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Grace, Effort, and Earning
When I read 2 Peter 1:3-11 I am drawn into the magnificence of God’s character. I am crushed in my own shortcomings, but overwhelmingly I am still blown away by the possibilities of this life in Christ. I always think of Dallas Willard’s quote when I read this passage: Grace isn’t opposed to effort. It’s opposed to earning. 3 By his divine…
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The King Jesus Gospel
I follow Scot McKnight on the Jesus Creed blog quite a bit, but other than that, I’m not familiar with his teaching. When The King Jesus Gospel was announced, the one thing that sold me on getting this book right away was there was a forward by Dallas Willard. I have a high regard for Willard, even taking myself back through…
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Matthew 10 — The Cost of Discipleship
We, as Pentecostals, talk about the power of the Spirit. We usually mean in the miraculous or power for witnessing, etc. The reliance on the Spirit is not just for what we might call “the good stuff.” It’s also for the “tough stuff.” One of Dallas Willard’s sayings is this: “There is a cost to following Jesus, but there is…
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What to Do with the Beatitudes
Dallas Willard’s handling of the Beatitudes in The Divine Conspiracy simply flipped my world upside down. I had not considered his approach before. He is probably not original to the thought, but the first time I saw this approach it was from him. How do we see the Beatitudes in Matthew 5? I remember the title to an old Robert…
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The Gospel of Sin-Management
The process of following Christ is often thought of in terms of outward change. There should be something that look different in the believer. On the “conservative” side of Christianity, sin management is found in having our sins forgiven. (Maybe you’ve seen a bumper sticker that says, “Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven.”) On the “liberal” side of Christianity, sin management…
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The Heart of Worship, with Dallas Willard | Menlo Park Presbyterian Church
The Heart of Worship, with Dallas Willard | Menlo Park Presbyterian Church. There are few who move my heart to follow Christ more than Dallas Willard. I pray this video sinks into your soul and spirit and gives you rest.
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Learning Christ
Eph. 4:20 — “That is not the way you learned Christ.” There IS a way to learn Christ. We are taught in him. As I am reflecting over this passage for a class I am teaching, I am reminded of many people who taught me in Christ. Some were personal. Others through books and other media. My parents taught me…
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The Need for Spiritual Reading
There is a great line from the movie “Shadowlands.” The C.S. Lewis character, played by Anthony Hopkins, says, “We read to know we’re not alone.” He picked that up from a former student and let it teach him something valuable later in life. A challenge I have in my own life is reading great books. Books teach me. The temptation…
Tag: Dallas Willard
