Chotki. Pilgrimage. Examen. Lectio Divina.
Do you know what these are? Have you heard others talking about them and are interested in knowing more?
I just finished “Sacred Life: Spiritual Practices for Everyday Living” and it offers a great introduction to spiritual practices. It is written by multiple Christian leaders which display a personal knowledge with each practice that they describe. The book is supposedly written for teens but I think it is more valuable as a resource for young adults or youth workers. The highlight of the book is that each practice has some valuable suggestions on how to implement them.
The book is not meant to be a theologically challenging work but one of the things that may be novel to some readers is the theological impetus of spiritual practices. Here is a quote from the book which captures the concept:
“These practices are ….a means of grace. In other words, these practices put us into a position to receive grace from God, to experience God’s unearned favor toward us, and to move us forward in our pursuit of becoming more like our Savior, Jesus.”
Have you ever thought about Christian practices (Bible reading, prayer, service in Jesus name, etc.) as a “means of grace”? What are some other ideas on why we perform Christian practices?
