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A Gift from Our Family to Yours
July 12, 2026 - For the Church at the St. John Church of Christ
Spiritual Discipline: Solitude
Though we may be unfamiliar with the discipline of solitude, most of us recognize it as something we wanted when we were first in love. It didn’t matter if the time spent together accomplished anything very useful or important to the world at large. It was simply the way we let our beloved know that he or she mattered. In order to show love, we sought time alone together. The discipline of solitude is the desire to leave people behind and enter into time alone with God. The practice of solitude involves scheduling enough uninterrupted time in a distraction-free environment that you experience isolation and are alone with God. Solitude is a “container discipline” for the practice of other spiritual disciplines.
Jesus began his ministry with forty formative days of solitude. No doubt Jesus intended to commune with God alone, but he also encountered the temper in that desert place. Solitude is a formative place because it gives God’s spirit time and space to do deep work. When no one is there to watch, judge, and interpret what we say, the Spirit often brings us face to face with hidden motives and compulsions. The world of recognition, achievement, and applause disappears, and we stand squarely before God without props. Throughout his three years of ministry Jesus often returned to solitude with God – it was a way He remained in touch with his true identity in God.
Times of solitude can be sweet times, but they can also be dark times when God seems to remain withdrawn and silent. We seek the Lord, but he doesn’t seem to show up. These times of testing, of the “dark nights,” like Jesus had in the wilderness, are well documented in the lives of many strong Christians. Don’t be afraid of the darkness or the solitude. Stay with God. The light will eventually dawn.
Daily Verse of the Day
Worship Times
We meet together regularly on Sunday mornings. We would love to have you join us!
We have bible classes for all ages at 10:00 a.m. Following classes, we meet together as a church family at 11:00 a.m. for worship services.
On the first Sunday of the month we enjoy a potluck meal together following worship service.
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