Entanglement

I am often convicted of attitudes or images that hold me trapped in the past or glued to a failed experience.  I know or can quickly confess that in my efforts alone - I can do nothing.  The sin of omission - not knowing the wrong I do - traps me.  Dallas Willard calls this 'entanglement.'

"...as the will is surrendered, we come to grips with our fallen character, which positions every element of our being against God.  We must move out of this entanglement to single minded focus upon doing the will of God in everything, distracted by nothing..."

They explain that many times these hidden character tic's of mine are foundational sins  - sins that make many other sins possible -

A great help in battling this duplicity that is buried are spiritual disciplines.

"...{spiritual} disciplines make room for the Word and Spirit to work in us.  They permit destructive feelings to be perceived and dealt with...those feelings are normally clothed in layers of self deception and rationalization.  They enslave the will, which coerces the mind to conceal or rationalize what is really going on."

Willard sites these examples:

• Our righteous judgements of others are really ways of putting them down and building us up.
• Our extreme busyness may be revealed as inability to trust God or an unwillingness to give others a chance to contribute.
• Our readiness to give our opinions may turn out to be contempt for the thoughts and words of others or simply a willingness to shut them up.

So, where do I go from here?  What discipline has God been nudging me towards?  How has he suggested I practice this discipline?

Lord, what do you have in mind for my next step?

Solitude

Silence

Community

Prayer

Confession

Service

Secrecy

Frugality

Fasting

Study

Meditation

Worship

Celebration