Category: Level: Intermediate

honesty

Correcting Fellow Believers

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Bruce and Tom are spiritual friends and have edifying conversations on a regular basis. They encourage one another and each one feels stronger because of the friendship. Bruce starts to notice that Tom makes little joking putdowns of others in his conversations with people. Of course, this isn’t a cardinal sin but it is definitely not godly speech. What should Bruce do? Should Bruce be correcting fellow believers? Being a spiritual friend to someone is a huge blessing, for you as well as them. Believers are recognizing they need spiritual help, so life coaching and spiritual direction are more popular now than in the past. But how can we be a spiritual friend who actually makes a difference in someone’s life? How can we be God’s channel for transformation? One of the keys to being a good spiritual friend is saying the hard things that you don’t want to say. Continue Reading →

Incredible Motivation To Live For Eternity

Incredible Motivation To Live For Eternity

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I enjoy tennis. And I want to continually improve because it brings some joy to hit the ball well instead of hitting it over the fence. Also, playing well allows me to compete with others without being embarrassed and enjoy the competition. So, I am motivated to improve, and I am willing to sacrifice for it. A while ago, I wanted to improve my forehand stroke by practicing with a ball machine. When I finally had time I checked the weather – it wasn’t good. It was cold and windy, which is not good weather for standing and hitting balls from a ball machine. Should I go? I debated briefly, but I decided to go. I was willing to sacrifice comfort for the sake of improving my forehand. When I got there, it was cold and miserable, and I spent about 20 minutes of my 60 minutes setting up and Continue Reading →

filled with spirit joy happiness bliss

Our Present And Future Bliss

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John Ruysbroec, a Christian spiritual writer who lived from 1293 – 1381, had deep experiences of intimacy with God. Below is a quote of his description of what he felt. The second paragraph is a description of our future bliss in eternity. They are both from his book The Sparkling Stone, chapter 3. The love and joy he describes are encouraging and inspirational. He stated in other places that he did not believe in a merger of essence with God, so he was not heretical. His vocabulary may seem strange, but he was looking for words to describe something that seemed beyond words. [Note: the “spirit” refers to our human spirit.] For students of church history, it is interesting that Ruysbroec uses fire language similar to that used later by Richard Rolle and John of the Cross. As you read it, embrace it as something you will experience one day! “[Those who Continue Reading →

discipleship model

Are You Modeling Jesus?

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“Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do.” Phil. 3:17 (NIV). At first this statement by Paul might seem too audacious. Why would he tell the Philippians to imitate him instead of telling them to imitate Christ? He does talk about imitating Christ in other places so why would he direct the Philippians to focus on Paul? Is he being prideful? Is he too focused on himself? Is he misleading the Philippians? I don’t think he has any of these faults. He was modeling Jesus. I think Paul understood the power and importance of modeling Jesus for spiritual growth. It is easy for us to say that we aren’t the one that others should look to for an example. But really, if we are saying that Jesus changes lives and Continue Reading →

gong

“Without Love You Ain’t Nothing”

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“If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.” I Cor. 13:1-2 (NIV). The title of this post is from a Larry Norman (Christian music pioneer) song of the 1970s, and he was echoing the words from I Cor. 13:2. He sang them because these are some of the most important words in Christianity, without love, we are nothing. This passage shocks us with the surprising truth that even if someone has great spiritual gifts they are nothing without love! In fact, they are a nuisance, like a noisy gong. They are not a true disciple. What is surprising is that God Continue Reading →