Discipleship/Spiritual Formation

What have I left for others to follow?

I am working through 2 Timothy 3:10-17 and Paul gives a tough assessment of what is going on in the world and all that Timothy will have to undertake. It is a real assessment that reads like it seems hopeless. What to do?

The cost of following and not following Jesus

This is about the longest break I’ve taken from blogging in a long time. There was a bout with COVID, dealing with a physical injury… and time slipped away.

How I want to live

I think again about “Last Third” living and come across a marvelous quote from Winn Collier’s outstanding biography on Eugene Peterson: “His life and work had been more like tracing a scent than following a map. Discovery, not direction.”

The nourishment of my soul

I have finished Thoughts in Solitude by Thomas Merton. There are some key thoughts from his book that stir my own story. Nourished by the Sacraments and formed by the prayer and teaching of the Church, we need seek nothing but the particular place willed for us by God within the Church.

WITH God is communion

I am not there, but my heart longs for this as I walk with Christ: From With, by Skye Jethani:

The goal is not “using” God

The worldviews we have employed, especially as western Christians, have limited us. Our views of God have become myopic. The goal needs to be life WITH God. Skye Jethani in his book, With, lays out the four worldviews we’ve used are summed up in four words:

The manipulation of living “FOR” God

The book, With, by Skye Jethani is deeply challenging. As I read I realized the deep flaws in my thinking and living because I have this deep urge to “feel bad” and wish I could go back and start over. That arises from my warped view of how to live “for” God. The point isContinue reading “The manipulation of living “FOR” God”

Our ways of manipulating God

I am working my way through Skye Jethani’s book, With. It is a look into ways we manipulate God and the call to live life WITH God rather than in other ways that manipulate God’s response… or at least TRY to manipulate a response. We don’t even know it’s manipulation. Yet, we live life exhaustedContinue reading “Our ways of manipulating God”

Living life WITH God

I have begun a new book called With by Skye Jethani and it is refreshing to my soul. I will have more to post along the way, but I wanted to note this deep challenge in my life. I have lived my life in a couple of different ways:

The need of the hour

The need of the hour is the reality of the Kingdom of God. We need disciples who are bathed in the power of the Kingdom who then live out that power. They are ones taught by Jesus and the world can see it in their character, their words, and their actions. Live in resurrection power.Continue reading “The need of the hour”