Simplify Your Spiritual Life: Spiritual Disciplines for the Overwhelmed
Overview
Are you overwhelmed by the weight of the world? Let’s face it—we live in complexity. Technology multiplies daily, and with it, our pace increases. Surrounded by driving forces, it’s no wonder our spiritual lives take a hit. But if the weight of the world is hindering your walk with the Lord, maybe now’s the time to step back and evaluate.
Life on earth was less hectic in Jesus’ time. He faced incredible challenges and suffered agonizing trials, but there was a simplicity in his relationship with his Father that we can emulate—and in that simplicity, we can realize our great fulfillment as believers. If your Bible study seems as tedious as filing your tax return, your prayer life as wearisome as trying to understand your phone bill—stop. Take a deep breath. Let author Donald Whitney show you how rewarding the simple Christian life can be.
In the Logos edition, this valuable volume is enhanced by amazing functionality. Scripture citations link directly to English translations, and important terms link to dictionaries, encyclopedias, and a wealth of other resources in your digital library. Perform powerful searches to find exactly what you’re looking for. Take the discussion with you using tablet and mobile apps. With Logos Bible Software, the most efficient and comprehensive research tools are in one place, so you get the most out of your study.
- Illustrates the importance of spiritual disciplines
- Provides practical tools for incorporating spiritual disciplines in daily Christian living
- Focuses on how to simplify spirituality to emulate Jesus’ relationship with God
- Simplifying and First Principles
- Simplifying and the Truth
- Simplifying and Prayer
- Simplifying and Your Journal
- Simplifying and Your Mind
- Simplifying and Your Heart
- Simplifying and Your Time
- Simplifying and Others
Top Highlights
“I’m writing from the belief that spirituality is the pursuit of God and the things of God, through Jesus Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit, in accordance with God’s self-revelation (that is, the Bible).” (Page 24)
“The solution is not only to read the Scriptures, but to meditate on them. Reading, of course, is the starting place. Reading is the exposure to Scripture, but meditation is the absorption of Scripture. And it’s the absorption of Scripture that leads to the transformation of our lives.” (Page 62)
“ But simplifying is not so much about doing fewer things as it is about doing the right things.” (Page 13)
“Our experiences do not determine whether the Bible is true; rather, the Bible determines whether our experiences are true.” (Page 32)
“So the gospel that produces genuine Christian spirituality is that Jesus Christ died, taking the guilt of sinners and the wrath of God upon Himself, and was raised bodily from the dead to show that the Father accepted His death for others and removed their sins. Christ’s substitutionary death for sinners is the measure of His love, and His resurrection from the dead is the stunning confirmation that all He said and did is true.” (Page 20)
Clear, concise, biblical, and practical! Just what we have come to expect from Whitney’s pen. Here is help for our increasingly complicated and cluttered lives. With uncanny ability the author draws a straight line from principle to practice and then shows us how to walk the line.
—Alistair Begg, senior pastor, Parkside Church, Cleveland, OH
Ever since I began to read Simplify Your Spiritual Life I have been thinking about my own ‘simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.’ Don Whitney has done an excellent job of helping me strengthen my devotion to the Lord in very practical ways. His writing is engaging and his points clear with a sound biblical basis. I highly recommend this book for individual study, group study, or devotional reading.
—Martha Peace, author, The Excellent Wife
Finally—a short, simple book packed with practical guidelines to develop a lifestyle of biblical spirituality without sacrificing substance or resorting to mysticism, legalism, or license. Simplify Your Spiritual Life fills a major void. If you practice even half of what Don Whitney recommends, your spiritual life will improve. Give this book a quick read, then go back and carefully read one chapter each day, pray over it, and implement it.
—Joel R. Beeke, president, Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary
Don Whitney has done it again! This book addresses the greatest fears about the spiritual disciplines—how can I practice disciplines without making it too complicated? Simplify Your Spiritual Life is the right message for the right time.
—Tedd Tripp, senior pastor, Grace Fellowship Church, Hazleton, PA
Simplify Your Spiritual Life is a marvelous book for repairing the foundations of your life by going back to study the basics of genuine spirituality such as the triune God, Christ, Scripture, biblical meditation, and prayer. Though quickly read, each of the sections in this book can help you to know what you long for in the depths of your being—soul refreshment and the ‘simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.’
—Michael A.G. Haykin, professor of church history and biblical spirituality, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
The writing of Donald Whitney has been a tremendous source of strength and encouragement, both for me personally and for the church I have the privilege of serving. Here is a man who makes scriptural truth clear and accessible to the ordinary Christian. This book will have a similar effect, not only simplifying your spiritual life, but deepening your spiritual life as well.
—C.J. Mahaney, president, Sovereign Grace Ministries
In these fast-paced times, most people feel too overwhelmed and overworked to spend very much time with God. But in this biblical, practical, and best of all, simple book, Don Whitney gives dozens of helpful suggestions for cutting through all the clutter in ways that will help us grow in Christ. Most of us know we need to simplify; this wonderful book shows us how.
—Philip Graham Ryken, senior minister, Tenth Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, PA
Donald Whitney is a master teacher in the area of spiritual disciplines. And it is obvious that he writes from experience—he practices what he preaches. Simplify Your Spiritual Life will be helpful to both new and mature believers.
—Jerry Bridges, author, The Pursuit of Holiness
This is a much-needed and wisdom-filled book. In our complex and frantic world, there is a crying need to simplify and prioritize, to move from trivial busyness to significant labor, to move from superficial contact to real fellowship. Don Whitney is your sure-footed guide from the ‘second things’ to the ‘first things.’ His timely, biblical, and practical advice and counsel will do many an overtaxed and frazzled soul spiritual good. Take, read, learn, and grow!
- Title: Simplify Your Spiritual Life: Spiritual Disciplines for the Overwhelmed
- Author: Donald S. Whitney
- Publisher: NavPress
- Publication Date: 2003
- Pages: 203
Donald S. Whitney is founder and president of The Center for Biblical Spirituality and has served as professor of biblical spirituality and associate dean at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, since 2005. He is also a former pastor and the author of many books, including the bestselling Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life and How Can I Be Sure I’m a Christian?.