disciple saint francis

What Does a Maturing Disciple of Jesus Look Like?

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We agree that the mission of the church, and the mission of God in our lives, is to make (beautiful) disciples of Jesus. We also agree that discipling is a maturation process; believers are supposed to “become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13).[2] Another way of saying this is that we are partnering with God to help people follow Jesus and join his mission. All our doctrines, practices, and congregational lives are anchored in these ideas. Renew.org recently published my article on this topic. You can read the full article here. Below is part of the article. But in order to pursue this discipling process, do we not need to know what a maturing disciple of Jesus looks like? How do we know if we are traveling on the road of maturity unless we know what the road looks like? In other words, Continue Reading →

weekly words of encouragement

God Is Our Shield – Weekly Words Of Encouragement

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“You, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head” Psalms 3:3 (ESV). David declared this in the middle of a rebellion against his government. Under the New Covenant there are no official governments of God, but God is our shield today too. He is still the shield of our souls. Our soul will prosper if we abide in him. David wanted political and physical protection, which was part of the Old Covenant. Under the New Covenant political and physical protection are not promised until the second phase of the kingdom of God, after Jesus returns. Until then we may be persecuted and harmed, but the New Testament still teaches that God is our shield. He will strengthen and protect us against the evil one (2 Thess. 3:3) and our faith is a shield against the Enemy (Eph. 6:16). God is our glory; he Continue Reading →

cross forgiveness

Christformation And Embracing Forgiveness

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(This is the first part of an article I wrote titled “Christformation And Embracing Forgiveness” that appeared on the Renew.org website. You may click on the link to access the whole article.) What is God up to in our lives? When we look throughout Scripture, we see that, above all, God is restoring his image in us so we can be fruitful members of his eternal community of love. Restoring God’s image is another way of saying “becoming like Christ,” or as I like to put it, “Christformation.” I would like to explore the importance of embracing forgiveness in order to progress in Christformation. Throughout Scripture, we learn that God has forgiven our sins through the cross of Christ: “Christ died for our sins” (1 Corinthians 15:3, NIV). I want to persuade you to fully believe in this forgiveness from God. In fact, I want us to believe in this Continue Reading →

weekly words of encouragement

Meditation Makes You Fruitful – Weekly Words Of Encouragement

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“Blessed is the man . . . [whose] delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither.” Psalm 1:1-3 (ESV) In other words, meditation makes you fruitful. When I go hiking it is easy to spot where streams are. I just look for a row of trees sticking up higher than the surrounding vegetation. These trees are bigger and stronger than the others because they are next to a stream so they have a consistent source of nutrition. When it comes to the spiritual landscape I want to be one of those trees growing tall and strong. How can I do that? By constantly embracing and meditating on God’s instructions. We know that Jesus completed the law so now Continue Reading →

holy spirit dove stained glass

Ten Dangers Of Experiences Of The Holy Spirit – Part 2

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Do you ever face these temptations when you are trying to let the Spirit guide you or when you are having experiences of the Holy Spirit? Keeping ourselves open to the Spirit is essential to a complete Christian life, but it comes with temptations that can gradually derail us. This continues a list of temptations of experiences of the Holy Spirit that individuals and churches experience, which we began last week. We hope this list of dangers of experiences of the Holy Spirit will help you to avoid pitfalls in your own personal life as well as in your church. When we combine openness to the Spirit with wisdom we give God much permission to change our lives. Which dangers of experiences of the Holy Spirit have you personally observed or fallen into? Jesus Is Our Big BrotherSeptember 4, 2026I Will Yet Praise Him – Weekly Words Of EncouragementAugust 31, 2026The Continue Reading →