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Our deep need is to be spiritually formed
“Spiritual formation” is the process through which those who love and trust Jesus Christ effectively take on His character. When this process is what it should be, they increasingly live their lives as He would if He were in their place. Their outward conformity to His example and His instructions rises toward fullness as their inward sources of action take…
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The unshakable kingdom
We fear the apocalypse. We fear “decline” as Americans. We fear “losing our culture.” In general, we fear endings. Somehow we want to live in the dream of always upward in a world that always has the same result: all empires fade.
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My search for beautiful things
Politics is heating up. Rhetoric is heating up. My mind is spinning from the lies spewing out about … shocker … immigrants. People seeking refuge from chaos, corruption, and real danger have come to the United States to find … chaos, corruption, and real danger. What are we doing?
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Defining discipleship
…as a disciple of Jesus I am with him, by choice and by grace, learning from him how to live in the kingdom of God. This is the crucial idea. That means I am learning how to live within the range of God’s effective will, with his life flowing through mine. Another important way of putting this is to say…
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Knowledge isn’t enough
A great problem in Christian education is we stop at doctrine. We stop at knowledge. It is embarrassing to watch church leaders tout knowledge and correct doctrine… and then use it as a hammer in the lives of other people. It becomes their source of pride and the root of their action. Their action, however, is about hammering the knowledge…
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The difficulty is FOLLOWING Jesus
I am re-reading some Dallas Willard books to refresh my spirit right now and one that is a compilation of interviews and shorter articles is my current project: Renewing the Christian Mind, edited by Gary Black, Jr. There is an interview where Dallas is asked:
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What do the children of light look like? Pt 5
Part OnePart TwoPart ThreePart Four Their relationships are different. Children of light are able to walk in transparency because they walk in goodness. They deal with darkness in their own lives and are able to achieve true connectedness with others, especially those who are followers of Christ.
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What do the children of light look like? Pt 4
Part OnePart TwoPart Three Their bodies are trained to do good and be ready to respond when needed. They respond almost without thinking because “muscle memory” has been ingrained. The body doesn’t dictate what is next. The mind and the will are the guides for the body. What is no longer true of the child of light is what Jesus…
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What do the children of light look like? Pt 3
Part OnePart Two The deepest motivation is to do what is good and right. There is a deep pursuit of being habitually attuned to the heart of God, longing to do what is right in the Kingdom of God. There is attentiveness to what is the fruit of the Spirit because that is where their mind has dwelled. They are…
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What do the children of light look like? Pt 2
Part One Here The emotional life is characterized by love Children of light love lots of good things. They love people. They love their own life and who they are. All of life comes from God, so whatever comes their way has purpose. Tough times in life are opportunities to learn more. Even if they suffer unjustly, there is deep…
Tag: Spiritual Formation
