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Missing Dallas Willard
I am beginning to listen to a DVD series put out with a book that features Dallas Willard and John Ortberg. It may have been his last conference before his passing. Listening to his words, his heart, my own heart is drawn in. I am so thirsty to know Christ like Dallas Willard knew Christ. I miss his presence, but…
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When the enemy hits hard
The Spirit has ground my Bible reading to a halt. Not really a halt, but from a fast walk to a crawl. Well, more like a “sit.” AND he won’t even let me access the one book I know will help me “read” this passage more “clearly.” He actually wants me to stop and listen to him. Just. Not. Nice. I…
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Oh, the places you’ll go
Jesus returned from the Jordan River full of the Holy Spirit, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. 2 There he was tempted for forty days by the devil. He ate nothing during those days and afterward Jesus was starving. (Luke 4:1-2) FULL of the Spirit, Jesus is led BY the Spirit… into the wilderness. There are places the Spirit will…
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Pursuing Perfection
The call is clear: “Be perfect as your Father in heaven in perfect.” (Matt. 5:48) That isn’t an impossible command. That isn’t something given by Jesus for the “sweet by and by.” It is an expectation given to us as we also receive all power to get it done. Jesus leaves us with HUGE challenges in Matthew 5. Your righteousness…
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Understanding the Discipline of Giving
1 “Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven. 2 When you give to someone in need, don’t do as the hypocrites do- blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I tell you the truth, they…
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Jesus will force you into some decision at some time
Faith isn’t simply an intellectual exercise. Faith is also about the heart… passion. When we truly understand our sins are forgiven, when all of that has truly hit us, the passion of thankfulness can be unleashed. It’s the picture of the woman washing Jesus’ feet with her tears (Luke 7:44-47). Dallas Willard puts it this way: “When we see Jesus as he…
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Being an Apprentice
Jason B. Hood in his book, Imitating God in Christ: Recapturing a Biblical Pattern, gives a description of being an apprentice that easily describes why I use the blog name “Apprentice2Jesus.” “As apprentices, disciples follow an expert and absorb their master’s mindsets and practices until they become capable on their own. Jesus’ disciples do not graduate from apprenticeship to perfection…
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Mentors, Coaches, and Apprentices
Being a “life coach” is a somewhat recent trend. The terminology has been around for some time. The reason I use Mentor/Apprentice is the image. The image of a “life coach” isn’t mentoring. It’s a consultant. It’s telling someone else what to do. Maybe you’ve done it… maybe you haven’t. But, it seems to be the solution in the “player’s”…
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Imitating the Character of God
“God’s image require far more than the imitation of God’s rule; it requires that in all things we reflect the holiness by which he does all things. Christians who focus on the imitation of the love of Jesus may need to coordinate that imitation with the pursuit of holiness and purity.” — Jason B. Hood, Imitating God in Christ: Recapturing a…
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We are created to be idols of God
This dangerous thought comes via Jason Hood in a book I am working through right now called Imitating God in Christ: Recapturing a Biblical Pattern. Some quick thoughts: When God created humanity, he made us to e his image-bearing idols. (Elsewhere in the Old Testament the word that is here translated “image” (Ex. 20) usually refers to idols that represent gods…
Category: Spiritual Formation
