So go with your instincts and follow your passions – this is the best way to ensure that you’ll stay motivated. 4. Choose a psycho-spiritual practice McMahon, BT, Biggs HC. Examining spirituality and intrinsic religious orientation as a means of coping with exam anxiety. Society, Health & Vulnerability. 2012;3(1). doi:10.3402/vgi.v3i0.14918 This includes making choices that honor God, such as being honest, showing kindness to others, and avoiding activities that are harmful or sinful. Experiencing Joy and Peace

In the second half of the book, Schaeffer shows how true spirituality involves freedom in this life from the results of the bonds of sin. He focuses on matters of conscience: our thought-life, psychological problems, what he calls the “total person,” our relationships, and the church. Other paths and practices, on the other hand, form the peripheral twigs: they’re still important, but perhaps to a lesser degree.

So “bearing fruit” is not simply done in our own strength – the glorified Christ does it through us through the agency of the Holy Spirit. As Paul writes, “the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Rom 5:5). It is this reality upon which we are to act. The Holy Spirit is not just an “idea,” but the “living presence of God” within us. Paul expresses it this way – “if by the Holy Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live” (Rom 8:13). There is not enough strength in ourselves to bear fruit; it is the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit that empowers us to do so. But we have a part – we are to abide in Christ and obey Him, and when we do God produces the fruit! (Jn 15:4-5; 1 Cor 3:6). The Holy Spirit is the “ Prime Mover” in our lives (Phil 2:12-13). As we look in the book of Acts, we find in the early Church not just a group of strong men laboring together, but the power of the Holy Spirit working in and through them, bearing fruit to the praise and glory of the risen Christ – so it must be for us also. Obviously, this is not merely a passive role on the believer’s part – for example: when Mary was told she was going to give birth to a child, she could have rejected the idea and said, “No, I don’t want it”. . . or she could have said, “I will have a child in the same way other women have children (through Joseph). . . or, she could have responded as she did: “Be it unto me according to your word” (Lk 1:38) – there was “active passivity” on Mary’s part. She took her own body, by choice, and put it into the hands of God to do the thing that He said He would do – and Jesus was born.

The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ are not only historical facts and significant doctrines, but they are the personal experiences of every believer through “union with Christ.” As believers, we have each been “baptized into Christ” – spiritually speaking, that means “we died with Christ” and “we were raised with Christ,” that we might walk in newness of life (Rom 6:3-4). The essence of the myster-ious union we have with Christ is this – God’s Spirit spiritually placed us “in Christ” 2000 years ago at the cross, so that when He died, we died with Him. . . and when He was raised, we were raised with Him (Rom 6:5; Gal 2:20; Col 2:20; 3:1). That is the spirituality reality of every believer; they are all “in Christ;” that is their “position” if you will (Rom 6:3-4, 11; 1 Cor 1:30; Gal 3:27; Eph 2:6; 2:10; Col 3:3). Christ “died to sin” in the sense that He bore sin’s penalty (Rom 6:23); as a result sin has no more claim or demand upon us. . . because we died with Him. As Christians we are no longer “alive to sin” and “dead to God” – we are now brand new creations in Christ (2 Cor 5:17); therefore we are “dead to sin” and “alive to God.” We were “crucified with Christ” that our old self might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin – that means we are freed from sin (Rom 6:6-7); we now have the capacity to walk in newness of life (Rom 6:4); we didn’t have that capacity as unbelievers. Because we died with Christ, we have been set free from the law of sin and death (Rom 8:2). We can rest in the knowledge that our salvation is secure in Christ, and live our lives in gratitude and obedience to him. This means being clear about your needs and communicating them in a respectful and compassionate way.

Religious traditions – which are external – can actually be harmful to our spiritual health. Paul warns against this type of false spirituality that is focused on rules, laws, traditions and self-effort. Get all of our enlightening and heart-opening Journals in one convenient bundle. Perfect for those on the spiritual journey who are serious about bone-deep healing and transformation. In fact, research has shown that there is a strong connection between spirituality and psychological well-being. Healing in the Church True spirituality is a concept that can be difficult to define, but it is generally understood as a way of life that is centered on a deep and meaningful connection with the divine. It’s important to find a church that aligns with your beliefs and values, but it’s also important to remember that there is unity in the body of Christ.

To truly get the most out of your spiritual path, you need to also heal and mature on the personal ( ego) level. This process is known as individuation. The goal of individuation is to become a Whole human being with access to all sides of your nature. If you’re interested in walking the spiritual path, I strongly recommend incorporating some kind of psychological work into your practice. This could be as simple as seeing a therapist every fortnight or reading self-help books. According to this view, sanctification is a gradual process that involves the believer’s active participation in the work of the Holy Spirit. whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ… I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. (v. 7-9) Even our best and most sincere efforts in attaining God’s favor are powerless to achieve genuine spirituality. Even if you do not believe in a specific deity or higher power, you can still cultivate a sense of spirituality by living in a way that is aligned with your values and beliefs.

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In the area of “morality” we find exactly the same thing. Man cannot escape the fact of the notionsof a true right and wrong in himself – not just a sociological or hedonistic morality, but true morality,true right and true wrong. Yet beginning with himself he can neither bring forth “absolute standards”nor keep the “poor relative ones” he has set up. Thus in the area of morality, as in the area of rationality, trying to be what he is not, he is crushed and damned by what he is. Man is thus divided against and from himself in every part of his nature – he is divided from himself because of his rebellion – in rationality, in morality, in his thinking, in his acting, in his feeling. . . by rebellion he is divided from God by true moral guilt, and he is damned by what he is – wanting to be God, which obviously he is not, because he is not infinite. At some level of consciousness man cannot forget the fact that he is “finite man” – surely at some point there will be a cry within him, that there must be a real answer in this life to the “separation from himself.” And the answer is an emphatic, “Yes, thank God, there is!”