Spiritual Formation
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I want to “bank” on the extravagant love, beauty, and power of Jesus. When those not following Christ currently encounter him through me, HIS incredible beauty shines through. I want to hope for a maturing body of believers unafraid to plunge into uncharted waters and trust the leading of the Spirit. Lead on, Holy Spirit. Read more
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Our Wednesday night Bible study has been going through a series on Philippians, listening to a teaching from Matt Chandler. It is an incredible series. Last night was on Philippians 3 and the issue of what stirs our affections. Our hearts were so stirred as we thought of the things that God uses in our… Read more
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There. I said it. People used to think I actually liked it. But it’s been so long since I’ve walked in intentional fasting, or a modified fast like this one for Lent, I now remember why I have let this practice slip. I hate fasting. When I step into this discipline with purpose there is… Read more
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The other night in our Bible study the question came up, “Can we ever get to a place where we don’t grumble?” (We are studying Philippians.) I said flatly, “Of course.” It drew out some surprised looks. I went on, “If it’s raised as an expectation in Scripture, why would we NOT think we could… Read more
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A newer resource I saw on Biblegateway.com looks exciting. It is a resource to help people walk through several ways to engage Scripture. The main page is HERE. The explanation of “Scripture Engagement” is HERE. This looks to be an excellent resource for spiritual reading of Scripture. Read more
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I have long been a fan of the columnist David Brooks and this piece may be one of his finest. I know it is refreshing to my thinking right now regarding ISIS. When I read “conservative” Christians respond to ISIS and the beheadings, the first thing I often hear is how evil Islam is… and… Read more
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I have had a couple of significant conversations in the past few weeks with people reaching out to me, thankfully, about being hurt by a church, or disillusioned. Read enough on the internet and all we hear is angst. The ultimate goal of angst-filled writers is to be quoted on Huffington Post, I think. It’s… Read more
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Being circumcised or not being circumcised doesn’t matter in Christ Jesus, but faith working through love does matter. (Gal. 5:6) Keep it simple, saints. Read more
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A Collect for Peace O God, the author of peace and lover of concord, to know you is eternal life and to serve you is perfect freedom: Defend us, your humble servants, in all assaults of our enemies; that we, surely trusting in your defense, may not fear the power of any adversaries; through the… Read more
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“I really like how Jesus never had a harsh word for the broken but railed, with very colorful language, on those who thought they had it all together. I wonder if the harsh words were what they needed to crack their pompous shells. The sinners knew their brokenness; the religious didn’t. I’m starting to think… Read more
Apprentice 2 Jesus 