Hi friends! I hope March has been good to you! I’m glad you are here because I’m excited to discuss “Ragged” with you! I admit I sobbed through the beginning of the book! I felt like Gretchen had an inside look into my soul and it was such an encouragement that someone else put into words what I’d been feeling. It really hit me when she pointed out that we can feel that being a good Christian is one that doesn’t have to come to God with her problems or failings anymore – as though our need for God and our brokenness is a bad thing! Being more dependent on God is actually the goal!
Your turn! Tell me what you thought about our March book choice. Here are the discussion questions for “Ragged.”
Discussion Questions
*The author says this is a book for the spiritually exhausted. Do you feel spiritually exhausted? What were your expectations going into this book?
*Did any of the spiritual disciplines the author chose to include in the book surprise you?
*Would you have described spiritual disciplines as a to-do list that needed to be checked off? Has reading “Ragged” helped you to view spiritual disciplines in a new light?
*What does it mean to be needy before God? Is it sinful? Why do we struggle with acting like our neediness is a bad thing?
*How can we improperly use spiritual disciplines?
*Compare and contrast the law and the gospel. What happens when we confuse the two?
*How would you define justification and sanctification? What is the role of God’s love in both?
*How does remembering what God has done for us affect our lives? How does the Holy Spirit work in this area? How does this connect with the work of sanctification?
*Do you struggle with having an idealized view of spiritual disciplines such as Bible reading (Instagrammable quiet time), prayer (beautiful elegant prayers), discipleship (amazing small group), etc.?
*Choose one of the disciplines to define. Did your definition change after reading this book?
*How are the disciplines both for us individually and for the community?
Scripture of the Month
Luke 15
John 1:17
Ephesians 2-3
Psalm 77
Romans 10:17
Prayer for the Month
Father God, thank You for all that You’ve done to bring us out of the Law and into the gospel. We have been blood bought by Jesus and we don’t have to follow a formula or a checklist to be with You in eternity. What freedom You have given us and yet how often we feel stuck or like we’re not doing enough or being enough. We want to be those “super Christians” who seem to have it all together but our lack is actually a good thing because it shows us our need for You. You said where we are weak You are strong and we thank You for this truth. Help us to use the disciplines You have given us as tools to grow our faith not as formulas to try to prove ourselves or meet an expectation. Thank you for who You are and for Your love. In Jesus’ Name, Amen
For Next Month
*Check HERE for all the details for April!
Right before reading this book, I was feeling exhausted, physically, mentally, and spiritually. Honestly, I still feel this way to a degree, but this book helped get my focus off myself and turned my attention towards God.
Transforming one’s thinking of believing it’s all about the doing rather than the being when it comes to one’s relationship with God, is a very difficult task…at least for me. While there is the aspect of doing/taking action (i.e., service) as a result of spending time with God and asking Him where and how He wants you to serve, we aren’t doing these actions because we are trying to earn His favor or approval. There’s no need to “perform” works for God because Christ already did the work on the cross, which was done so that we would be able to be in relationship with God. It is in our being with Him that we find ourselves whole, healed, free, and replenished.
Being needy and dependent upon others is frowned upon, at least in Western culture. But it’s not necessarily sinful. When a dependent mentality morphs into a manipulative mentality, there’s a problem. However, simply having a need and being dependent upon something or someone to have that need met is not wrong.
That’s why we’re spiritually exhausted: we are taking it upon ourselves to meet all our needs when there’s no possible way this can be done! As Philippians 4:19 states, “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus.” God is the only one who can meet all our needs. Every. Single. Time.
It doesn’t mean our idea of how our needs will be met will always match His. Let’s be even more honest: we may find out all our needs are not really needs…there’s so much we simply want. Wants aren’t necessarily sinful either though. However, it’s understanding priorities and temperance – something this culture isn’t too good at.
So when we strive to take matters into our own hands and try to meet all our needs (and wants), we end up feeling ragged. And that’s not how God wants us to feel…
“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)
At the core, our souls are exhausted. We’re not only trying to do something we can’t; we’re also trying to be something we aren’t nor will ever be.
The question really isn’t, “How do I fix this?” The real question is: “Am I willing to accept help?”
When we can acknowledge our need for help, we can begin to heal.
The spiritual disciplines the author mentions in this book are not the “how-to steps to receive salvation” or the “easy fix to have a carefree, Christian life.” They are actions taken to strengthen our relationship with God. While they’re “for” Him in the sense that He’s the focus (e.g., we pray to Him, read and reflect upon His words; serve and be generous with our time and money based on His promptings; etc.), it’s really “for” us.
