3. Messages from the World
• The World says what we achieve and
accomplish determines who we are
2
4. Messages from the World
• The World says what we achieve and
accomplish determines who we are
• Money, power, prestige, production, and
possessions establish human value
2
5. Messages from the World
• The World says what we achieve and
accomplish determines who we are
• Money, power, prestige, production, and
possessions establish human value
• We tend to be human doings instead of
human beings
2
7. Messages from the Word
• The Word teaches that who we are in Christ
should be the basis for what we do
3
8. Messages from the Word
• The Word teaches that who we are in Christ
should be the basis for what we do
• Key is faithfulness in the journey rather
than living from one product to the next
3
9. Messages from the Word
• The Word teaches that who we are in Christ
should be the basis for what we do
• Key is faithfulness in the journey rather
than living from one product to the next
• Spiritual growth is inside out, not outside
in
3
11. What Is Process Spirituality?
• Stresses a progressive spiritual
formation (process) over a results-
based focus (product).
4
12. What Is Process Spirituality?
• Stresses a progressive spiritual
formation (process) over a results-
based focus (product).
• Emphasizes being alive to God’s action
in the present.
4
13. What Is Process Spirituality?
• Stresses a progressive spiritual
formation (process) over a results-
based focus (product).
• Emphasizes being alive to God’s action
in the present.
• Focuses on the journey, not just the
destination.
4
14. What Is Process Spirituality?
• Stresses a progressive spiritual
formation (process) over a results-
based focus (product).
• Emphasizes being alive to God’s action
in the present.
• Focuses on the journey, not just the
destination.
• Emphasizes growth from the inside out,
rather from the outside in.
4
21. Always Living in
the Future
• Tendency to invest energies in
accomplishing future goals
7
22. Always Living in
the Future
• Tendency to invest energies in
accomplishing future goals
• Before accomplishing one goal, we’re
already on to the next goal
7
23. Always Living in
the Future
• Tendency to invest energies in
accomplishing future goals
• Before accomplishing one goal, we’re
already on to the next goal
• Moving from product to product, we’re
rarely alive to the present- for decades!
7
24. Always Living in
the Future
• Tendency to invest energies in
accomplishing future goals
• Before accomplishing one goal, we’re
already on to the next goal
• Moving from product to product, we’re
rarely alive to the present- for decades!
• Lack of contentment in the present
drives our delusion that it will be found
in the future
7
29. The Present Moment
“To live in the past and future is easy.
To live in the present is like threading a needle.”
- Walker Percy, “Lancelot”
Time
Now Eternity
8
31. The Precious
Present Moment
• Treasure the passing opportunities of
this life and become more alive to the
present moment
9
32. The Precious
Present Moment
• Treasure the passing opportunities of
this life and become more alive to the
present moment
• This moment is all I have
9
33. The Precious
Present Moment
• Treasure the passing opportunities of
this life and become more alive to the
present moment
• This moment is all I have
• Take nothing for granted; savor the
blessings and joys of this moment
9
34. The Precious
Present Moment
• Treasure the passing opportunities of
this life and become more alive to the
present moment
• This moment is all I have
• Take nothing for granted; savor the
blessings and joys of this moment
• Be aware of God’s loving initiatives - in
this moment
9
35.
36. “Be careful then how you conduct yourselves:
like sensible men, not like simpletons.
37. “Be careful then how you conduct yourselves:
like sensible men, not like simpletons.
Use the present opportunity to the
full, for these are evil days…”
(Eph. 5:15-17)
39. Practice Staying in
the Present
“Our greatest business in life is not to
see what lies dimly at a distance, but
to do what lies clearly at hand.”
- Thomas Carlyle
11
40. Practice Staying in
the Present
“Our greatest business in life is not to
see what lies dimly at a distance, but
to do what lies clearly at hand.”
- Thomas Carlyle
“Wherever you are, be all there.
Live to the hilt any situation you
believe to be the will of God.”
- Jim Elliott
11
44. A Step-by-Step Journey
• Life is a journey
• We are headed home
• Cannot be attained by a
combination of
technique and
information
45. A Step-by-Step Journey
• Life is a journey
• We are headed home
• Cannot be attained by a
combination of
technique and
information
• We must move into
unknown territory
46. A Step-by-Step Journey
• Life is a journey
• We are headed home
• Cannot be attained by a
combination of
technique and
information
• We must move into
unknown territory
• Learn to count on
His guidance, grace,
and presence
48. Spiritual Formation is
a Lifelong Process
• Spiritual formation is working out what
God has already worked in us
(Phil. 2:12-13)
49. Spiritual Formation is
a Lifelong Process
• Spiritual formation is working out what
God has already worked in us
(Phil. 2:12-13)
• We stumble in many ways because we are
still in process
50. Spiritual Formation is
a Lifelong Process
• Spiritual formation is working out what
God has already worked in us
(Phil. 2:12-13)
• We stumble in many ways because we are
still in process
Sanctification is both an event and a
process
51. Spiritual Formation is
a Lifelong Process
• Spiritual formation is working out what
God has already worked in us
(Phil. 2:12-13)
• We stumble in many ways because we are
still in process
Sanctification is both an event and a
process
Spiritual formation is gradual: years of
making small choices in favor of God’s will
54. What Spiritual Growth…
IS NOT: IS:
Event Process
External Conformity Internal Heart Change
Experience Mundane
Formula No Single Formula
Technique No Single Technique
Instantaneous Gradual
Standardized Individualized
Uniform Uneven
Measurable Immeasurable
Controllable Uncontrollable
Passive Active
14
55. What Spiritual Growth…
IS NOT: IS:
Event Process
External Conformity Internal Heart Change
Experience Mundane
Formula No Single Formula
Technique No Single Technique
Instantaneous Gradual
Standardized Individualized
Uniform Uneven
Measurable Immeasurable
Controllable Uncontrollable
Passive Active
14
56. What Spiritual Growth…
IS NOT: IS:
Event Process
External Conformity Internal Heart Change
Experience Mundane
Formula No Single Formula
Technique No Single Technique
Instantaneous Gradual
Standardized Individualized
Uniform Uneven
Measurable Immeasurable
Controllable Uncontrollable
Passive Active
14
57. What Spiritual Growth…
IS NOT: IS:
Event Process
External Conformity Internal Heart Change
Experience Mundane
Formula No Single Formula
Technique No Single Technique
Instantaneous Gradual
Standardized Individualized
Uniform Uneven
Measurable Immeasurable
Controllable Uncontrollable
Passive Active
14
58. What Spiritual Growth…
IS NOT: IS:
Event Process
External Conformity Internal Heart Change
Experience Mundane
Formula No Single Formula
Technique No Single Technique
Instantaneous Gradual
Standardized Individualized
Uniform Uneven
Measurable Immeasurable
Controllable Uncontrollable
Passive Active
14
59. What Spiritual Growth…
IS NOT: IS:
Event Process
External Conformity Internal Heart Change
Experience Mundane
Formula No Single Formula
Technique No Single Technique
Instantaneous Gradual
Standardized Individualized
Uniform Uneven
Measurable Immeasurable
Controllable Uncontrollable
Passive Active
14
60. What Spiritual Growth…
IS NOT: IS:
Event Process
External Conformity Internal Heart Change
Experience Mundane
Formula No Single Formula
Technique No Single Technique
Instantaneous Gradual
Standardized Individualized
Uniform Uneven
Measurable Immeasurable
Controllable Uncontrollable
Passive Active
14
61. What Spiritual Growth…
IS NOT: IS:
Event Process
External Conformity Internal Heart Change
Experience Mundane
Formula No Single Formula
Technique No Single Technique
Instantaneous Gradual
Standardized Individualized
Uniform Uneven
Measurable Immeasurable
Controllable Uncontrollable
Passive Active
14
62. What Spiritual Growth…
IS NOT: IS:
Event Process
External Conformity Internal Heart Change
Experience Mundane
Formula No Single Formula
Technique No Single Technique
Instantaneous Gradual
Standardized Individualized
Uniform Uneven
Measurable Immeasurable
Controllable Uncontrollable
Passive Active
14
63. What Spiritual Growth…
IS NOT: IS:
Event Process
External Conformity Internal Heart Change
Experience Mundane
Formula No Single Formula
Technique No Single Technique
Instantaneous Gradual
Standardized Individualized
Uniform Uneven
Measurable Immeasurable
Controllable Uncontrollable
Passive Active
14
64. What Spiritual Growth…
IS NOT: IS:
Event Process
External Conformity Internal Heart Change
Experience Mundane
Formula No Single Formula
Technique No Single Technique
Instantaneous Gradual
Standardized Individualized
Uniform Uneven
Measurable Immeasurable
Controllable Uncontrollable
Passive Active
14
65. What Spiritual Growth…
IS NOT: IS:
Event Process
External Conformity Internal Heart Change
Experience Mundane
Formula No Single Formula
Technique No Single Technique
Instantaneous Gradual
Standardized Individualized
Uniform Uneven
Measurable Immeasurable
Controllable Uncontrollable
Passive Active
14
70. Spiritual growth is a step-by-step,
moment-by-moment,
choice-by-choice,
day-by-day,
15
71. Spiritual growth is a step-by-step,
moment-by-moment,
choice-by-choice,
day-by-day,
PROCESS
15
72. Spiritual growth is a step-by-step,
moment-by-moment,
choice-by-choice,
day-by-day,
PROCESS
of responding to God’s constant
loving initiatives...
15
73. Spiritual growth is a step-by-step,
moment-by-moment,
choice-by-choice,
day-by-day,
PROCESS
of responding to God’s constant
loving initiatives...
mostly in the mundane,
trivial details of life.
