Category: Level: Intermediate

spiritual counselor

A Spiritual Counselor Can Change Your Life

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A spiritual counselor is a treasure. A spiritual counselor is someone who has the knowledge, experience and maturity to accelerate your Spiritual growth. They are hard to find but they often make the difference between plateau or progress. If I had to choose just two channels of growth, one would be activational meditation on Scripture and the other would be a good spiritual counselor. A good spiritual counselor (whether they call themselves a coach, mentor, or director – we are not referring to counseling for psychological disorders) should hold you accountable in areas of purification and other commitments. They should know how to apply the principles of discernment (which we looked at in the chapter about exercising discernment) to your ideas or to any impressions you think you might have from God. A counselor who just affirms all the impressions you think you are getting from God is not helpful. Continue Reading →

friends

Looking For A Soul Friend?

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The 6th-century Celtic nun St. Brigid is reported to have said that “A person without a soul-friend is a body without a head.”[1] No matter how much status we have in the body of Christ we are to develop interdependence with some believers and express our need for them. In a godly relationship we go beyond encouraging and affirming one another in Christ. If it ended there it would become narcissistic for both, easily devolving into boosting each other’s self-esteem and just pleasing each other instead of pleasing God. Rather, since our top priority is pleasing God, it means that we help our friend to become like Christ and invite them to do the same to us. “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another” (Prov. 27:17, NIV). We are secure in the friendship, so we are free to help each other to die to self. We point out Continue Reading →

two friends shapening

Christformed Communication: Give Weight, Respond Accurately, Express Accurately.

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It is helpful to remember the basics of thoughtful speech. We should look people in the eyes, smile or have a positive facial expression, present a welcoming physical posture, be aware of their emotional state before we respond, watch carefully for their reactions, don’t be suspicious, use “I” language to express yourself, listen carefully and try to understand their thoughts, and ask clarifying questions. When we speak we want others to give weight to our words. Likewise, when others speak we honor them by giving weight to their words. They are expressing themselves, and even if they are doing it poorly we display how much God values them by considering their words and trying to understand them better. We are Jesus’ ears for them. Giving weight to others’ words is often the most important element of Christformed communication. Part of valuing others’ words is responding accurately. Our words should fit Continue Reading →

two friends shapening

The Power Of Our Words

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Who can doubt that our words are powerful yet excruciatingly difficult to control? Speaking to believers, James provides several graphic illustrations to make this clear. ​“If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. 3 If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. 4 Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. 5 So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire!” (James 3:2-5, NIV). Consider how much words from our parents shape our lives. Consider how much the right words from a friend have Continue Reading →

Social justice

Pursuing Social Justice In Christ – Part 2:How Much Can We Transform Society?

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Last week we saw that pursuing social justice is our responsibility because it is part of the kingdom of God that Jesus brought. Will we be able to complete the fulfillment of the kingdom of God? No. We must wait for Jesus to return and execute a final defeat of evil. There is no passage in the New Testament directing believers to fully establish the kingdom of God in this age. Rather, people are invited into the partial kingdom that Jesus has already established. Jesus and his apostles speak of believers finding the kingdom, entering the kingdom and spreading the message of the kingdom so that others may enter. Jesus brought the kingdom so it is here now and people can choose whether to enter or not. But we can not complete it. Yet this lack of full establishment does not discourage us because he is using us to spread Continue Reading →