God could (and can) do all the things He allows us to be a part of without us. He doesn’t need our help. He wants relationship with us and wants our help to carry out His mission, His kingdom. And He provides the means to do so…so we don’t have to be exhausted. And He gives us grace because he knows we’re going to continue trying to do all the things in our strength.
Allowing ourselves to receive grace isn’t comfortable. We’re proud, arrogant, and selfish, so there’s little room for grace to sit. But if we’re willing to let it take a seat, we’ll grow more comfortable with it over time, with His help – that’s part of the sanctification.
I love how the author said, “Oftentimes, healing is found in calling something what it is, saying what needs to be said, and seeing what needs to be seen.” (Page 191) We don’t have to cower when it comes to who we really are. We can take our masks off and stop pretending to be independent and self-sufficient.
Isaiah 61:10 says, “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation; He has covered me with the robe of righteousness…” We are made righteous because of Christ. He has taken away our sinful rags and the ragged spirit that has entangled us and replaced them with righteousness. So may we let go of those rags. We don’t have to hold onto them anymore, He’s not. In Christ, we have been made new.
Right before reading this book, I was feeling exhausted, physically, mentally, and spiritually. Honestly, I still feel this way to a degree, but this book helped get my focus off myself and turned my attention towards God.
Transforming one’s thinking of believing it’s all about the doing rather than the being when it comes to one’s relationship with God, is a very difficult task…at least for me. While there is the aspect of doing/taking action (i.e., service) as a result of spending time with God and asking Him where and how He wants you to serve, we aren’t doing these actions because we are trying to earn His favor or approval. There’s no need to “perform” works for God because Christ already did the work on the cross, which was done so that we would be able to be in relationship with God. It is in our being with Him that we find ourselves whole, healed, free, and replenished.
Being needy and dependent upon others is frowned upon, at least in Western culture. But it’s not necessarily sinful. When a dependent mentality morphs into a manipulative mentality, there’s a problem. However, simply having a need and being dependent upon something or someone to have that need met is not wrong.
That’s why we’re spiritually exhausted: we are taking it upon ourselves to meet all our needs when there’s no possible way this can be done! As Philippians 4:19 states, “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus.” God is the only one who can meet all our needs. Every. Single. Time.
It doesn’t mean our idea of how our needs will be met will always match His. Let’s be even more honest: we may find out all our needs are not really needs…there’s so much we simply want. Wants aren’t necessarily sinful either. However, it’s understanding priorities and temperance – something this culture isn’t too good at.
So when we strive to take matters into our own hands and try to meet all our needs (and wants), we end up feeling ragged. And that’s not how God wants us to feel…
“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)
At the core, our souls are exhausted. We’re not only trying to do something we can’t; we’re also trying to be something we aren’t.
The question really isn’t, “How do I fix this?” The real question is: “Am I willing to accept help?”
When we can acknowledge our need for help, we can begin to heal.
The spiritual disciplines the author mentions in this book are not the “how-to steps to receive salvation” or the “easy fix to have a carefree, Christian life.” They are actions taken to strengthen our relationship with God. While they’re “for” Him in the sense that He’s the focus (e.g., we pray to Him, read and reflect upon His words; serve and be generous with our time and money based on His promptings; etc.), it’s really “for” us.
God could (and can) do all the things He allows us to be a part without us. He doesn’t need our help. He wants relationship with us and wants our help to carry out His mission, His kingdom. And He provides the means to do so…so we don’t have to be exhausted. And He gives us grace because he knows we’re going to continue trying to do all the things in our strength.
Allowing ourselves to receive grace isn’t comfortable. We’re proud, arrogant, and selfish, so there’s little room for grace to sit. But if we’re willing to let it take a seat, we’ll grow more comfortable with it over time – that’s part of the sanctification.
I love how the author said, “Oftentimes, healing is found in calling something what it is, saying what needs to be said, and seeing what needs to be seen.” (Page 191) We don’t have to cower when it comes to who we really are. We can take take our masks off and stop pretending to be independent and self-sufficient.
Isaiah 61:10 says, “I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For He has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of His righteousness…” We are made righteous because of Christ. He has replaced our sinful rags and ragged spirit with righteousness. May we let go of our rags – we do not need to hold onto them any longer, He’s not. In Christ, we have been made new.