In studying Donald Whitney’s “Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life”, Mr. Whitney reminds us that once we become followers of Christ that we aren’t just supposed to sit around waiting on God and His Holiness but rather we are to actively pursue Him. Mr. Whitley references I Timothy 4:7 “Discipline yourself for the purpose of Godliness”, as one of the foundational scriptures during our pursuit for His Presence. Therefore, his focus of chapter 1 is for the purpose of learning how to discipline ourselves by creating healthy habits to strengthen us in our daily walk. Mr. Whitney use of the analogy being spiritually disciplined and physically disciplined was a well thought out use of imagery to bring forth a better comprehension and clarity
It is no secret that there is a complicated history with race in America. The issue has been discussed by scholars such as Sterling Brown or W.E.B Dubois. Brown’s article, “Negro Characters as Seen by White Authors” outlines a variety of common stereotypes for black characters in American literature from the late nineteenth century through the early twentieth century. DuBois went a step further in his essay “Of Our Spiritual Strivings”, in which he outlined his theory of “double-consciousness”, a theory that has shown itself time and time again, especially in hip hop. Kanye’s West’s fifth studio album “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy”, takes listeners on a lyrical journey through common stereotypes and double-consciousness. For example,
Engagement with others is the most fertile ground for spiritual growth. Yet, salvation cannot come through individual questing nor good works in the community of the world alone. Salvation can only come when the journey and the work become
The continuous reading of Cornelius Plantinga Jr.’s book Engaging God’s World: A Christian Vision of Faith, Learning, and Living, has left me lingering on a lot of thoughts towards my relationship with God. In the conclusion of his book, Plantinga focuses on the redemptive qualities of God as well the the redemptive possibilities of mankind. Another main subject is the vocation in the Kingdom of God, correspondingly the Bible says in Romans 12:2, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God- what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Plantinga (2002) states clearly, “given Jesus’ summons, his followers have always understood that to be a ‘Christ person’
“The call is something that is an indescribable joy and an indefinable burden at the same time.” (Bryant and Brunson 2007, 32). There is nothing more rewarding than seeing a congregation of the redeemed moving forward in their faith. However exciting this may be, it is usually not the thrill that propels the pastor in his service. It is the burden placed on the pastor by God that compels him in his work. The pastor understands that he is largely responsible for the work of God being accomplished by his faithfulness to his calling. “All through the Word of God and down through the annals of history, when God has moved it has almost always been attended by the preaching of the Word.” (Bryant and Brunson 2007, 31)
...Today as a Christ follower, we will never be satisfied if our life is not bearing lasting fruit because we are not fulfilling the purpose for which we were “grafted “into the Vine. Let’s examine the “fruit” of our lives. Is it the kind of fruit that reveals the character of Christ? Let’s not settle for fruitless Christianity. God will do the work of making us fruitful – we must only abide, surrendering our lives to His mission of making disciples of all nations through us. The whole notion of mission is to stretch out to work the work of evangelism not through hierarchy, sovereignty, rather through humbleness, hospitality, affection love for the others. That is what Jesus who portrayed as the one who we do not deserve to untie His sandals straps in the first Chapter of John, later become feet washer, intimate with humanity leaving His equality with God.
In his book Celebration of Discipline, Richard J. Foster speaks of the importance of having a path to spiritual growth. With that he mentions that there are twelve disciplines (meditation, prayer, fasting, study, simplicity, solitude, submission, service, confession, worship, guidance, and celebration) that lead God’s people closer to him. Each discipline is divided into three groups which are: Inward (meditation, prayer, fasting, and study), Outward (simplicity, solitude, submission, and services), and Corporate (confession, worship, guidance, and celebration). Each discipline shows different ways or steps to become closer to God. The Outward Disciplines show how people can walk with God by helping others, and it makes the world a happier
Richardson, William E., and Dave Kidd. “Articles.” Pentecostal Evangel. General Council of the Assemblies of God. Web. 13 Nov. 2011.
correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work" (NIV
“First, there is the call to be a Christian. Second, for each individual there is a specific call—a defining purpose or mission, a reason for being. Every individual is called of God to respond through service in the world. Third, there is the call that we face each day in response to the multiple demands on our lives—our immediate duties and responsibilities” (Smith, ...
In the book, Eyes To See, Ears To Hear, Lonsdale describes Ignatius’ way of decision making in the Spirit as consolation and desolation. Where the world plays out romantic heroism, success and individualism, as opposed to servanthood, feeding the poor and coming together in community. Spiritual blindness encumbers those who are willing to serve God, and at best, Christian life seems as though it is about making good choices, possible like other great Christians. However, Ignatius’ exercise of discernment allow freedom to see and hear the movement of the Spirit in deep places in our own stirring relationship with God.
Though there are many things that we can understand and learn from, we are reminded yet again to point it back to Jesus. This claim discusses the importance of knowing that in what we do Christ is integrated in our actions, behaviors, values, etc.
With this in mind, the following will focus on the spiritual formation process within the Christian community. The concept of Christian community stems from the Bible with the perspective of the body of Christ. The body of Christ is compared to the humane body, a whole comprised of numerous parts; each individual part is required and created by God to form a cohesive whole, no matter believer or non-believer or social status (1 Corinthians 12). Similarly, the spiritual community is also comprised of bountiful parts and can be customized to the individual as the formation. Ashbrook appraises the significance of individuals and community, “Our spiritual formation is designed by God to happen in the context of Christian community, the chu...
A “candidate for conversion” (Pals 180) must be aware of his “wrongness” (Pals 180) and ready to make this “escape,” and embody the spiritual ideas of his divine being. The conversion of the “candidate” involves “’a process of struggling away from sin,’” a process which brings him- or her-self closer to “any positive ideal” (Pals 180) that their higher power embodies. The goal is to aim oneself towards likeness of this divine being, to become more and more similar to god. This similarity to god, this likeness with him, is what characterizes a
I’d like to state the most obvious observation that I’ve made about spiritual formation; that is that I will always need to be seeking for ways to nurture my personal spirituality throughout my life. I know that to most people this may sound like a “duh” statement, but for me it has truly become a reality and one that I must admit I have been struggling to embrace. I was brought up in a church that, like most traditional churches, stayed happy living in the “comfort zone” of their Christianity. They took everything that the Bible said at face value without digging in to find out why they believed what they believed. I had never been challenged to look deeper into the text. In the past few years I have felt the need to tunnel out of this cave of what I feel is best labeled “Christian ignorance”. In the process though, I have had to come to terms with letting go of the things that brought me comfort and provided me with what I thought it took to have a close relationship with God. Some of those things were tangible. Most were not. The things that were the least tangible actually ended up being the hardest to let go of.
Dallas Willard points out in his book Renovation of the Heart: Putting on the Character of Christ, “the Spirit of God now calls his people to live from an adequate basis for character transformation, resulting in obedience to and abundance in Christ. He goes on to say, “Spiritual formation is something we human beings can and must undertake- as individuals and in fellowship with other apprentices of Jesus.” As previously stated spiritual formation is not just for the inner man, Willard agrees it must show forth evidence of character transformation. He also indicate fellowship with other believers is also an aspect or element of spiritual formation. Willard positions his focus on understanding the human being as a “whole person” is key to understanding how “the six aspects of “human life,” which are controlled by the heart all work together and interplay make up “human