Tag: Spiritual Formation
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The Gospel in 6 Minutes
What is the Gospel? While in many ways this should be a simple question to answer, experience has taught me that many people are confused about what the Gsopel is. Most agree that the Gospel is something good. But they are confused about what particularly defines the Gospel. Some see the Gospel as merely that…
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Hard Grace
“Even though we are now in faith, the heart is always ready to boast itself before God and say: ‘After all, I have preached the law, and lived so well and done so much that surely He will take this into account ‘. We even want to haggle with God to make Him regard our…
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Wisdom Wanted
I’ve been reading – and re-reading – through Proverbs the past several days. I have no specific aim in doing this. I have just sensed I am lacking wisdom and perspective. Billy Graham has said that, in addition to whatever else he was reading at the time, it was his pattern to read five Psalms…
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The A-to-Z of the Christian Life
“The gospel shows us that our spiritual problem lies not only in failing to obey God, but also in relying on our obedience to make us fully acceptable to God, ourselves and others. Every kind of character flaw comes from this natural impulse to be our own savior through our performance and achievement. On the…
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Making a World of Difference
“What will it take to change the world – to really change it for the better?” Ron Sider asks that question in the Introduction to his book, Living Like Jesus. And his question resonates with me. It has for a long time – long before I heard Sider aksing it. I grow bored and frustrated…
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Following Jesus in Different Directions?
I’ve been pondering the following assertion from Ron Sider‘s Living Like Jesus: “Still, the modern church prefers to accept only half of Jesus. They willingly accept him either as model or as mediator – but not both. Some urge us to follow his example of love and social concern, but they forget about the cross. Others…
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I Want to Walk Free, But I Still Hear the Chains Rattling
As a pastor I frequently encourage people to embrace the Gospel. It is not just to unbelievers that I present that challenge, but to believers as well – even to some who have been Christians for decades. We all need to grow in grace, and live by grace day by day. But as easy as it…
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Solitude
My friend, Seaton Garrett, has developed a great series called Spiritual Formation, Spiritual Disciplines. Here is an excerpt from part 6 on Solitude: To read the whole post click: Solitude Great series, Seaton.
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The Advantages of Pleasing God Rather than Men
The following dozen points are about the advantages to us in seeking to please God, instead of living for the approval of other people. They were originally written by the great English Puritan, Richard Baxter. I have attempted to clean up the language a little, hopefully without dulling the wisdom: 1. If you seek first to…
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The Beauty of Human Relationships
by Frances Schaeffer This is the fourth of four posts in a series titled Two Contents, Two Realities. These posts are slightly edited excerpts of a paper delivered by Dr. Francis Schaeffer as part of the 1974 International Congress on World Evangelization in Lausanne, Switzerland. ********* The second reality is the beauty of human relationships. True Christianity produces beauty as well as’…
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Good Enough!
Are You Tired of Trying to Measure Up? Paula Rinehart wrote the article below for Discipleship Journal. *** One fall evening, after months of recurring chest pain and a rather hectic schedule, I found myself thinking out loud with my husband as we watched the sun sink lower and lower in the Colorado sky. We…
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Desiring God
If you are not already familiar with his work, I want to introduce you to John Piper. In particular I commend his book Desiring God. This book is a modern day classic. And in my mind it an almost indespensible aid to gaining a Biblical perspective of the Glory of God. Well, indespensible might be a bit of an overstatement. But, it is…