15
80. Faith Love Hope
Appropriated in the Active in the Anticipating the
PAST PRESENT FUTURE
Forgiveness & Grace Love and community Purpose and Hope
Salvation Sanctification Glorification
Positional Progressive Ultimate
Significance Satisfaction Security
Hindsight Insight Foresight
History Our story His story
17
81. Faith Love Hope
Appropriated in the Active in the Anticipating the
PAST PRESENT FUTURE
Forgiveness & Grace Love and community Purpose and Hope
Salvation Sanctification Glorification
Positional Progressive Ultimate
Significance Satisfaction Security
Hindsight Insight Foresight
History Our story His story
17
82. Faith Love Hope
Appropriated in the Active in the Anticipating the
PAST PRESENT FUTURE
Forgiveness & Grace Love and community Purpose and Hope
Salvation Sanctification Glorification
Positional Progressive Ultimate
Significance Satisfaction Security
Hindsight Insight Foresight
History Our story His story
17
83. Faith Love Hope
Appropriated in the Active in the Anticipating the
PAST PRESENT FUTURE
Forgiveness & Grace Love and community Purpose and Hope
Salvation Sanctification Glorification
Positional Progressive Ultimate
Significance Satisfaction Security
Hindsight Insight Foresight
History Our story His story
17
84. Faith Love Hope
Appropriated in the Active in the Anticipating the
PAST PRESENT FUTURE
Forgiveness & Grace Love and community Purpose and Hope
Salvation Sanctification Glorification
Positional Progressive Ultimate
Significance Satisfaction Security
Hindsight Insight Foresight
History Our story His story
17
85. Faith Love Hope
Appropriated in the Active in the Anticipating the
PAST PRESENT FUTURE
Forgiveness & Grace Love and community Purpose and Hope
Salvation Sanctification Glorification
Positional Progressive Ultimate
Significance Satisfaction Security
Hindsight Insight Foresight
History Our story His story
17
86. Faith Love Hope
Appropriated in the Active in the Anticipating the
PAST PRESENT FUTURE
Forgiveness & Grace Love and community Purpose and Hope
Salvation Sanctification Glorification
Positional Progressive Ultimate
Significance Satisfaction Security
Hindsight Insight Foresight
History Our story His story
17
87. Faith Love Hope
Appropriated in the Active in the Anticipating the
PAST PRESENT FUTURE
Forgiveness & Grace Love and community Purpose and Hope
Salvation Sanctification Glorification
Positional Progressive Ultimate
Significance Satisfaction Security
Hindsight Insight Foresight
History Our story His story
17
108. The Problem of Busyness
• Modern dilemma of busyness
elevates doing over being
21
109. The Problem of Busyness
• Modern dilemma of busyness
elevates doing over being
• Future-oriented culture
21
110. The Problem of Busyness
• Modern dilemma of busyness
elevates doing over being
• Future-oriented culture
• Time used for results, not relationships
21
111. The Problem of Busyness
• Modern dilemma of busyness
elevates doing over being
• Future-oriented culture
• Time used for results, not relationships
• America worships the god of progress
21
112. The Problem of Busyness
• Modern dilemma of busyness
elevates doing over being
• Future-oriented culture
• Time used for results, not relationships
• America worships the god of progress
• Compete, achieve, win
21
114. Life in the Fast Lane
• Blowing and Going!
22
115. Life in the Fast Lane
• Blowing and Going!
• Slamming and Jamming!
22
116. Life in the Fast Lane
• Blowing and Going!
• Slamming and Jamming!
• Running and Gunning!
22
117. Life in the Fast Lane
• Blowing and Going!
• Slamming and Jamming!
• Running and Gunning!
“We are warned not to waste time,
but we are brought up to waste our lives.”
- Eric Hoffer
22
124. Combating Busyness
• Develop a clear sense of your mission so
you can say “No” to the good and “Yes”
to the best
24
125. Combating Busyness
• Develop a clear sense of your mission so
you can say “No” to the good and “Yes”
to the best
• Know your personal limits to budget
adequate time to restore your inner
resources
24
126. Combating Busyness
• Develop a clear sense of your mission so
you can say “No” to the good and “Yes”
to the best
• Know your personal limits to budget
adequate time to restore your inner
resources
• Free yourself from bondage of opinions,
agendas, and expectations of others
24
131. Combating Busyness
• Seek a balance between:
• Rest and Work
• Recharging and Discharging
– Depth and Breadth
27
132. Combating Busyness
• Seek a balance between:
• Rest and Work
• Recharging and Discharging
• Depth and Breadth
– Inward and Outward
28
133. Combating Busyness
• Seek a balance between:
• Rest and Work
• Recharging and Discharging
• Depth and Breadth
• Inward and Outward
– Reflection and Practice
29
134. Combating Busyness
• Seek a balance between:
• Rest and Work
• Recharging and Discharging
• Depth and Breadth
• Inward and Outward
• Reflection and Practice
– Thinking and Application
30
135. Combating Busyness
• Seek a balance between:
• Rest and Work
• Recharging and Discharging
• Depth and Breadth
• Inward and Outward
• Reflection and Practice
• Thinking and Application
– Contentment and Accomplishment
31
139. Combating Busyness Tips
• Reduce commitments
to excel in a few
things
• Rest requires faith!
• Don’t allow
diversions and
distractions to
prevent honest self-
examination before
God
32
142. Combating Busyness Tips
• Live and savor the
present moment
• Manage time loosely
to enhance
relationships
33
143. Combating Busyness Tips
• Live and savor the
present moment
• Manage time loosely
to enhance
relationships
• Budget time in
advance for the
important, not the
urgent
33
144. Being Versus Doing
1. The Problem of Busyness
2. Causes Versus Christ
3. Intimacy Versus Activity
4. Practicing His Presence
34
146. Causes Versus Christ
• The world drives people to find security,
significance and satisfaction in wrong
places.
35
147. Causes Versus Christ
• The world drives people to find security,
significance and satisfaction in wrong
places.
• Many Christians have baptized the
world’s values with a spiritual veneer.
35
148. Causes Versus Christ
• The world drives people to find security,
significance and satisfaction in wrong
places.
• Many Christians have baptized the
world’s values with a spiritual veneer.
• Encourages setting hearts on things
that actually distance them from Christ.
35
150. Causes Versus Christ
• Meaning is not found in a quest for self,
but in a calling to know God.
36
151. Causes Versus Christ
• Meaning is not found in a quest for self,
but in a calling to know God.
• Intimacy with Christ leads to holiness,
but attempts to be holy do not
necessarily lead to intimacy.
36
156. Specific Causes Versus Christ
• Education
• Politics
• Social Action
• Environmental
Action
37
157. Specific Causes Versus Christ
• Education
• Politics
• Social Action
• Environmental
Action
• Rearing godly kids
37
158. Specific Causes Versus Christ
• Education
• Politics • Building a company
for Christ
• Social Action
• Environmental
Action
• Rearing godly kids
37
159. Specific Causes Versus Christ
• Education
• Politics • Building a company
for Christ
• Social Action • Evangelism
• Environmental
Action
• Rearing godly kids
37
160. Specific Causes Versus Christ
• Education
• Politics • Building a company
for Christ
• Social Action • Evangelism
• Environmental • Discipleship
Action
• Rearing godly kids
37
161. Specific Causes Versus Christ
• Education
• Politics • Building a company
for Christ
• Social Action • Evangelism
• Environmental • Discipleship
Action
• Rearing godly kids • Learning Scripture
37
166. Chambers on Causes vs. Christ
““If I am devoted to the cause of
humanity only,
I will soon be exhausted and come to the
place where my love will falter;
39
167. Chambers on Causes vs. Christ
““If I am devoted to the cause of
humanity only,
I will soon be exhausted and come to the
place where my love will falter;
but if I love Jesus Christ personally and passionately,
I can serve humanity though men treat me as a door mat.”
39
169. Chambers on Causes vs. Christ
“The greatest competitor of devotion
to Jesus is service for Him…
40
170. Chambers on Causes vs. Christ
“The greatest competitor of devotion
to Jesus is service for Him…
We count as service what we do in the way of
Christian work;
Jesus Christ calls service what we are to
Him, not what we do for Him…
40
171. Chambers on Causes vs. Christ
“The greatest competitor of devotion
to Jesus is service for Him…
We count as service what we do in the way of
Christian work;
Jesus Christ calls service what we are to
Him, not what we do for Him…
The one aim of the call of God is the satisfaction of God,
not a call to do something for Him.”
- Oswald Chambers
40
172. Being Versus Doing
1. The Problem of Busyness
2. Causes Versus Christ
3. Intimacy Versus Activity
4. Practicing His Presence
41
175. Intimacy Versus Activity
• Must not confuse “spiritual” activity
with intimacy with Jesus.
• Actions and service alone do not lead to
intimacy with Jesus.
42
176. Intimacy Versus Activity
• Must not confuse “spiritual” activity
with intimacy with Jesus.
• Actions and service alone do not lead to
intimacy with Jesus.
• What we do should flow from what we
are, not the other way around.
42
177. Intimacy Versus Activity
• Must not confuse “spiritual” activity
with intimacy with Jesus.
• Actions and service alone do not lead to
intimacy with Jesus.
• What we do should flow from what we
are, not the other way around.
• Otherwise worth and identity are
determined by achievements and
accomplishments.
