If one devotional is good, isn't ten better? Not necessarily, but this has been my mentality often times as I attempt to get focused with my devotional life. Why not, instead of doing just one set of devotions, try and do several? Why not get all you can get?
I have improved in the last several months in the discipline of having a daily devotional time. My problem is, I am awfully unfocused. For instance, one week I do the Common Prayer devotional from Shane Claiborne et. al. The next week I use the Divine Hours. Then I use the Daily Feast devotional with my Explore! book of the liturgical readings for the year all printed out. Then I may pick up some reading plan for a week. Then the Book of Common Worship's daily devotional guide. The guide to prayer for ministers and other servants sits next to my computer. And my desire to know and experience everything waters down my experience of any one devotional.
But this is the way I, and I suspect a few others, experience our spiritual journeys. Lets get in on all the experiences! Lets get in on every committee!. Lets go to every service! And why belong to one church when you can just flitter along and visit all of them?
The problem is, this attitude leads us to a lack of focus. We skim the surface of a lot of things, but we never really go deep with anything in particular. We have a lot of ideas, but we don't let the truth seep down past the topsoil of our soul and really take root. We live as consumers instead of disciples. We become connoisseurs instead of committed. It really isn't healthy.
During Lent will you join me in going deep instead of skimming the surface of our faith? Will you identify consumer spirituality in your life, and begin to eliminate it and replace it with committed discipleship? I hope you will!
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