Category: Key Growth Posts

activational reading book knowledge

Activational Reading – How To Let God’s Word Change You

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We know that we need to let Scripture soak in to our deepest self. We want to let it assimilate into our soul and saturate our whole being.   One ancient way of doing this is lectio divina which involves the sequence of: reading Scripture, then meditating on it, then responding in prayer, then quietly contemplating (gazing upon or receptively sitting with) the Scripture or whatever has impacted you. Since this model is weak in the area of activating the will I altered it some and labeled it activational reading. It has four steps. Activational Scripture Reading Step one is to absorb the Scripture passage. This includes reading it, understanding it and letting it sink in. Roll the words around in your mind and heart. What is the author trying to communicate? What do the words actually mean? What do they not mean? What is the purpose of the passage? If Continue Reading →

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The Trap Of Seeking The Presence Of God

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The greatest blessing in the New Creation will be to see God and be close to Him. Nothing will be better than being in His presence. We long for this and endure sacrifice now so we can present ourselves as pure when Jesus returns and we see God. So shouldn’t we also seek God’s presence in this mortal life? Shouldn’t we desire as much of God as He is willing to give now? Of course we should. But there is a question as to priority. How high should we prioritize the presence of God? First we need to ask what we mean when we say the “presence of God.” If someone asks us directly what this means we might say we just want whatever He wills. But the reality is that we want the spiritual sweetness of being in the presence of God. Even just beholding the majesty of God Continue Reading →

spiritual pride

Freedom From The Prison Of Spiritual Pride

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Have you noticed that as you grow you run into new kinds of sins that are more subtle and hidden? As we mature we don’t wrestle as much with obvious sins like lying and ungodly speech. This can trick us into thinking that we have conquered the major sins in our life. Yet growth brings with it a whole new set of vices. The 16th century Christian teacher John of the Cross called these spiritual vices. They are spiritual versions of the seven deadly sins. These vices block our spiritual growth and oneness with God. Thus, they are spiritual enemy number one! The first spiritual vice John describes is spiritual pride. We develop pride in our spiritual accomplishments and spiritual growth. This can especially apply to our spiritual disciplines. We find ourselves being critical with others for not having enough devotion. We may also dislike praising others for their maturity because Continue Reading →

resurrection new adam

Jesus Makes Us Into New Adams

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Do you ever think about how wonderful it would be if you could be like Adam or Eve before they fell? Wouldn’t it be fantastic to live in perfect harmony with God and others? During the holy week when our hearts are so focused on Jesus and the end of his life it is helpful to remember why he came: so God could restore our Adamic nature and our Adamic relationship with God. In fact, Jesus does this and more! Remember that the old arrangement, or Mosaic covenant, that God had with his people did not succeed in producing a nation of people who loved God and followed his ways. The people could not produce a new garden on earth where everyone lived in harmony and prosperity. This was all rooted in the fact that they could not eliminate the corruption from their nature. The condemnation from the Garden remained. Continue Reading →

spiritual marriage

What Is It Like To Live In Full Intimacy With God?

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We often hear about being intimate with God. We all want to be closer to God although it may be unclear to us what that really means. Today we will taste some of that life, and I suspect that this taste will fire our hearts and bring us closer to complete loving surrender to God. And if you are wondering how to motivate people to pursue Jesus then consider beginning with this kind of material. Once people see the treasure then they will be more willing to “sell all they have” in order to get the treasure. When people understand what God wants to do for them then they are much more willing to embrace your leading. John of the Cross was a 16th century Spaniard who pursued and loved God as much as anyone ever did. We are blessed that he was also a great writer and could express Continue Reading →