42
181. Intimacy Versus Activity
• Requires a rhythm of:
• Solitude and engagement
• Restoration and application
44
182. Intimacy Versus Activity
• Requires a rhythm of:
• Solitude and engagement
• Restoration and application
• Intimacy with Christ and activity in
the world
45
184. The Common Mistake
• Supposing that actions and service to
Jesus will lead to intimacy with Jesus
185. The Common Mistake
• Supposing that actions and service to
Jesus will lead to intimacy with Jesus
• Instead of ministry flowing out of our
relationship with God, many people
suppose that ministry will sustain their
relationship with God
186. The Common Mistake
• Supposing that actions and service to
Jesus will lead to intimacy with Jesus
• Instead of ministry flowing out of our
relationship with God, many people
suppose that ministry will sustain their
relationship with God
• Error: Doing = Being
187. The Common Mistake
• Supposing that actions and service to
Jesus will lead to intimacy with Jesus
• Instead of ministry flowing out of our
relationship with God, many people
suppose that ministry will sustain their
relationship with God
• Error: Doing = Being
• Perfectionism and legalism often fuel
this erroneous thinking
192. BEING DOING
Intimacy with Christ Activity in the world
Solitude Engagement
Abiding Serving
Interior Exterior
Relational calling Dominion calling
Calling Character
Energizes
Invisible Visible
Real life Reflected life
Restoration of spiritual Application of spiritual
energy energy
Perspective Practice
Rest Work
193. BEING DOING
Intimacy with Christ Activity in the world
Solitude Engagement
Abiding Serving
Interior Exterior
Relational calling Dominion calling
Calling Character
Energizes
Invisible Visible
Real life Reflected life
Restoration of spiritual Application of spiritual
energy energy
Perspective Practice
Rest Work
194. BEING DOING
Intimacy with Christ Activity in the world
Solitude Engagement
Abiding Serving
Interior Exterior
Relational calling Dominion calling
Calling Character
Energizes
Invisible Visible
Real life Reflected life
Restoration of spiritual Application of spiritual
energy energy
Perspective Practice
Rest Work
195. BEING DOING
Intimacy with Christ Activity in the world
Solitude Engagement
Abiding Serving
Interior Exterior
Relational calling Dominion calling
Calling Character
Energizes
Invisible Visible
Real life Reflected life
Restoration of spiritual Application of spiritual
energy energy
Perspective Practice
Rest Work
196. BEING DOING
Intimacy with Christ Activity in the world
Solitude Engagement
Abiding Serving
Interior Exterior
Relational calling Dominion calling
Calling Character
Energizes
Invisible Visible
Real life Reflected life
Restoration of spiritual Application of spiritual
energy energy
Perspective Practice
Rest Work
197. BEING DOING
Intimacy with Christ Activity in the world
Solitude Engagement
Abiding Serving
Interior Exterior
Relational calling Dominion calling
Calling Character
Energizes
Invisible Visible
Real life Reflected life
Restoration of spiritual Application of spiritual
energy energy
Perspective Practice
Rest Work
198. BEING DOING
Intimacy with Christ Activity in the world
Solitude Engagement
Abiding Serving
Interior Exterior
Relational calling Dominion calling
Calling Character
Energizes
Invisible Visible
Real life Reflected life
Restoration of spiritual Application of spiritual
energy energy
Perspective Practice
Rest Work
199. BEING DOING
Intimacy with Christ Activity in the world
Solitude Engagement
Abiding Serving
Interior Exterior
Relational calling Dominion calling
Calling Character
Energizes
Invisible Visible
Real life Reflected life
Restoration of spiritual Application of spiritual
energy energy
Perspective Practice
Rest Work
200. BEING DOING
Intimacy with Christ Activity in the world
Solitude Engagement
Abiding Serving
Interior Exterior
Relational calling Dominion calling
Calling Character
Energizes
Invisible Visible
Real life Reflected life
Restoration of spiritual Application of spiritual
energy energy
Perspective Practice
Rest Work
201. BEING DOING
Intimacy with Christ Activity in the world
Solitude Engagement
Abiding Serving
Interior Exterior
Relational calling Dominion calling
Calling Character
Energizes
Invisible Visible
Real life Reflected life
Restoration of spiritual Application of spiritual
energy energy
Perspective Practice
Rest Work
202. BEING DOING
Intimacy with Christ Activity in the world
Solitude Engagement
Abiding Serving
Interior Exterior
Relational calling Dominion calling
Calling Character
Energizes
Invisible Visible
Real life Reflected life
Restoration of spiritual Application of spiritual
energy energy
Perspective Practice
Rest Work
203. BEING DOING
Intimacy with Christ Activity in the world
Solitude Engagement
Abiding Serving
Interior Exterior
Relational calling Dominion calling
Calling Character
Energizes
Invisible Visible
Real life Reflected life
Restoration of spiritual Application of spiritual
energy energy
Perspective Practice
Rest Work
204. Being Versus Doing
1. The Problem of Busyness
2. Causes Versus Christ
3. Intimacy Versus Activity
4. Practicing His Presence
49
206. Practicing His Presence:
Scriptural Principles
• Abide in Jesus and let His words abide in
you (Jn.15:4-7)
50
207. Practicing His Presence:
Scriptural Principles
• Abide in Jesus and let His words abide in
you (Jn.15:4-7)
• Set your mind on the things of the Spirit
(Rom.8:5-6)
50
208. Practicing His Presence:
Scriptural Principles
• Abide in Jesus and let His words abide in
you (Jn.15:4-7)
• Set your mind on the things of the Spirit
(Rom.8:5-6)
• Walk by the Spirit (Gal. 5:16, 25)
50
210. Practicing His Presence:
Scriptures
• Keep seeking the things
above where Christ is
(Col. 3:1-2)
51
211. Practicing His Presence:
Scriptures
• Keep seeking the things
above where Christ is
(Col. 3:1-2)
• Rejoice always, pray
without ceasing, in
everything give thanks
(1Thess. 5:16-18)
51
212. Practicing His Presence:
Scriptures
• Keep seeking the things
above where Christ is
(Col. 3:1-2)
• Rejoice always, pray
without ceasing, in
everything give thanks
(1Thess. 5:16-18)
• Run with endurance the
race that is set before us,
fixing our eyes on Jesus
(Heb.12:1-2)
51
221. Practicing His Presence Tips
• Develop an eye for
God’s beauty
• Turn pleasure into
sources of adoration
53
222. Practicing His Presence Tips
• Develop an eye for
God’s beauty
• Turn pleasure into
sources of adoration
• See every person
and circumstance
today as gifts of God
53
223. Practicing His Presence Tips
• Develop an eye for
God’s beauty
• Turn pleasure into
sources of adoration
• See every person
and circumstance
today as gifts of God
• Relish the present
moment
53
228. Control: A Great Enemy of
Process Spirituality
• Craving to control our environment
57
229. Control: A Great Enemy of
Process Spirituality
• Craving to control our environment
• Desire to determine results of our endeavors
57
230. Control: A Great Enemy of
Process Spirituality
• Craving to control our environment
• Desire to determine results of our endeavors
• Natural inclination to be:
57
231. Control: A Great Enemy of
Process Spirituality
• Craving to control our environment
• Desire to determine results of our endeavors
• Natural inclination to be:
• Manipulators
57
232. Control: A Great Enemy of
Process Spirituality
• Craving to control our environment
• Desire to determine results of our endeavors
• Natural inclination to be:
• Manipulators
• Grabbers
57
233. Control: A Great Enemy of
Process Spirituality
• Craving to control our environment
• Desire to determine results of our endeavors
• Natural inclination to be:
• Manipulators
• Grabbers
• Owners
57
234. Control: A Great Enemy of
Process Spirituality
• Craving to control our environment
• Desire to determine results of our endeavors
• Natural inclination to be:
• Manipulators
• Grabbers
• Owners
• Controllers
57
236. Faithfulness to the Process but
Trusting God for the Results
OPPORTUNITY OBEDIENCE OUTCOME
“…even as the Lord gave “I planted, Apollos “…but God was causing the
opportunity to each” 1Co.3:5 watered…” 1Co.3:6 growth” 1Co.3:6,7
Divine Human Divine
Sovereignty Responsibility Sovereignty
God Me God
Process Process Product
58
237. Faithfulness to the Process but
Trusting God for the Results
OPPORTUNITY OBEDIENCE OUTCOME
“…even as the Lord gave “I planted, Apollos “…but God was causing the
opportunity to each” 1Co.3:5 watered…” 1Co.3:6 growth” 1Co.3:6,7
Divine Human Divine
Sovereignty Responsibility Sovereignty
God Me God
Process Process Product
58
238. Faithfulness to the Process but
Trusting God for the Results
OPPORTUNITY OBEDIENCE OUTCOME
“…even as the Lord gave “I planted, Apollos “…but God was causing the
opportunity to each” 1Co.3:5 watered…” 1Co.3:6 growth” 1Co.3:6,7
Divine Human Divine
Sovereignty Responsibility Sovereignty
God Me God
Process Process Product
58
239. Faithfulness to the Process but
Trusting God for the Results
OPPORTUNITY OBEDIENCE OUTCOME
“…even as the Lord gave “I planted, Apollos “…but God was causing the
opportunity to each” 1Co.3:5 watered…” 1Co.3:6 growth” 1Co.3:6,7
Divine Human Divine
Sovereignty Responsibility Sovereignty
God Me God
Process Process Product
58
240. Faithfulness to the Process but
Trusting God for the Results
OPPORTUNITY OBEDIENCE OUTCOME
“…even as the Lord gave “I planted, Apollos “…but God was causing the
opportunity to each” 1Co.3:5 watered…” 1Co.3:6 growth” 1Co.3:6,7
Divine Human Divine
Sovereignty Responsibility Sovereignty
God Me God
Process Process Product
58
242. Keys for Letting Loose
• Receive each day and whatever it brings
as from the hand of God
243. Keys for Letting Loose
• Receive each day and whatever it brings
as from the hand of God
• God is good and has our best interest
at heart (Rom. 8:28)
244. Keys for Letting Loose
• Receive each day and whatever it brings
as from the hand of God
• God is good and has our best interest
at heart (Rom. 8:28)
• Ask God to use circumstances to change
us rather than asking Him to change
circumstances to suit us
245. Keys for Letting Loose
• Receive each day and whatever it brings
as from the hand of God
• God is good and has our best interest
at heart (Rom. 8:28)
• Ask God to use circumstances to change
us rather than asking Him to change
circumstances to suit us
• Realize it is impossible to count,
measure, or control the spiritual life
246. Trust, Gratitude, and Contentment
1. Letting Loose of Control and Results
2. Cultivating a Heart of
Gratitude
3. The Secret of Contentment
60
248. Gratitude
“If he is not stupid, he is monstrously ungrateful!
Phenomenally ungrateful.
61
249. Gratitude
“If he is not stupid, he is monstrously ungrateful!
Phenomenally ungrateful.
In fact, I believe that the best definition of man is
the ungrateful biped.”
- Fyodor Dostoevsky, “Notes from Underground”
61
253. Gratitude
• Forgetfulness always leads to ingratitude.
• Gratitude is a choice, not merely a feeling.
• We cannot give thanks and complain at
the same time.
62
254. Gratitude
• Forgetfulness always leads to ingratitude.
• Gratitude is a choice, not merely a feeling.
• We cannot give thanks and complain at
the same time.
• View gratitude and remembering as a
discipline--daily and intentionally.
62
255.
256. “As they had their pasture, they became
satisfied, and being satisfied, their heart became
proud; therefore they forgot Me.” Hosea 13:6
262. Daily Exercise of Remembering:
• God’s Deliverance in the Past
• God’s Benefits in the Present
65
263. Daily Exercise of Remembering:
• God’s Deliverance in the Past
• God’s Benefits in the Present
• God’s Promises in the Future
65
264. Daily Exercise of Remembering:
• God’s Deliverance in the Past
• God’s Benefits in the Present
• God’s Promises in the Future
“Every gift I acknowledge reveals another and another
until, finally, even the most normal, obvious, seemingly
mundane event or encounter proves to be filled with
grace.” - Henri Nouwen
65
265. Trust, Gratitude, and Contentment
1. Letting Loose of Control and Results
2. Cultivating a Heart of Gratitude
3. The secret of Contentment
66
268. Dissatisfaction
• Most live in the future rather than in the
present.
• “In the days ahead, we’ll make up for our
present lack.”
67
269. Dissatisfaction
• Most live in the future rather than in the
present.
• “In the days ahead, we’ll make up for our
present lack.”
• We don’t know what we want; we’re just
sure we don’t have it now!
67
270. Dissatisfaction
• Most live in the future rather than in the
present.
• “In the days ahead, we’ll make up for our
present lack.”
• We don’t know what we want; we’re just
sure we don’t have it now!
• If we’re not satisfied with what we have, we
will never be satisfied with what we want.
