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In: Spiritual Formation

There are only two directions believers can go: Toward or away from spiritual maturity. There are no “stagnant” or stationary believers. God not only declares all Christians righteous (Rom 5:1), but determines to make them so (Philip 1:6). And his modus operandi for accomplishing this includes habits of holiness. ARead More

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In: Spiritual Formation

Spiritual insight moves the mind and soul from admiration to adoration of God’s excellencies. Persons who are “spiritually enlightened . . . [do] not merely rationally believe that God is glorious, but [have] a sense of the gloriousness of God. . . . . There is not only a rationalRead More

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In: Bible, Spiritual Formation

How’s your prayer life? Do you pray intentionally and with purpose? If so, what exactly are your purposes for praying? What do you pray for? Consider reading through a catalog of St. Paul’s prayers and note that his prayers were full of thanksgiving. He always prayed that God would work in and through circumstances, rather than merely change them. And, Paul’s focus in prayer was primarily for others; not for himself.Read More

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In: Bible, Spiritual Formation

Romans 13:1-7 Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bringRead More

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In: Spiritual Formation

Sh’ma = Hebrew term for “hear,” often with a view to “accept” and “obey”. The first word of Israel’s declaration of faith (Deuteronomy 6:4), which Jesus affirms (Matthew 22:37; Mark 12:28-34). Today, when we want someone’s attention for an important announcement we may something like “Listen up!” And so, I encourage you to “listen up!” and read on.Read More

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In: Bible, Spiritual Formation

“At this [the loss of all he had], Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said:         ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb,         and naked I will depart.         The LORD gave and theRead More

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In: Personal, Spiritual Formation

I have not been particularly inspired lately, which is one reason why no postings of any substance have appeared. This is not to say anything is necessarily wrong. So far as I am aware, “life is good” (to quote one of my favorite T-shirt makers) and, after the spirit ofRead More

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In: Personal, Spiritual Formation

Since I last confessed (to reading The Shack), I would like to stay with the theme of mea culpa and admit one of my peccadilloes (far too much Latin for one sentence!). I confess to not liking the “When, not if” construct. What do I mean? Well, to put it bluntly, I don’t like it when (there’s that word again) I go through trials. Instead, I would prefer “if” I go through them. You see, the conditional “if” keeps things in the hypothetical and away from my neatly constructed, significantly comfortable, easily managed, relatively pain-free lifestyle.Read More

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In: Personal, Spiritual Formation

For a few years now I’ve enjoyed my iPod and the multitude of audio books that I have on it. Not only have I learned a great deal by listening to lectures, books, and, of course, my Bible (TNIV prefered), my personal selection of music keeps me from being assaultedRead More

On:
In: Bible, Spiritual Formation

Language has a unique way of expressing two different tenses simultaneously. It’s called a “future present” tense. We use expressions such as “I am going to the store” or “We are having hamburgers for dinner” to denote a future action yet the verb tense is in the present.

Likewise, this notion of a future present can carry ethical implications as well. Read More