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Building endurance
Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all.Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do…
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Book Review: Christ-Shaped Character: Choosing Love, Faith and Hope
In Christ-Shaped Character: Choosing Love, Faith and Hope, Helen Cepero begins with her story. And story is what this book is about. It is seeing the activity of God in our own story. It is about experiencing the presence of Christ in very real, tangible ways. We can take our life’s journey and follow Christ. As Cepero states, “The journey…
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Diminished Expectations
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 have a place where we…
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Isn’t it time to grow up?
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 the Super Bowl of angst-filled…
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Free me from the tyranny of STUFF
I am in a reading group with Renovare online and we are currently working our way through a book on spiritual disciplines by Nathan Foster, son of Richard Foster. Nathan is much more raw in his struggle with spiritual discipline. What Richard Foster wrote on always sounded like a glide into tranquility. I knew it wasn’t, but it just sounded…
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The WHY of Fasting
There are a lot of reasons to fast and pray. What is needed most is to remember to add in “AND PRAY.” We don’t fast to “diet.” Sometimes it is necessary to fast to specifically ask something of God. Those are not always successful. We have expectations of what should “come out” of the process, and when it doesn’t we are disappointed.…
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It is goal setting time
Goals. Resolutions. It is that time of year. Then will come the week of about January 15 when we realize it’s useless… There aren’t yearly goals I can think of in this context, though I still set them. The goal I think of right now is Christlikeness. Leading the way in that process is a gift I received from IVP: Eternal…
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Jesus is not your servant
Live Dead Joy is not your typical “devotional.” You can read it every day, but you’ll end up on your face repenting every day. It’s not what you think of as “devotional.” But it IS necessary. Example from today: It is somewhat ludicrous to call Jesus a servant-king. The danger in reducing Jesus to this hyphenated nonsense is that it…
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Do we truly EXPECT transformation?
Do we honestly expect transformation in the life of the believer? Do we walk in a way that brings instruction? Would we hesitate at Paul’s bold instruction these days? Would WE say these words: As for other matters, brothers and sisters, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask…
Tag: Spiritual Formation