67
272. Contentment
• Often a direct ratio between a society’s
affluence and its discontentment
273. Contentment
• Often a direct ratio between a society’s
affluence and its discontentment
• The more they have, the more
discontent they are
274. Contentment
• Often a direct ratio between a society’s
affluence and its discontentment
• The more they have, the more
discontent they are
• “Have-nots” are envious; “Haves” are
not satisfied
275. Contentment
• Often a direct ratio between a society’s
affluence and its discontentment
• The more they have, the more
discontent they are
• “Have-nots” are envious; “Haves” are
not satisfied
• Affluence tends to breed boredom and
ingratitude, then a quest for autonomy
277. The Secret of Contentment
• Not found in having everything but in
being satisfied with everything we have
69
278. The Secret of Contentment
• Not found in having everything but in
being satisfied with everything we have
• Contentment should be grounded not in
how much we have, but in the One who
has us
69
279. The Secret of Contentment
• Not found in having everything but in
being satisfied with everything we have
• Contentment should be grounded not in
how much we have, but in the One who
has us
• Requires an act of our will to put limits
on our appetites
69
280. The Secret of Contentment
• Not found in having everything but in
being satisfied with everything we have
• Contentment should be grounded not in
how much we have, but in the One who
has us
• Requires an act of our will to put limits
on our appetites
• Choose to be satisfied with whatever we
have now; this is God’s provision for us
69
281.
282. “I have learned to be content in whatever
circumstances I am.
283. “I have learned to be content in whatever
circumstances I am. I know how to get
along with humble means, and I also know
how to live in prosperity; in any and every
circumstance I have learned the secret of
being filled and going hungry, both of
having abundance and suffering need.” Phil.
4:11-12
284. “I have learned to be content in whatever
circumstances I am. I know how to get
Ialong with humble along with humble means, and I
know how to get means, and I also know
how to also in prosperity; live in prosperity;
live know how to in any and every
circumstance I have learned the secret of
being filled and going hungry, both of
having abundance and suffering need.” Phil.
4:11-12
285. “I have learned to be content in whatever
circumstances I am. I know how to get
along with humble means, and I also know
how to live in prosperity; in any and every
circumstance I have learned the secret of
being filled and going hungry, both of
having abundance and suffering need.” Phil.
4:11-12
286. in “I have learned circumstance Iin whatever the
any and every to be content have learned
secretcircumstances Iand going hungry,to get of having
of being filled am. I know how both
abundance and suffering need.” Phil. 4:11-12
along with humble means, and I also know
how to live in prosperity; in any and every
circumstance I have learned the secret of
being filled and going hungry, both of
having abundance and suffering need.” Phil.
4:11-12
289. Who Determines the Content of
Your Life?
SELF CHRIST
Comparison Contentment
Covetousness Competency
Competition Compassion
Compromise Character
73
290. Who Determines the Content of
Your Life?
SELF CHRIST
Comparison Contentment
Covetousness Competency
Competition Compassion
Compromise Character
73
300. Reflections Ministries Resources
Reflections - A free monthly teaching letter
KenBoa.org website - Daily Growth email and free
text and audio resources
76
For many people, life has become so filled with the if-onlys of the future that today becomes an inconvenient obstacle in the path of reaching tommorrow. \n\n1. During most of our lives, we have a natural tendency to invest our energies in goals and accomplishments we hope to achieve in the days ahead.\n\n2. The problem is that even when we are able to attain these ends, we are already thinking of the next one.\n\n3. Thus, moving from product to product, we are rarely alive to the realities of the present. We are fully capable of doing this for decades, but there eventually comes a point where the days ahead are few and the memories behind are abundant. At this point, many people make a conscious switch to living in the the past instead of the future.\n\n4. \n
For many people, life has become so filled with the if-onlys of the future that today becomes an inconvenient obstacle in the path of reaching tommorrow. \n\n1. During most of our lives, we have a natural tendency to invest our energies in goals and accomplishments we hope to achieve in the days ahead.\n\n2. The problem is that even when we are able to attain these ends, we are already thinking of the next one.\n\n3. Thus, moving from product to product, we are rarely alive to the realities of the present. We are fully capable of doing this for decades, but there eventually comes a point where the days ahead are few and the memories behind are abundant. At this point, many people make a conscious switch to living in the the past instead of the future.\n\n4. \n
For many people, life has become so filled with the if-onlys of the future that today becomes an inconvenient obstacle in the path of reaching tommorrow. \n\n1. During most of our lives, we have a natural tendency to invest our energies in goals and accomplishments we hope to achieve in the days ahead.\n\n2. The problem is that even when we are able to attain these ends, we are already thinking of the next one.\n\n3. Thus, moving from product to product, we are rarely alive to the realities of the present. We are fully capable of doing this for decades, but there eventually comes a point where the days ahead are few and the memories behind are abundant. At this point, many people make a conscious switch to living in the the past instead of the future.\n\n4. \n
For many people, life has become so filled with the if-onlys of the future that today becomes an inconvenient obstacle in the path of reaching tommorrow. \n\n1. During most of our lives, we have a natural tendency to invest our energies in goals and accomplishments we hope to achieve in the days ahead.\n\n2. The problem is that even when we are able to attain these ends, we are already thinking of the next one.\n\n3. Thus, moving from product to product, we are rarely alive to the realities of the present. We are fully capable of doing this for decades, but there eventually comes a point where the days ahead are few and the memories behind are abundant. At this point, many people make a conscious switch to living in the the past instead of the future.\n\n4. \n
As Walker Percy observed in his novel Lancelot, “To live in the past and future is easy. To live in the present is like threading a needle.”\n\nThe present is the only point in which time intersects eternity.\n
As Walker Percy observed in his novel Lancelot, “To live in the past and future is easy. To live in the present is like threading a needle.”\n\nThe present is the only point in which time intersects eternity.\n
As Walker Percy observed in his novel Lancelot, “To live in the past and future is easy. To live in the present is like threading a needle.”\n\nThe present is the only point in which time intersects eternity.\n
As Walker Percy observed in his novel Lancelot, “To live in the past and future is easy. To live in the present is like threading a needle.”\n\nThe present is the only point in which time intersects eternity.\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
1. Try to live from moment to moment and hold a looser grip on your long-term plans.\n\n2. “Wherever you are, be all there. Live to the hilt any situation you believe to be the will of God.” - Jim Elliott\n
1. Try to live from moment to moment and hold a looser grip on your long-term plans.\n\n2. “Wherever you are, be all there. Live to the hilt any situation you believe to be the will of God.” - Jim Elliott\n
1. The best metaphor for life as a whole and for the spiritual life in particular is that of a journey. Literature abounds with this imagery (e.g. John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress). As followers of the Way, we are travelers on a quest, a voyage, and odyssey, a pilgrimage.\n\n2. If we are following Christ, we are headed for home, but there are stages along the way, and lessons to be learned. This is why it is a mistake to view the spiritual life as a static condition or a state of being that can be attained by a combination of technique and information. To follow Christ is to move into territory that is unknown to us and to count on His purposeful guidance, His grace when we go off the path, and His presence when we feel alone. It is to learn to respond to God’s providential care in deepening ways and to accept the pilgrim character of earthly existence with its uncertainties, setbacks, disappointments, surprises, and joys. It is to remember that we are in a process of gradual conformity to the image of Christ so that we can love and serve others along the way.\n
1. The best metaphor for life as a whole and for the spiritual life in particular is that of a journey. Literature abounds with this imagery (e.g. John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress). As followers of the Way, we are travelers on a quest, a voyage, and odyssey, a pilgrimage.\n\n2. If we are following Christ, we are headed for home, but there are stages along the way, and lessons to be learned. This is why it is a mistake to view the spiritual life as a static condition or a state of being that can be attained by a combination of technique and information. To follow Christ is to move into territory that is unknown to us and to count on His purposeful guidance, His grace when we go off the path, and His presence when we feel alone. It is to learn to respond to God’s providential care in deepening ways and to accept the pilgrim character of earthly existence with its uncertainties, setbacks, disappointments, surprises, and joys. It is to remember that we are in a process of gradual conformity to the image of Christ so that we can love and serve others along the way.\n
1. The best metaphor for life as a whole and for the spiritual life in particular is that of a journey. Literature abounds with this imagery (e.g. John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress). As followers of the Way, we are travelers on a quest, a voyage, and odyssey, a pilgrimage.\n\n2. If we are following Christ, we are headed for home, but there are stages along the way, and lessons to be learned. This is why it is a mistake to view the spiritual life as a static condition or a state of being that can be attained by a combination of technique and information. To follow Christ is to move into territory that is unknown to us and to count on His purposeful guidance, His grace when we go off the path, and His presence when we feel alone. It is to learn to respond to God’s providential care in deepening ways and to accept the pilgrim character of earthly existence with its uncertainties, setbacks, disappointments, surprises, and joys. It is to remember that we are in a process of gradual conformity to the image of Christ so that we can love and serve others along the way.\n
1. The best metaphor for life as a whole and for the spiritual life in particular is that of a journey. Literature abounds with this imagery (e.g. John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress). As followers of the Way, we are travelers on a quest, a voyage, and odyssey, a pilgrimage.\n\n2. If we are following Christ, we are headed for home, but there are stages along the way, and lessons to be learned. This is why it is a mistake to view the spiritual life as a static condition or a state of being that can be attained by a combination of technique and information. To follow Christ is to move into territory that is unknown to us and to count on His purposeful guidance, His grace when we go off the path, and His presence when we feel alone. It is to learn to respond to God’s providential care in deepening ways and to accept the pilgrim character of earthly existence with its uncertainties, setbacks, disappointments, surprises, and joys. It is to remember that we are in a process of gradual conformity to the image of Christ so that we can love and serve others along the way.\n
1. The best metaphor for life as a whole and for the spiritual life in particular is that of a journey. Literature abounds with this imagery (e.g. John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress). As followers of the Way, we are travelers on a quest, a voyage, and odyssey, a pilgrimage.\n\n2. If we are following Christ, we are headed for home, but there are stages along the way, and lessons to be learned. This is why it is a mistake to view the spiritual life as a static condition or a state of being that can be attained by a combination of technique and information. To follow Christ is to move into territory that is unknown to us and to count on His purposeful guidance, His grace when we go off the path, and His presence when we feel alone. It is to learn to respond to God’s providential care in deepening ways and to accept the pilgrim character of earthly existence with its uncertainties, setbacks, disappointments, surprises, and joys. It is to remember that we are in a process of gradual conformity to the image of Christ so that we can love and serve others along the way.\n
1. The best metaphor for life as a whole and for the spiritual life in particular is that of a journey. Literature abounds with this imagery (e.g. John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress). As followers of the Way, we are travelers on a quest, a voyage, and odyssey, a pilgrimage.\n\n2. If we are following Christ, we are headed for home, but there are stages along the way, and lessons to be learned. This is why it is a mistake to view the spiritual life as a static condition or a state of being that can be attained by a combination of technique and information. To follow Christ is to move into territory that is unknown to us and to count on His purposeful guidance, His grace when we go off the path, and His presence when we feel alone. It is to learn to respond to God’s providential care in deepening ways and to accept the pilgrim character of earthly existence with its uncertainties, setbacks, disappointments, surprises, and joys. It is to remember that we are in a process of gradual conformity to the image of Christ so that we can love and serve others along the way.\n
