Ortberg 4mat
Running Head: The Life you always wanted
A 4-MAT Review:
The Life You’ve Always Wanted: spiritual disciplines for ordinary people
Rashod C. Wells
Liberty University
Abstract John Ortberg’s manuscript, The Life You’ve Always Wanted: a spiritual disciples for ordinary people, published in 2002 at Grand Rapids, Michigan. Ortberg tells us the pathway in rejoining our connection to God, which allows us to have what our heart’s desire, the life we have always wanted. He describes it through spiritually disciplined. Ortberg (2002) defines spiritual discipline as “Any activity that can help me gain power to live life as Jesus taught and modeled it” (Ortberg, p. 48). Spiritual disciplines are simple; they help me live in the fruit of the Spirit. The spiritual disciplines discussed in this book are celebration, slowing, prayer, servanthood, confession, receiving guidance from the Holy Spirit, secrecy, reflection on Scripture, developing your own rule of life, and the experience of suffering. To practice celebration we need to celebrate and be joyful about the life we have. According to Ortberg (2002), we need to find joyful people to be affect by joy, which can be found in children living a “Dee Dah Day” and “often it is the people closest to suffering who have the most powerful joy (p. 68)” We also need to practice the art of slowing and practice of simplicity. When we are in a hurry, we tend to cut out time with God that deforms the effects that God has on our life, our purpose. Through the authorities and commands of God’s will we as Christians shall morph and have a hope of transformation or change through conviction and optimum hope for conversion. Ortberg 2002 “relays the ideals of training for proficiency and living as Jesus did on Earth. To become better at prayer we need to set up a time and place in peaceful solitude, which set limits for ourselves that we will not break. To practice servanthood, we need to do good as good Samaritans
A 4-MAT Review:
The Life You’ve Always Wanted: spiritual disciplines for ordinary people
Rashod C. Wells
Liberty University
Abstract John Ortberg’s manuscript, The Life You’ve Always Wanted: a spiritual disciples for ordinary people, published in 2002 at Grand Rapids, Michigan. Ortberg tells us the pathway in rejoining our connection to God, which allows us to have what our heart’s desire, the life we have always wanted. He describes it through spiritually disciplined. Ortberg (2002) defines spiritual discipline as “Any activity that can help me gain power to live life as Jesus taught and modeled it” (Ortberg, p. 48). Spiritual disciplines are simple; they help me live in the fruit of the Spirit. The spiritual disciplines discussed in this book are celebration, slowing, prayer, servanthood, confession, receiving guidance from the Holy Spirit, secrecy, reflection on Scripture, developing your own rule of life, and the experience of suffering. To practice celebration we need to celebrate and be joyful about the life we have. According to Ortberg (2002), we need to find joyful people to be affect by joy, which can be found in children living a “Dee Dah Day” and “often it is the people closest to suffering who have the most powerful joy (p. 68)” We also need to practice the art of slowing and practice of simplicity. When we are in a hurry, we tend to cut out time with God that deforms the effects that God has on our life, our purpose. Through the authorities and commands of God’s will we as Christians shall morph and have a hope of transformation or change through conviction and optimum hope for conversion. Ortberg 2002 “relays the ideals of training for proficiency and living as Jesus did on Earth. To become better at prayer we need to set up a time and place in peaceful solitude, which set limits for ourselves that we will not break. To practice servanthood, we need to do good as good Samaritans
References: Ortberg, J. (2002). The life you’ve always wanted: spiritual disciplines for ordinary people. Grand Rapids MI: Zondervan . NIV COPYRIGHT 1973, 1978, 1984 BY INTERNATIONAL BIBLE SOCIETY