Turning in your homework. Filling the car with gas. Doing the weekly laundry. These are three examples of non-negotiables. It’s something that must be done no matter what. You need to turn in your homework in order to pass a class. You need to fill up the car with gas otherwise it won’t go anywhere. You need to wash your clothes so you have clean clothes Monday morning for work. (Personally, I would also put solving a mixed Rubik’s Cube as a non-negotiable.)
I’ve been a Christian for over 30 years. I received Christ in 1982, the day after Christmas, when my cousin from San Diego shared with me about Jesus. Soon afterwards I began receiving follow-up books from my Christian relatives. Simple six-lesson books which taught me the basics of the Christian life. That was my start to becoming a disciple.
As I think back over the years, there have been three disciplines which have been non-negotiables in my Christian life. These three activities have kept me on-track as a disciple. It’s what I did back then, it’s what I still do today.
The first is a systematic way of reading the Bible. In my early years as a Christian, my Bible reading looked like a roulette wheel – open the Bible and whatever it opened to I would read. But that is a terrible way to understand God’s Word.
I was once traveling in California and the house I was staying at had a copy of Discipleship Journal magazine, produced by the Navigators. The issue had a bookmark to reading the whole Bible in year. I copied down the readings and over the course of a year I read through the Bible. Back then I didn’t understand much of what I read, but it was quite an accomplishment as a new believer.
Over time I found better ways to read and understand the Bible: The Quiet Time Companion, Search the Scriptures, and Your Daily Walk. For the past several years I have done Life Journaling created by Pastor Wayne Cordeiro which uses the SOAP methodology: Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer and goes through the Bible in a year. I am presently going through a harmonized study on the life of Christ, seeking all the things Jesus commanded using the SOAP methodology. I’m using this chart.
It’s important to have a systematized methodology so that one stays on track. It’s critical to understand the context of a book, chapter, passage, and verse. When Scripture is taken out of context, it leads to unrighteous living. I once heard it said you need to align your life to Scripture rather than aligning Scripture to your life. A systematic reading plan will help you understand the Bible correctly.
It’s also important to write down what you are learning. Why? Because writing clarifies and solidifies what the Holy Spirit is saying to you. I remember a whole lot more if I write things down rather than just thinking about it. Add to that, all my journal entries are done on a computer. Thus I can back up all my entries for future reference.
The second is a continual prayer dialogue with God. Once I wake up in the morning, I invite the Holy Spirit into my day. My scheduled time of extended prayer is in the morning. In college I was challenged with Mark 1:35, “In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there.” That doesn’t mean everyone needs to pray during the morning, but it does mean a disciple needs to engage with God through prayer. My advice is to pray when you are at your best, meaning when you are most awake. In other words, give God the best part of your day.
What I do in the morning is make a cup of coffee, sit in my office and I dialogue with God. I let him know what I’m thinking about, what I’m struggling with, what I’m confused about, and a number of other things. Then I wait. This is important because if you do all the talking, it’s not a dialogue, it’s a monologue. I wait and listen. Then when I feel an impression from the Holy Spirit I write it in my journal (the same journal I use for Bible devotions).
Just this morning I was laying before the Lord the number of things on my plate and I asked the Lord for clarity, where to invest my time for the next three months. And over a course of 20 minutes of back and forth, questions and answers, writing a number of things in my journal page, the Lord gave me an answer.
One of the things I integrate into my prayer time is to lay out my day before the Lord: where I’m going, what I’m doing, who I’m seeing. Then I say this, “Lord, I give you permission to rearrange my schedule in any way you see fit if it will bring you more glory.” Thus I hold my schedule loosely, anticipating some unexpected diversions along the way.
Then throughout the day I’m constantly inviting the Lord to whatever I’m doing. As I walk into the college I work at, I invite the Lord into the school and say, “This school is yours, the students are yours, the professors are yours, the staff are yours.” As I’m driving, “Lord, I invite you into this ride home. I invite you to speak for your servant is listening.”
At the end of the day I invite the Lord into my sleep, asking him to cause me to dream dreams that will glorify Him and things I need to pray for in the morning.
The third is times of reflection. Throughout the day I’ll stop what I’m doing, wait, and listen to what the Lord is saying. I already incorporate this in my prayer time but sometimes I just need to stop to make sure I’m doing what the Lord has called me to do. If not, then why am I doing this and what do I need to do to stop? It’s like that meme of the older woman who says, “Ain’t got no time for that!” I need to make sure I’m doing what the Lord wants me to do.
Reflection is important because it’s very easy to get caught up in activities. During college I went from ministry activity to ministry activity, and squeezed in my part-time job and full-time college schedule. But if I had reflected more, I would have said no some of the ministry activities and put more time into my studies. I would have also taken the Sabbath more seriously. As I observe those who are constantly doing ministry, I sometimes wonder if they are engaged with the Lord as they serve. Ministry is not something you do for God, it’s something you do with God.
Times of reflection are times when the Holy Spirit brings correction, comfort, direction, encouragement, security. It is during these times the Lord will sometimes tell me what I’m doing is not good and I need to make changes. This is the gracious hand of the Lord. He is correcting me in private so that I don’t need to be corrected in public. Or sometimes I will feel the favor of the Lord in what I’m doing, as if He’s encouraging me to keep going.
These times of reflection are wonderful private moments with the Lord, and I keep them private. I don’t need to post them on Facebook or Twitter. I’ll just journal them for my own personal edification.
These three non-negotiables: a systematic way of reading the Bible, continual prayer dialogue with God, and times of reflection are three non-negotiables in a disciple’s life. Following these disciplines will help ensure a straight path for a disciple.
Questions to Think About:
Are you consistently reading the Bible in a systematic way? If not, what can you do to make it happen?
Are you engaging with God on a continual basis? Do you invite the Lord into every area of your life?
Do you stop during the day to reflect? Can you recognize the voice of the Lord?
© Gary Lau 2013
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