1. Spiritual formations is the lifelong process of becoming in our character and actions the new creations we already are in Christ (2Corinthians 5:17). It is the working out of what God has already worked in us (Philippians 2:12-13).\n\n2. In this life we stumble in many ways ( James 3:2) because we are still in process.\n\n3. Our sanctification is not yet complete. Sanctification is both an event (we were sanctified when we gave ourselves to Christ [1 Corinthians 6:11]) and a process (we are being sanctified [Romans 12:2; Philippians 2-3; 1 John 2:28]).\n\n4. The Christian life is not conformity to prevailing standards of holiness but a step-by-step process. This process of genuine response to what God is doing in our lives is more critical than the visible product. Spiritual formation is gradual, and we become more substantial and real as we cooperate with the proces by years of small choices in favor of God’s purpoese. Each choice, wheter to obey or resist, makes the next one possible.\n
1. Spiritual formations is the lifelong process of becoming in our character and actions the new creations we already are in Christ (2Corinthians 5:17). It is the working out of what God has already worked in us (Philippians 2:12-13).\n\n2. In this life we stumble in many ways ( James 3:2) because we are still in process.\n\n3. Our sanctification is not yet complete. Sanctification is both an event (we were sanctified when we gave ourselves to Christ [1 Corinthians 6:11]) and a process (we are being sanctified [Romans 12:2; Philippians 2-3; 1 John 2:28]).\n\n4. The Christian life is not conformity to prevailing standards of holiness but a step-by-step process. This process of genuine response to what God is doing in our lives is more critical than the visible product. Spiritual formation is gradual, and we become more substantial and real as we cooperate with the proces by years of small choices in favor of God’s purpoese. Each choice, wheter to obey or resist, makes the next one possible.\n
1. Spiritual formations is the lifelong process of becoming in our character and actions the new creations we already are in Christ (2Corinthians 5:17). It is the working out of what God has already worked in us (Philippians 2:12-13).\n\n2. In this life we stumble in many ways ( James 3:2) because we are still in process.\n\n3. Our sanctification is not yet complete. Sanctification is both an event (we were sanctified when we gave ourselves to Christ [1 Corinthians 6:11]) and a process (we are being sanctified [Romans 12:2; Philippians 2-3; 1 John 2:28]).\n\n4. The Christian life is not conformity to prevailing standards of holiness but a step-by-step process. This process of genuine response to what God is doing in our lives is more critical than the visible product. Spiritual formation is gradual, and we become more substantial and real as we cooperate with the proces by years of small choices in favor of God’s purpoese. Each choice, wheter to obey or resist, makes the next one possible.\n
1. Spiritual formations is the lifelong process of becoming in our character and actions the new creations we already are in Christ (2Corinthians 5:17). It is the working out of what God has already worked in us (Philippians 2:12-13).\n\n2. In this life we stumble in many ways ( James 3:2) because we are still in process.\n\n3. Our sanctification is not yet complete. Sanctification is both an event (we were sanctified when we gave ourselves to Christ [1 Corinthians 6:11]) and a process (we are being sanctified [Romans 12:2; Philippians 2-3; 1 John 2:28]).\n\n4. The Christian life is not conformity to prevailing standards of holiness but a step-by-step process. This process of genuine response to what God is doing in our lives is more critical than the visible product. Spiritual formation is gradual, and we become more substantial and real as we cooperate with the proces by years of small choices in favor of God’s purpoese. Each choice, wheter to obey or resist, makes the next one possible.\n
1. Spiritual growth is not an event, but a journey, a process of following Christ through the vissicitudes of life.\n2. External appearances are often deceptive, and this is why God looks at the heart. Rahab the harlot had little knowledge about the God of Israel, but applied the knowledge she had (Hebrews 11:31; James 2:25); the Pharisees, on the other hand, know the Scriptures but rejected God’s purposes. The spiritual life is not a matter of external conformity. Holiness relates to where we are now, not where we need to be later.\n3-5. Spiritual formation cannot be gained by a single formula. In a culture that promotes instant gratification, it can become wearisome for us to wait patiently on God’s timing. Many of us are tempted to bypass grace and take matters into our own hands as we seek some method, technique, seminar, or experience that will give us the results we want when we want them. But we are as incapable of changing ourselves through our own efforts as we are of manipulating God to transform us more quickly. Our task is to place ourselves under the conditions favorable to growth and look to God for our spiritual formation. He uses different paces and methods with each person. Since the inner life matures and becomes fruitful by the principle of growth, TIME is a significant part of the process.\n6. Spiritual formation is gradual, and we become more substantial and real as we cooperate with the process by YEARS of small choices in favor of God’s purposes. Each choice, whether to obey or to resist, makes the next one possible.\n7. This is a human-divine process; and God alone knows what we need and when we need it. He grows each person individually, just like plants.\n8. Spiritual formation is not uniform- like a vine or tree, there may be more growth in a single month than in all the rest of the year. If we fail to accept this uneven developmental process, we will be impatient with God and ourselves as we wait for the next growth spurt or special infusion of grace.\n
1. Spiritual growth is not an event, but a journey, a process of following Christ through the vissicitudes of life.\n2. External appearances are often deceptive, and this is why God looks at the heart. Rahab the harlot had little knowledge about the God of Israel, but applied the knowledge she had (Hebrews 11:31; James 2:25); the Pharisees, on the other hand, know the Scriptures but rejected God’s purposes. The spiritual life is not a matter of external conformity. Holiness relates to where we are now, not where we need to be later.\n3-5. Spiritual formation cannot be gained by a single formula. In a culture that promotes instant gratification, it can become wearisome for us to wait patiently on God’s timing. Many of us are tempted to bypass grace and take matters into our own hands as we seek some method, technique, seminar, or experience that will give us the results we want when we want them. But we are as incapable of changing ourselves through our own efforts as we are of manipulating God to transform us more quickly. Our task is to place ourselves under the conditions favorable to growth and look to God for our spiritual formation. He uses different paces and methods with each person. Since the inner life matures and becomes fruitful by the principle of growth, TIME is a significant part of the process.\n6. Spiritual formation is gradual, and we become more substantial and real as we cooperate with the process by YEARS of small choices in favor of God’s purposes. Each choice, whether to obey or to resist, makes the next one possible.\n7. This is a human-divine process; and God alone knows what we need and when we need it. He grows each person individually, just like plants.\n8. Spiritual formation is not uniform- like a vine or tree, there may be more growth in a single month than in all the rest of the year. If we fail to accept this uneven developmental process, we will be impatient with God and ourselves as we wait for the next growth spurt or special infusion of grace.\n
1. Spiritual growth is not an event, but a journey, a process of following Christ through the vissicitudes of life.\n2. External appearances are often deceptive, and this is why God looks at the heart. Rahab the harlot had little knowledge about the God of Israel, but applied the knowledge she had (Hebrews 11:31; James 2:25); the Pharisees, on the other hand, know the Scriptures but rejected God’s purposes. The spiritual life is not a matter of external conformity. Holiness relates to where we are now, not where we need to be later.\n3-5. Spiritual formation cannot be gained by a single formula. In a culture that promotes instant gratification, it can become wearisome for us to wait patiently on God’s timing. Many of us are tempted to bypass grace and take matters into our own hands as we seek some method, technique, seminar, or experience that will give us the results we want when we want them. But we are as incapable of changing ourselves through our own efforts as we are of manipulating God to transform us more quickly. Our task is to place ourselves under the conditions favorable to growth and look to God for our spiritual formation. He uses different paces and methods with each person. Since the inner life matures and becomes fruitful by the principle of growth, TIME is a significant part of the process.\n6. Spiritual formation is gradual, and we become more substantial and real as we cooperate with the process by YEARS of small choices in favor of God’s purposes. Each choice, whether to obey or to resist, makes the next one possible.\n7. This is a human-divine process; and God alone knows what we need and when we need it. He grows each person individually, just like plants.\n8. Spiritual formation is not uniform- like a vine or tree, there may be more growth in a single month than in all the rest of the year. If we fail to accept this uneven developmental process, we will be impatient with God and ourselves as we wait for the next growth spurt or special infusion of grace.\n
1. Spiritual growth is not an event, but a journey, a process of following Christ through the vissicitudes of life.\n2. External appearances are often deceptive, and this is why God looks at the heart. Rahab the harlot had little knowledge about the God of Israel, but applied the knowledge she had (Hebrews 11:31; James 2:25); the Pharisees, on the other hand, know the Scriptures but rejected God’s purposes. The spiritual life is not a matter of external conformity. Holiness relates to where we are now, not where we need to be later.\n3-5. Spiritual formation cannot be gained by a single formula. In a culture that promotes instant gratification, it can become wearisome for us to wait patiently on God’s timing. Many of us are tempted to bypass grace and take matters into our own hands as we seek some method, technique, seminar, or experience that will give us the results we want when we want them. But we are as incapable of changing ourselves through our own efforts as we are of manipulating God to transform us more quickly. Our task is to place ourselves under the conditions favorable to growth and look to God for our spiritual formation. He uses different paces and methods with each person. Since the inner life matures and becomes fruitful by the principle of growth, TIME is a significant part of the process.\n6. Spiritual formation is gradual, and we become more substantial and real as we cooperate with the process by YEARS of small choices in favor of God’s purposes. Each choice, whether to obey or to resist, makes the next one possible.\n7. This is a human-divine process; and God alone knows what we need and when we need it. He grows each person individually, just like plants.\n8. Spiritual formation is not uniform- like a vine or tree, there may be more growth in a single month than in all the rest of the year. If we fail to accept this uneven developmental process, we will be impatient with God and ourselves as we wait for the next growth spurt or special infusion of grace.\n
1. Spiritual growth is not an event, but a journey, a process of following Christ through the vissicitudes of life.\n2. External appearances are often deceptive, and this is why God looks at the heart. Rahab the harlot had little knowledge about the God of Israel, but applied the knowledge she had (Hebrews 11:31; James 2:25); the Pharisees, on the other hand, know the Scriptures but rejected God’s purposes. The spiritual life is not a matter of external conformity. Holiness relates to where we are now, not where we need to be later.\n3-5. Spiritual formation cannot be gained by a single formula. In a culture that promotes instant gratification, it can become wearisome for us to wait patiently on God’s timing. Many of us are tempted to bypass grace and take matters into our own hands as we seek some method, technique, seminar, or experience that will give us the results we want when we want them. But we are as incapable of changing ourselves through our own efforts as we are of manipulating God to transform us more quickly. Our task is to place ourselves under the conditions favorable to growth and look to God for our spiritual formation. He uses different paces and methods with each person. Since the inner life matures and becomes fruitful by the principle of growth, TIME is a significant part of the process.\n6. Spiritual formation is gradual, and we become more substantial and real as we cooperate with the process by YEARS of small choices in favor of God’s purposes. Each choice, whether to obey or to resist, makes the next one possible.\n7. This is a human-divine process; and God alone knows what we need and when we need it. He grows each person individually, just like plants.\n8. Spiritual formation is not uniform- like a vine or tree, there may be more growth in a single month than in all the rest of the year. If we fail to accept this uneven developmental process, we will be impatient with God and ourselves as we wait for the next growth spurt or special infusion of grace.\n
