Skip Resolutions - Create and Live out a Personal Rule of Life

"So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you." (Romans 12:1-2) MSG

We all look for the 'silver bullet' that will make us more fruitful, healthy, happy, influential, etc. However, there is no one 'cure-all' solution that we need to add to our already stressed-out, overly-busy schedules. Instead, living our entire lives with intentionality will lead to wholeheartedness, joy and fruitfulness - depth and breadth. We can eliminate hurry and busyness and move through life at the pace of our souls by utilizing an ancient tradition called a Rule of Life.

I was first introduced to the idea of a ‘rule of life’ by pastor and author John Mark Comer. He has highly influenced me and my spiritual formation through his work in equipping the Western church in contemporary spiritual formation. John Mark defines a ‘rule of life’ as a schedule and set of practices and relational rhythms that help us create space in our busy world for us to be with Jesus, become like Jesus and do what Jesus did - to live life ‘to the full’ (Jn. 10:10) in his kingdom, and in alignment with our deepest passions and priorities. It is a descriptive and prescriptive framework to help shape the spiritual practices that will deepen our lives in Christ. While the word ‘rule’ may strike you as a strict or binding constraint, the Latin word used to translate ‘rule’ originates from the word for a trellis in a vineyard. In the same way that a vine needs a trellis to lift it off the ground so it can bear the maximum fruit, and keep free of predators and diseases, we need a 'rule' as a kind of support structure in organizing our life around “abiding in the vine.” (Jn. 15:1-8) It’s been said that we achieve inner peace when our schedule is aligned with our values. A rule of life is a simple tool to that end. Rather than a rigid, legalistic to-do list, it’s a life-giving structure for freedom, growth and joy and training in righteousness (1Tim. 4:7).

A Common Rule of Life

Daily

Look at scripture before you look at your phone in the morning.
Morning Prayer - pray-reading from God's Word.
Pray for those around you (oikos) who are far from God to repent and believe in Jesus.
Make sure you have a communal (family) meal each day.
Spend an hour intentionally without your phone.

Weekly

Sabbath (24 hrs set aside to stop, rest, worship and delight.)
A vulnerable conversation with a friend.
Bless someone around you by giving financially, praying for them immediately in Jesus name, or sharing your testimony or a Jesus story - inviting them to lovingly obey Jesus.
Curate your social media intake. (ie. structured limits for screen use and consumption of entertainment in quantity, frequency and moral character.)
Fast something.

The Common Rule of Life listed above is a great universal baseline of daily and weekly practices for anyone wanting to grow in spiritual formation. However, some may desire to craft a Personal Rule of Life, more tailored to their specific roles, responsibilities and deepest passions and priorities. Here is how to start:

Begin by taking an honest inventory of how you spend your time.
Separate your different rhythms and priorities into 7 basic life categories - 1. Abiding, 2. Mind, 3. Body, 4. Relationships, 5. Rest and Health, 6. Work and Money, and 7. Mission.
Evaluate your engagement in Seven Core Spiritual Practices/ Habits:
- Silence and Solitude - A moment of intentional attention set upon God.
- Scripture - Bible study and communion with Jesus through God's Word.
- Prayer - Speaking with, listening to and being aware of God all day, everyday.
- Fasting - A willing abstinence from food for a period of time.
- Simplicity - Structuring your life so that it becomes more freeing.
- Living in community - Partners for the journey, to share life and Lord's Supper.
- Sabbath - 24 hours set aside to stop, rest, worship and delight in God with others.
For each life category write out one key verse, a vision statement, and four to eight commitments. There is a big difference between goals and commitments. A goal is something you want to achieve, ie. running a marathon. A commitment is a rhythm of life that puts you in a place to get there, ie. running four miles five days a week.
Write it down. Refer back to your Personal Rule of Life regularly - ie. post it somewhere so that you will see it regularly. Evaluate it bi-yearly and adjust it to serve you in your pursuit of Christ-likeness.

Recently, I spent a few days on spiritual retreat where I had some extended time to prayerfully complete my personal rule of life. I've attached below my personal rule connected to the life category of Abiding as an example for those who would like to make their own.

Kevin's Personal Rule of Life: Abiding

Verse: “I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.” (Ps. 16:8) ESV

“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” (Jn. 15:4-5) ESV

Vision Statement: I desire to be whole-hearted, with a burning heart for Jesus, practicing continuous prayer with fixed attention and dependence upon God’s presence at all times.

Mission Statement: To be a disciple of Jesus that will be with Jesus, be like Jesus and do what Jesus did through the 5 essential elements of abiding: 1. Resolving to remain (receive and believe) in Christ’s love for me, 2. Obeying the Commandments of Christ empowered by His grace, 3. Praying without ceasing, 4. Allowing God’s Word to shape my life and 5. Walking in the light.

Commitments:

I will spend an hour each morning pray-reading from the Psalms.
I will open my Bible before I look at my iPhone each morning.
Instead of reaching for my iPhone, I will find ‘dead spots’ throughout my day to bring my attention back into awareness of God’s presence and His unending love for me.
I will spend a day weekly praying through my personal prayer list and encountering God’s love for me through extended times of worship, solitude and silence.
I will go on an extended fast each January to seek God’s perspective for the upcoming year and reflect on the previous one.
I will regularly listen to podcasts and read books and articles that feed my affection for Christ and love for those around me.

I've always had a clear schedule and evaluated my fruitfulness and time spent, but this is levelling up. The goal of living according to a rule of life is not to make you more productive, but to focus your schedule and relational rhythms so that you can live in freedom and fullness. God wants us all to have a full life but to embrace our limits and live our bestan abundant life for His glory by having a full schedule, diligently and joyfully serving God, while prioritizing margin and embracing our limits.

It has been a really rewarding exercise to evaluate and adjust my life rhythms to grow in being with Jesus, becoming like Jesus and doing what Jesus did. Will you join me on the journey?

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About the author: Kevin Weigelt and his family have served in Romania as church planting missionaries with All Nations since 2008. He has a passion to train and coach European leaders to reach the neglected, make disciples, and ignite church planting movements.

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