It’s spiritual. It’s emotional. It’s relational. It’s also physical. The one thing that we have to do to live a balanced life is to be proactive. We have to change our habits and rearrange our lives. But, we also need to rearrange our minds too. If we don’t, we can end up in a rut of negative thinking. Someone said choose your rut carefully because you’ll be in it for the next 20 years.

We sometimes think that being a Christian is just believing some things. We think that being a Christian is just believing some things about God and Jesus — and not practicing what we believe and somehow that’s fine. But, faith is not just agreeing to some facts or beliefs. Faith is an action word. When we truly believe in Christ and have life with him, it means that we trust him enough to follow him and give our lives to him.