1. Spiritual growth is not an event, but a journey, a process of following Christ through the vissicitudes of life.\n2. External appearances are often deceptive, and this is why God looks at the heart. Rahab the harlot had little knowledge about the God of Israel, but applied the knowledge she had (Hebrews 11:31; James 2:25); the Pharisees, on the other hand, know the Scriptures but rejected God’s purposes. The spiritual life is not a matter of external conformity. Holiness relates to where we are now, not where we need to be later.\n3-5. Spiritual formation cannot be gained by a single formula. In a culture that promotes instant gratification, it can become wearisome for us to wait patiently on God’s timing. Many of us are tempted to bypass grace and take matters into our own hands as we seek some method, technique, seminar, or experience that will give us the results we want when we want them. But we are as incapable of changing ourselves through our own efforts as we are of manipulating God to transform us more quickly. Our task is to place ourselves under the conditions favorable to growth and look to God for our spiritual formation. He uses different paces and methods with each person. Since the inner life matures and becomes fruitful by the principle of growth, TIME is a significant part of the process.\n6. Spiritual formation is gradual, and we become more substantial and real as we cooperate with the process by YEARS of small choices in favor of God’s purposes. Each choice, whether to obey or to resist, makes the next one possible.\n7. This is a human-divine process; and God alone knows what we need and when we need it. He grows each person individually, just like plants.\n8. Spiritual formation is not uniform- like a vine or tree, there may be more growth in a single month than in all the rest of the year. If we fail to accept this uneven developmental process, we will be impatient with God and ourselves as we wait for the next growth spurt or special infusion of grace.\n
1. Spiritual growth is not an event, but a journey, a process of following Christ through the vissicitudes of life.\n2. External appearances are often deceptive, and this is why God looks at the heart. Rahab the harlot had little knowledge about the God of Israel, but applied the knowledge she had (Hebrews 11:31; James 2:25); the Pharisees, on the other hand, know the Scriptures but rejected God’s purposes. The spiritual life is not a matter of external conformity. Holiness relates to where we are now, not where we need to be later.\n3-5. Spiritual formation cannot be gained by a single formula. In a culture that promotes instant gratification, it can become wearisome for us to wait patiently on God’s timing. Many of us are tempted to bypass grace and take matters into our own hands as we seek some method, technique, seminar, or experience that will give us the results we want when we want them. But we are as incapable of changing ourselves through our own efforts as we are of manipulating God to transform us more quickly. Our task is to place ourselves under the conditions favorable to growth and look to God for our spiritual formation. He uses different paces and methods with each person. Since the inner life matures and becomes fruitful by the principle of growth, TIME is a significant part of the process.\n6. Spiritual formation is gradual, and we become more substantial and real as we cooperate with the process by YEARS of small choices in favor of God’s purposes. Each choice, whether to obey or to resist, makes the next one possible.\n7. This is a human-divine process; and God alone knows what we need and when we need it. He grows each person individually, just like plants.\n8. Spiritual formation is not uniform- like a vine or tree, there may be more growth in a single month than in all the rest of the year. If we fail to accept this uneven developmental process, we will be impatient with God and ourselves as we wait for the next growth spurt or special infusion of grace.\n
1. Spiritual growth is not an event, but a journey, a process of following Christ through the vissicitudes of life.\n2. External appearances are often deceptive, and this is why God looks at the heart. Rahab the harlot had little knowledge about the God of Israel, but applied the knowledge she had (Hebrews 11:31; James 2:25); the Pharisees, on the other hand, know the Scriptures but rejected God’s purposes. The spiritual life is not a matter of external conformity. Holiness relates to where we are now, not where we need to be later.\n3-5. Spiritual formation cannot be gained by a single formula. In a culture that promotes instant gratification, it can become wearisome for us to wait patiently on God’s timing. Many of us are tempted to bypass grace and take matters into our own hands as we seek some method, technique, seminar, or experience that will give us the results we want when we want them. But we are as incapable of changing ourselves through our own efforts as we are of manipulating God to transform us more quickly. Our task is to place ourselves under the conditions favorable to growth and look to God for our spiritual formation. He uses different paces and methods with each person. Since the inner life matures and becomes fruitful by the principle of growth, TIME is a significant part of the process.\n6. Spiritual formation is gradual, and we become more substantial and real as we cooperate with the process by YEARS of small choices in favor of God’s purposes. Each choice, whether to obey or to resist, makes the next one possible.\n7. This is a human-divine process; and God alone knows what we need and when we need it. He grows each person individually, just like plants.\n8. Spiritual formation is not uniform- like a vine or tree, there may be more growth in a single month than in all the rest of the year. If we fail to accept this uneven developmental process, we will be impatient with God and ourselves as we wait for the next growth spurt or special infusion of grace.\n
1. Spiritual growth is not an event, but a journey, a process of following Christ through the vissicitudes of life.\n2. External appearances are often deceptive, and this is why God looks at the heart. Rahab the harlot had little knowledge about the God of Israel, but applied the knowledge she had (Hebrews 11:31; James 2:25); the Pharisees, on the other hand, know the Scriptures but rejected God’s purposes. The spiritual life is not a matter of external conformity. Holiness relates to where we are now, not where we need to be later.\n3-5. Spiritual formation cannot be gained by a single formula. In a culture that promotes instant gratification, it can become wearisome for us to wait patiently on God’s timing. Many of us are tempted to bypass grace and take matters into our own hands as we seek some method, technique, seminar, or experience that will give us the results we want when we want them. But we are as incapable of changing ourselves through our own efforts as we are of manipulating God to transform us more quickly. Our task is to place ourselves under the conditions favorable to growth and look to God for our spiritual formation. He uses different paces and methods with each person. Since the inner life matures and becomes fruitful by the principle of growth, TIME is a significant part of the process.\n6. Spiritual formation is gradual, and we become more substantial and real as we cooperate with the process by YEARS of small choices in favor of God’s purposes. Each choice, whether to obey or to resist, makes the next one possible.\n7. This is a human-divine process; and God alone knows what we need and when we need it. He grows each person individually, just like plants.\n8. Spiritual formation is not uniform- like a vine or tree, there may be more growth in a single month than in all the rest of the year. If we fail to accept this uneven developmental process, we will be impatient with God and ourselves as we wait for the next growth spurt or special infusion of grace.\n
1. Spiritual growth is not an event, but a journey, a process of following Christ through the vissicitudes of life.\n2. External appearances are often deceptive, and this is why God looks at the heart. Rahab the harlot had little knowledge about the God of Israel, but applied the knowledge she had (Hebrews 11:31; James 2:25); the Pharisees, on the other hand, know the Scriptures but rejected God’s purposes. The spiritual life is not a matter of external conformity. Holiness relates to where we are now, not where we need to be later.\n3-5. Spiritual formation cannot be gained by a single formula. In a culture that promotes instant gratification, it can become wearisome for us to wait patiently on God’s timing. Many of us are tempted to bypass grace and take matters into our own hands as we seek some method, technique, seminar, or experience that will give us the results we want when we want them. But we are as incapable of changing ourselves through our own efforts as we are of manipulating God to transform us more quickly. Our task is to place ourselves under the conditions favorable to growth and look to God for our spiritual formation. He uses different paces and methods with each person. Since the inner life matures and becomes fruitful by the principle of growth, TIME is a significant part of the process.\n6. Spiritual formation is gradual, and we become more substantial and real as we cooperate with the process by YEARS of small choices in favor of God’s purposes. Each choice, whether to obey or to resist, makes the next one possible.\n7. This is a human-divine process; and God alone knows what we need and when we need it. He grows each person individually, just like plants.\n8. Spiritual formation is not uniform- like a vine or tree, there may be more growth in a single month than in all the rest of the year. If we fail to accept this uneven developmental process, we will be impatient with God and ourselves as we wait for the next growth spurt or special infusion of grace.\n
1. Spiritual growth is not an event, but a journey, a process of following Christ through the vissicitudes of life.\n2. External appearances are often deceptive, and this is why God looks at the heart. Rahab the harlot had little knowledge about the God of Israel, but applied the knowledge she had (Hebrews 11:31; James 2:25); the Pharisees, on the other hand, know the Scriptures but rejected God’s purposes. The spiritual life is not a matter of external conformity. Holiness relates to where we are now, not where we need to be later.\n3-5. Spiritual formation cannot be gained by a single formula. In a culture that promotes instant gratification, it can become wearisome for us to wait patiently on God’s timing. Many of us are tempted to bypass grace and take matters into our own hands as we seek some method, technique, seminar, or experience that will give us the results we want when we want them. But we are as incapable of changing ourselves through our own efforts as we are of manipulating God to transform us more quickly. Our task is to place ourselves under the conditions favorable to growth and look to God for our spiritual formation. He uses different paces and methods with each person. Since the inner life matures and becomes fruitful by the principle of growth, TIME is a significant part of the process.\n6. Spiritual formation is gradual, and we become more substantial and real as we cooperate with the process by YEARS of small choices in favor of God’s purposes. Each choice, whether to obey or to resist, makes the next one possible.\n7. This is a human-divine process; and God alone knows what we need and when we need it. He grows each person individually, just like plants.\n8. Spiritual formation is not uniform- like a vine or tree, there may be more growth in a single month than in all the rest of the year. If we fail to accept this uneven developmental process, we will be impatient with God and ourselves as we wait for the next growth spurt or special infusion of grace.\n
1. Spiritual growth is not an event, but a journey, a process of following Christ through the vissicitudes of life.\n2. External appearances are often deceptive, and this is why God looks at the heart. Rahab the harlot had little knowledge about the God of Israel, but applied the knowledge she had (Hebrews 11:31; James 2:25); the Pharisees, on the other hand, know the Scriptures but rejected God’s purposes. The spiritual life is not a matter of external conformity. Holiness relates to where we are now, not where we need to be later.\n3-5. Spiritual formation cannot be gained by a single formula. In a culture that promotes instant gratification, it can become wearisome for us to wait patiently on God’s timing. Many of us are tempted to bypass grace and take matters into our own hands as we seek some method, technique, seminar, or experience that will give us the results we want when we want them. But we are as incapable of changing ourselves through our own efforts as we are of manipulating God to transform us more quickly. Our task is to place ourselves under the conditions favorable to growth and look to God for our spiritual formation. He uses different paces and methods with each person. Since the inner life matures and becomes fruitful by the principle of growth, TIME is a significant part of the process.\n6. Spiritual formation is gradual, and we become more substantial and real as we cooperate with the process by YEARS of small choices in favor of God’s purposes. Each choice, whether to obey or to resist, makes the next one possible.\n7. This is a human-divine process; and God alone knows what we need and when we need it. He grows each person individually, just like plants.\n8. Spiritual formation is not uniform- like a vine or tree, there may be more growth in a single month than in all the rest of the year. If we fail to accept this uneven developmental process, we will be impatient with God and ourselves as we wait for the next growth spurt or special infusion of grace.\n
