Category: Spiritual Formation
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Organic Church
You will observe that I am not merely exhorting you “to go to church.” “Going to church” is in any case good. But what I am exhorting you to do is go to your own church – to give your presence and active religious participation to every stated meeting for worship of the institution as…
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Does Doctrine REALLY Matter?
In the first chapter of his excellent book, Dug Down Deep, Joshua Harris writes: I know the idea of “studying” God often rubs people the wrong way. It sounds cold and theoretical, as if God were a frog carcass to dissect in a lab or a set of ideas that we memorize like math proofs.…
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Bible Reading Plans for 2011
New Years Day has come and gone, and 2011 is trudging along. You want to do some things different this year. You’ve always wanted to read through the Bible, but you’ve never been quite sure how to do it. Or, you have read through the Bible before but you are looking for a different approach.…
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Difference Between Faith and Hope
The question may occur to us: What difference is there between faith and hope? We find it difficult to see any difference. Faith and hope are so closely linked that they cannot be separated. Still there is a difference between them. Consider the following distinctions offered by Martin Luther, from his commentary on Galatians: First,…
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Counterfeit Gods
In his reletively recent book, Counterfeit Gods, Tim Keller explains what a counterfeit god is and describes how to make one – as we are so prone to do: A counterfeit god is anything so central and essential to your life that, should you lose it, your life would feel hardly worth living. And idol has such…
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Praying for Forgiveness
In the title song of Toby Keith‘s movie and soundtrack, Broken Bridges, the first line of the chorus is: Here I am, prayin’ for forgiveness… If you’ve seen the movie on CMT it makes sense. It is a story of a guy facing up to his past mistakes and the people he has hurt. It is…
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I Want Change
Change is inevitable, but it is not always pleasant. But perhaps even less pleasant than unexpected change is the lack of change when it is desired and needed – particularly change in ourselves and in our spiritual development. The questions are common: How Can I Change? When Will I Change? C.J. Mahaney & Robin Boisvert…
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Benefitting in the Benefactor
Sinclair Ferguson offers this wise insight about the gospel-centered life: “…we must never separate the benefits (regeneration, justification, sanctification) from the Benefactor (Jesus Christ). The Christians who are most focused on their own spirituality may give the impression of being the most spiritual … but from the New Testament’s point of view, those who have…
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Spiritual Pride
Here is a great insight from Jonathan Edwards as relevant today as it was in his Colonial American culture: The first and worst cause of error that prevails in our day is spiritual pride. This is the main door by which the devil comes into the hearts of those who are zealous for the advancement of…
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God’s Workmanship
One of the glories of Christianity is the assurance that we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2.10). This statement by Paul that we are “created” does not simply refer to our physical formation, as God has, of course, created all…
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10 Gospel-centered Questions
Here are 10 questions to ask yourself – and maybe those few closest to you – that help uncover rivals of Christ as the functional savior of your heart: What are you desiring more than anything else? What do you find yourself day dreaming or fantasizing about? What lies are you subtly believing that…
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Measuring Up?
Do you ever feel that you have to measure up? Do you wonder sometimes how you are grading out in God’s eyes? I suspect the answer for most people is “Yes”. Our theology may tell us otherwise, but I think most people struggle with this from time to time – especially when we feel emotionally tired and as…
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Embrace Honesty
How do you embrace honesty? Give up what is already painfully obvious Tell the Truth without telling all the truth Embrace the Gospel in your failure to live the gospel – Dan Allender
