Category: Interior Life

humility, shame

Love Humility – The Imitation of Christ: Chapter Two

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Imitation of Christ – Chapter Two It is natural to want knowledge but what good is knowledge if we aren’t surrendered to God? Someone who humbly serves God but lacks any education is higher in God’s eyes than a world-renowned scientist who doesn’t know that their own heart needs God. When we know our own heart we know how lowly we are. We don’t let complements puff us up. If we have all the knowledge in the world but don’t truly love others then is God impressed by our knowledge? He will judge our lives by our deeds not by our knowledge. Restrain your hunger for excessive knowledge because that only distracts and misleads us. Learned people are tempted to keep up an appearance of wisdom and hope they are recognized for it. Yet great knowledge is actually not much help to the soul. Dedicating our mind to knowledge outside Continue Reading →

follow Jesus

Commitment To Follow – The Imitation of Christ: Chapter One

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Today’s post is an interpretation of the first chapter of the most popular devotional book in the history of Christianity, The Imitation of Christ. It was written by a monk (or possibly several monks) in the 15th century named Thomas a Kempis. The chapter has been clarified, condensed and changed in a few places, all with the hope that it will be easier to read without losing any of the power of the original. Notice how direct and challenging the author is; this style is not as popular today but does reflect the urgency found in scripture.   Imitation of Christ, Chapter One. Jesus said “Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness.” (John 8:12) He teaches us to follow his example if we want to see true light. Let us make it our highest priority to meditate on his life so we know how to follow his example. Those Continue Reading →

Heart in prayer

Poem On Delight In Prayer – 5th Century

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Lately I’ve been reading from a 5th century author named Macarius. However, Macarius was only his pen name; his true identity is unknown so he is referred to as Pseudo-Macarius. He lived somewhere in modern day Syria. In his diary John Wesley wrote: “I read Macarius and sang.” His  Fifty Spiritual Homilies are warm, positive and without the intellectual analysis found in many Church Fathers. He talks about the light of God in our souls, the felt love of the Spirit, the transforming power of the incarnation, purification and spiritual sweetness. Following is a selection from Homily 8 of The Fifty Spiritual Homilies. It was not originally written as a poem and has no title. I just arranged it into stanzas myself. Between translation and arrangement it doesn’t have ideal poetic structure, but I still think it is beautiful. It is about the delight that the Spirit sometimes brings in prayer. Even though I can’t experience this right Continue Reading →

humility

Upside-Down Leadership – Part 2

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Last week we looked at three foundational attitudes for leadership: thinking of oneself as a student, a servant, and a messenger. Together these attitudes form humility in us. Today we build on humility with more ideas that deepen humility and equip us for mature leadership, whether we lead as a parent, a spouse, an employee, or in ministry. This is a straightforward discussion so please don’t get offended. Truly Love People. This means our heart is committed to the well being of the people we serve, with at least some measure of affection. If we don’t truly love the people then we need to find a way to change our heart or reconsider our calling. Be Weak and Strong. We are a flower in the field but also an anchor in the storm. This sounds like a paradox but it actually makes a lot of sense. Jesus made himself vulnerable for Continue Reading →

humility

Upside-Down Leadership-Part 1

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You just finished leading a great meeting. Everyone was happy and happy with you. Several smiled and thanked you personally. At home you are feeling thankful for being able to lead. Then as you relax your mind starts wandering and thinking about what a great person you are. You are a fantastic leader, so much better than most…whoa! What happened here? You were just thinking about being thankful then you started getting delusions of grandeur. How quickly spiritual pride rears its head. Scripture teaches that you have an old self, or “flesh” that you have to fight. This explains why these temptations and impulses rise up within us. We also have an Enemy that takes advantage of our old self. So we shouldn’t get discouraged by temptations to pride. The early devout Christians considered pride the deadliest of enemies for those pursuing spiritual growth. They observed that once someone decides Continue Reading →