1. Spiritual growth is not an event, but a journey, a process of following Christ through the vissicitudes of life.\n2. External appearances are often deceptive, and this is why God looks at the heart. Rahab the harlot had little knowledge about the God of Israel, but applied the knowledge she had (Hebrews 11:31; James 2:25); the Pharisees, on the other hand, know the Scriptures but rejected God’s purposes. The spiritual life is not a matter of external conformity. Holiness relates to where we are now, not where we need to be later.\n3-5. Spiritual formation cannot be gained by a single formula. In a culture that promotes instant gratification, it can become wearisome for us to wait patiently on God’s timing. Many of us are tempted to bypass grace and take matters into our own hands as we seek some method, technique, seminar, or experience that will give us the results we want when we want them. But we are as incapable of changing ourselves through our own efforts as we are of manipulating God to transform us more quickly. Our task is to place ourselves under the conditions favorable to growth and look to God for our spiritual formation. He uses different paces and methods with each person. Since the inner life matures and becomes fruitful by the principle of growth, TIME is a significant part of the process.\n6. Spiritual formation is gradual, and we become more substantial and real as we cooperate with the process by YEARS of small choices in favor of God’s purposes. Each choice, whether to obey or to resist, makes the next one possible.\n7. This is a human-divine process; and God alone knows what we need and when we need it. He grows each person individually, just like plants.\n8. Spiritual formation is not uniform- like a vine or tree, there may be more growth in a single month than in all the rest of the year. If we fail to accept this uneven developmental process, we will be impatient with God and ourselves as we wait for the next growth spurt or special infusion of grace.\n
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“But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13). The great theological virtues of faith, hope, and love encapsulate the dynamic of spiritual life in Christ. Although all three relate to God’s creative purposes from eternity to eternity, faith particularly focuses on Christ’s redemptive work for us in the past, hope looks to the ultimate completion of his work in the future, and love manifests the life of Christ through us in the present. p. 259\n\n
“But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13). The great theological virtues of faith, hope, and love encapsulate the dynamic of spiritual life in Christ. Although all three relate to God’s creative purposes from eternity to eternity, faith particularly focuses on Christ’s redemptive work for us in the past, hope looks to the ultimate completion of his work in the future, and love manifests the life of Christ through us in the present. p. 259\n\n
“But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13). The great theological virtues of faith, hope, and love encapsulate the dynamic of spiritual life in Christ. Although all three relate to God’s creative purposes from eternity to eternity, faith particularly focuses on Christ’s redemptive work for us in the past, hope looks to the ultimate completion of his work in the future, and love manifests the life of Christ through us in the present. p. 259\n\n
“But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13). The great theological virtues of faith, hope, and love encapsulate the dynamic of spiritual life in Christ. Although all three relate to God’s creative purposes from eternity to eternity, faith particularly focuses on Christ’s redemptive work for us in the past, hope looks to the ultimate completion of his work in the future, and love manifests the life of Christ through us in the present. p. 259\n\n
The blood of Christ paid the penalty of sin, the cross of Christ overcomes the power of sin, and our resurrection in Christ will remove the presence of sin. We live between the cross and the resurrection, but even now Christ’s resurrection life empowers us to live and love.\n\nLife in Christ is the life of Christ in us--appropriated in the past, active in the present, and anticipating the future. \n\nBecause eternal life is a new and ongoing quality of life in us that will last forever, the journey of spiritual formation with its pains and joys and failures and advances is a process of rendering this new creation increasingly visible.\n
The blood of Christ paid the penalty of sin, the cross of Christ overcomes the power of sin, and our resurrection in Christ will remove the presence of sin. We live between the cross and the resurrection, but even now Christ’s resurrection life empowers us to live and love.\n\nLife in Christ is the life of Christ in us--appropriated in the past, active in the present, and anticipating the future. \n\nBecause eternal life is a new and ongoing quality of life in us that will last forever, the journey of spiritual formation with its pains and joys and failures and advances is a process of rendering this new creation increasingly visible.\n
The blood of Christ paid the penalty of sin, the cross of Christ overcomes the power of sin, and our resurrection in Christ will remove the presence of sin. We live between the cross and the resurrection, but even now Christ’s resurrection life empowers us to live and love.\n\nLife in Christ is the life of Christ in us--appropriated in the past, active in the present, and anticipating the future. \n\nBecause eternal life is a new and ongoing quality of life in us that will last forever, the journey of spiritual formation with its pains and joys and failures and advances is a process of rendering this new creation increasingly visible.\n
The blood of Christ paid the penalty of sin, the cross of Christ overcomes the power of sin, and our resurrection in Christ will remove the presence of sin. We live between the cross and the resurrection, but even now Christ’s resurrection life empowers us to live and love.\n\nLife in Christ is the life of Christ in us--appropriated in the past, active in the present, and anticipating the future. \n\nBecause eternal life is a new and ongoing quality of life in us that will last forever, the journey of spiritual formation with its pains and joys and failures and advances is a process of rendering this new creation increasingly visible.\n
The blood of Christ paid the penalty of sin, the cross of Christ overcomes the power of sin, and our resurrection in Christ will remove the presence of sin. We live between the cross and the resurrection, but even now Christ’s resurrection life empowers us to live and love.\n\nLife in Christ is the life of Christ in us--appropriated in the past, active in the present, and anticipating the future. \n\nBecause eternal life is a new and ongoing quality of life in us that will last forever, the journey of spiritual formation with its pains and joys and failures and advances is a process of rendering this new creation increasingly visible.\n
The blood of Christ paid the penalty of sin, the cross of Christ overcomes the power of sin, and our resurrection in Christ will remove the presence of sin. We live between the cross and the resurrection, but even now Christ’s resurrection life empowers us to live and love.\n\nLife in Christ is the life of Christ in us--appropriated in the past, active in the present, and anticipating the future. \n\nBecause eternal life is a new and ongoing quality of life in us that will last forever, the journey of spiritual formation with its pains and joys and failures and advances is a process of rendering this new creation increasingly visible.\n
The blood of Christ paid the penalty of sin, the cross of Christ overcomes the power of sin, and our resurrection in Christ will remove the presence of sin. We live between the cross and the resurrection, but even now Christ’s resurrection life empowers us to live and love.\n\nLife in Christ is the life of Christ in us--appropriated in the past, active in the present, and anticipating the future. \n\nBecause eternal life is a new and ongoing quality of life in us that will last forever, the journey of spiritual formation with its pains and joys and failures and advances is a process of rendering this new creation increasingly visible.\n
The blood of Christ paid the penalty of sin, the cross of Christ overcomes the power of sin, and our resurrection in Christ will remove the presence of sin. We live between the cross and the resurrection, but even now Christ’s resurrection life empowers us to live and love.\n\nLife in Christ is the life of Christ in us--appropriated in the past, active in the present, and anticipating the future. \n\nBecause eternal life is a new and ongoing quality of life in us that will last forever, the journey of spiritual formation with its pains and joys and failures and advances is a process of rendering this new creation increasingly visible.\n
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The Christian life can be simplified to just three areas: Loving God completely, loving ourselves correctly, and loving others compassionately. If I love God completely, I will know what He cares about, and I will try to please Him. In so doing, I will also embrace what He declares about me as truth, so that I can realize my completeness in Christ. When these truths begin to define our self-image, they make us secure enough to love and serve others without seeking our interests first. This, in turn, allows me up to freely give to others without expectation of reciprocity. Hopefully, then, our incarnation of Christ’s love and life will draw others to the Father.\n\nSince God is a relational being, we who are created in His image are also called to right relationships, first with Him and then with each other.\n
The Christian life can be simplified to just three areas: Loving God completely, loving ourselves correctly, and loving others compassionately. If I love God completely, I will know what He cares about, and I will try to please Him. In so doing, I will also embrace what He declares about me as truth, so that I can realize my completeness in Christ. When these truths begin to define our self-image, they make us secure enough to love and serve others without seeking our interests first. This, in turn, allows me up to freely give to others without expectation of reciprocity. Hopefully, then, our incarnation of Christ’s love and life will draw others to the Father.\n\nSince God is a relational being, we who are created in His image are also called to right relationships, first with Him and then with each other.\n
The Christian life can be simplified to just three areas: Loving God completely, loving ourselves correctly, and loving others compassionately. If I love God completely, I will know what He cares about, and I will try to please Him. In so doing, I will also embrace what He declares about me as truth, so that I can realize my completeness in Christ. When these truths begin to define our self-image, they make us secure enough to love and serve others without seeking our interests first. This, in turn, allows me up to freely give to others without expectation of reciprocity. Hopefully, then, our incarnation of Christ’s love and life will draw others to the Father.\n\nSince God is a relational being, we who are created in His image are also called to right relationships, first with Him and then with each other.\n
The Christian life can be simplified to just three areas: Loving God completely, loving ourselves correctly, and loving others compassionately. If I love God completely, I will know what He cares about, and I will try to please Him. In so doing, I will also embrace what He declares about me as truth, so that I can realize my completeness in Christ. When these truths begin to define our self-image, they make us secure enough to love and serve others without seeking our interests first. This, in turn, allows me up to freely give to others without expectation of reciprocity. Hopefully, then, our incarnation of Christ’s love and life will draw others to the Father.\n\nSince God is a relational being, we who are created in His image are also called to right relationships, first with Him and then with each other.\n
The Christian life can be simplified to just three areas: Loving God completely, loving ourselves correctly, and loving others compassionately. If I love God completely, I will know what He cares about, and I will try to please Him. In so doing, I will also embrace what He declares about me as truth, so that I can realize my completeness in Christ. When these truths begin to define our self-image, they make us secure enough to love and serve others without seeking our interests first. This, in turn, allows me up to freely give to others without expectation of reciprocity. Hopefully, then, our incarnation of Christ’s love and life will draw others to the Father.\n\nSince God is a relational being, we who are created in His image are also called to right relationships, first with Him and then with each other.\n
The Christian life can be simplified to just three areas: Loving God completely, loving ourselves correctly, and loving others compassionately. If I love God completely, I will know what He cares about, and I will try to please Him. In so doing, I will also embrace what He declares about me as truth, so that I can realize my completeness in Christ. When these truths begin to define our self-image, they make us secure enough to love and serve others without seeking our interests first. This, in turn, allows me up to freely give to others without expectation of reciprocity. Hopefully, then, our incarnation of Christ’s love and life will draw others to the Father.\n\nSince God is a relational being, we who are created in His image are also called to right relationships, first with Him and then with each other.\n
