Tag Archives: John Wesley

How Is It With Your Soul?

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John Wesley would open up all small group meetings with “How is it with your soul?”
That’s a far deeper question than, “How are you?”
I mean, how is your soul doing? How is your spirit faring? I mean, really, how are you?
I have had to step back a bit here and there to really ask myself, “how is it with my soul?”
And in asking this question, I have to also really look at my everyday life and the things I do everyday.
What are the things that I’m engaging in that brings my soul closer to its rightful owner, God?
What are the things that I’m doing that is putting a wedge between God and myself?
What are the things that I’m doing in my life that really makes my soul shine brightly and flourish?
What are the things that I do that covers my soul’s light with dark clouds?
It’s really embarrassing to admit that I seem to be doing things that are not helpful to my soul. Or to be more accurate, activities, which aren’t that important, but take precedence and priority over God.
When things are difficult for me, when I’m moody and on the fritz, I know it’s because I haven’t been caring for my soul.
Someone once told me that prayer is to our souls as breathing is to our bodies.
I neglect prayer, quite often.
I neglect God, too.
And I just feel… heavy.
But worship refreshes me. I don’t mean just the worship on Sundays.
But things that make my soul feel connected. The worship that happens everyday.
Reading a chapter of Proverbs when I wake up.
Engaging someone in conversation about God.
Meditating on the Words of God.
Riding my bike with music blaring in headphones.
Praying.
Laughing.
Basking in the weather and the glories of God.
Basically anything that reminds me of God, who God is,  and who I am in God’s plan.
Anything that helps me remember that God is in charge and I belong to God, never the other way around.
So. How is it with your soul?
What are things that you do that brings you closer to God on an everyday basis?
What are things that you do that pulls you further away from God, on an everyday basis?
What are the things you do to engage in worshiping, adoring and praising God in your daily life?
How is it with your soul?

Devotionals

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There was a point in time where for devotionals, I just read devotional books and what not. And then it occured to me, these devotional books are, in no form, a substitution for reading the Bible (which I neglected, because I was reading these books). They are to enhance my scripture reading, but not take lieu of.
So I try to read a Proverb everyday, matching the date with the chapter (i.e. today is the 19th, I read the 19th chapter) and a couple of chapters of the book I’ve been focusing (lately, Gospel of John.)

Maybe it was because of Kevin Watson’s book, I decided to crack open John Wesley’s Sermon: An Anthology.
I read that book in seminary for the Methodist History and Doctrine class. By read, I mean just read the certain lines of certain sermons so that I’d be somewhat prepared for the test. I learned a lot about prayer that semester.

But this time around, I actually want to really read it. So they have been added to my devotional time.

We can always pray and read the Bible more. And embarrassingly, these disciplines seem to be the first to go when things get crazy, or when I get lazy.
But I’m trying…