The Christian life can be simplified to just three areas: Loving God completely, loving ourselves correctly, and loving others compassionately. If I love God completely, I will know what He cares about, and I will try to please Him. In so doing, I will also embrace what He declares about me as truth, so that I can realize my completeness in Christ. When these truths begin to define our self-image, they make us secure enough to love and serve others without seeking our interests first. This, in turn, allows me up to freely give to others without expectation of reciprocity. Hopefully, then, our incarnation of Christ’s love and life will draw others to the Father.\n\nSince God is a relational being, we who are created in His image are also called to right relationships, first with Him and then with each other.\n
The Christian life can be simplified to just three areas: Loving God completely, loving ourselves correctly, and loving others compassionately. If I love God completely, I will know what He cares about, and I will try to please Him. In so doing, I will also embrace what He declares about me as truth, so that I can realize my completeness in Christ. When these truths begin to define our self-image, they make us secure enough to love and serve others without seeking our interests first. This, in turn, allows me up to freely give to others without expectation of reciprocity. Hopefully, then, our incarnation of Christ’s love and life will draw others to the Father.\n\nSince God is a relational being, we who are created in His image are also called to right relationships, first with Him and then with each other.\n
The Christian life can be simplified to just three areas: Loving God completely, loving ourselves correctly, and loving others compassionately. If I love God completely, I will know what He cares about, and I will try to please Him. In so doing, I will also embrace what He declares about me as truth, so that I can realize my completeness in Christ. When these truths begin to define our self-image, they make us secure enough to love and serve others without seeking our interests first. This, in turn, allows me up to freely give to others without expectation of reciprocity. Hopefully, then, our incarnation of Christ’s love and life will draw others to the Father.\n\nSince God is a relational being, we who are created in His image are also called to right relationships, first with Him and then with each other.\n
The Christian life can be simplified to just three areas: Loving God completely, loving ourselves correctly, and loving others compassionately. If I love God completely, I will know what He cares about, and I will try to please Him. In so doing, I will also embrace what He declares about me as truth, so that I can realize my completeness in Christ. When these truths begin to define our self-image, they make us secure enough to love and serve others without seeking our interests first. This, in turn, allows me up to freely give to others without expectation of reciprocity. Hopefully, then, our incarnation of Christ’s love and life will draw others to the Father.\n\nSince God is a relational being, we who are created in His image are also called to right relationships, first with Him and then with each other.\n
The Christian life can be simplified to just three areas: Loving God completely, loving ourselves correctly, and loving others compassionately. If I love God completely, I will know what He cares about, and I will try to please Him. In so doing, I will also embrace what He declares about me as truth, so that I can realize my completeness in Christ. When these truths begin to define our self-image, they make us secure enough to love and serve others without seeking our interests first. This, in turn, allows me up to freely give to others without expectation of reciprocity. Hopefully, then, our incarnation of Christ’s love and life will draw others to the Father.\n\nSince God is a relational being, we who are created in His image are also called to right relationships, first with Him and then with each other.\n
The Christian life can be simplified to just three areas: Loving God completely, loving ourselves correctly, and loving others compassionately. If I love God completely, I will know what He cares about, and I will try to please Him. In so doing, I will also embrace what He declares about me as truth, so that I can realize my completeness in Christ. When these truths begin to define our self-image, they make us secure enough to love and serve others without seeking our interests first. This, in turn, allows me up to freely give to others without expectation of reciprocity. Hopefully, then, our incarnation of Christ’s love and life will draw others to the Father.\n\nSince God is a relational being, we who are created in His image are also called to right relationships, first with Him and then with each other.\n
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1. Perhaps the greatest threat to applying these truths about Process Spirituality is the busyness that stems from the way we define ourselves in terms of achievements and accomplishments. \n\n2. We live in a future-oriented culture that relates time largely to efficiency and productivity.\n\n3. Thus, we are more inclined than ever to use time to accomplish results rather than to enhance relationships.\n\n4. The civil religion of America worships the god of progress and inspires us to compete, achieve, and win for the sake of competing, achieving, and winning. \n
1. Perhaps the greatest threat to applying these truths about Process Spirituality is the busyness that stems from the way we define ourselves in terms of achievements and accomplishments. \n\n2. We live in a future-oriented culture that relates time largely to efficiency and productivity.\n\n3. Thus, we are more inclined than ever to use time to accomplish results rather than to enhance relationships.\n\n4. The civil religion of America worships the god of progress and inspires us to compete, achieve, and win for the sake of competing, achieving, and winning. \n
1. Perhaps the greatest threat to applying these truths about Process Spirituality is the busyness that stems from the way we define ourselves in terms of achievements and accomplishments. \n\n2. We live in a future-oriented culture that relates time largely to efficiency and productivity.\n\n3. Thus, we are more inclined than ever to use time to accomplish results rather than to enhance relationships.\n\n4. The civil religion of America worships the god of progress and inspires us to compete, achieve, and win for the sake of competing, achieving, and winning. \n
1. Perhaps the greatest threat to applying these truths about Process Spirituality is the busyness that stems from the way we define ourselves in terms of achievements and accomplishments. \n\n2. We live in a future-oriented culture that relates time largely to efficiency and productivity.\n\n3. Thus, we are more inclined than ever to use time to accomplish results rather than to enhance relationships.\n\n4. The civil religion of America worships the god of progress and inspires us to compete, achieve, and win for the sake of competing, achieving, and winning. \n
1. Perhaps the greatest threat to applying these truths about Process Spirituality is the busyness that stems from the way we define ourselves in terms of achievements and accomplishments. \n\n2. We live in a future-oriented culture that relates time largely to efficiency and productivity.\n\n3. Thus, we are more inclined than ever to use time to accomplish results rather than to enhance relationships.\n\n4. The civil religion of America worships the god of progress and inspires us to compete, achieve, and win for the sake of competing, achieving, and winning. \n
Life is so fast-paced that many have colorfully described their life as blowing and going, plotting and planning, ducking and diving, slamming and jaming\n
Life is so fast-paced that many have colorfully described their life as blowing and going, plotting and planning, ducking and diving, slamming and jaming\n
Life is so fast-paced that many have colorfully described their life as blowing and going, plotting and planning, ducking and diving, slamming and jaming\n
Life is so fast-paced that many have colorfully described their life as blowing and going, plotting and planning, ducking and diving, slamming and jaming\n
All these can drain our spiritual vitality\n1. Home: we miss relational opportunities when we are dominated by excessive activities. Consider taking inventory of these and paring them down.\n2. Work: The mistake of looking to work rather than to God for security and significance coupled with the pressured quest for more of this world’s good drive us to the idolatry of materialism and busyness. If we don’t have enough time to cultivate a quality relationship with God, our spouse, and our children, we are working too long and hard.\n3. Recreation: Hard charging approaches to recreation and vacations can devitalize us and keep us from enjoying personal and relational renewal. The Sabbath principle of restoration through being-time provides a balanced rhythm of work and rest.\n4. Church or Ministry: Becomes problematic when we take on activities and responsibilities in order to please people and meet their expectations. Not every need and request is a calling from God. Further, when we make the mistake of thinking we can contribute to the work of God, we begin to take ourselves and our ministry too seriously and tend to compromise and neglect our God-given responsibilities at home for an illusion of “serving the Lord.” \n5. Walk with God: Excessive activity draws us away from the time it takes to cultivate intimacy with God. We are often inclined to define our relationship with God in terms of doing things for Him rather than spending time with Him.\n
All these can drain our spiritual vitality\n1. Home: we miss relational opportunities when we are dominated by excessive activities. Consider taking inventory of these and paring them down.\n2. Work: The mistake of looking to work rather than to God for security and significance coupled with the pressured quest for more of this world’s good drive us to the idolatry of materialism and busyness. If we don’t have enough time to cultivate a quality relationship with God, our spouse, and our children, we are working too long and hard.\n3. Recreation: Hard charging approaches to recreation and vacations can devitalize us and keep us from enjoying personal and relational renewal. The Sabbath principle of restoration through being-time provides a balanced rhythm of work and rest.\n4. Church or Ministry: Becomes problematic when we take on activities and responsibilities in order to please people and meet their expectations. Not every need and request is a calling from God. Further, when we make the mistake of thinking we can contribute to the work of God, we begin to take ourselves and our ministry too seriously and tend to compromise and neglect our God-given responsibilities at home for an illusion of “serving the Lord.” \n5. Walk with God: Excessive activity draws us away from the time it takes to cultivate intimacy with God. We are often inclined to define our relationship with God in terms of doing things for Him rather than spending time with Him.\n
All these can drain our spiritual vitality\n1. Home: we miss relational opportunities when we are dominated by excessive activities. Consider taking inventory of these and paring them down.\n2. Work: The mistake of looking to work rather than to God for security and significance coupled with the pressured quest for more of this world’s good drive us to the idolatry of materialism and busyness. If we don’t have enough time to cultivate a quality relationship with God, our spouse, and our children, we are working too long and hard.\n3. Recreation: Hard charging approaches to recreation and vacations can devitalize us and keep us from enjoying personal and relational renewal. The Sabbath principle of restoration through being-time provides a balanced rhythm of work and rest.\n4. Church or Ministry: Becomes problematic when we take on activities and responsibilities in order to please people and meet their expectations. Not every need and request is a calling from God. Further, when we make the mistake of thinking we can contribute to the work of God, we begin to take ourselves and our ministry too seriously and tend to compromise and neglect our God-given responsibilities at home for an illusion of “serving the Lord.” \n5. Walk with God: Excessive activity draws us away from the time it takes to cultivate intimacy with God. We are often inclined to define our relationship with God in terms of doing things for Him rather than spending time with Him.\n
All these can drain our spiritual vitality\n1. Home: we miss relational opportunities when we are dominated by excessive activities. Consider taking inventory of these and paring them down.\n2. Work: The mistake of looking to work rather than to God for security and significance coupled with the pressured quest for more of this world’s good drive us to the idolatry of materialism and busyness. If we don’t have enough time to cultivate a quality relationship with God, our spouse, and our children, we are working too long and hard.\n3. Recreation: Hard charging approaches to recreation and vacations can devitalize us and keep us from enjoying personal and relational renewal. The Sabbath principle of restoration through being-time provides a balanced rhythm of work and rest.\n4. Church or Ministry: Becomes problematic when we take on activities and responsibilities in order to please people and meet their expectations. Not every need and request is a calling from God. Further, when we make the mistake of thinking we can contribute to the work of God, we begin to take ourselves and our ministry too seriously and tend to compromise and neglect our God-given responsibilities at home for an illusion of “serving the Lord.” \n5. Walk with God: Excessive activity draws us away from the time it takes to cultivate intimacy with God. We are often inclined to define our relationship with God in terms of doing things for Him rather than spending time with Him.\n
1. Like Jesus, you must develop a clear sense of your mission so that you can invest your time with God’s calling in mind, and therefore be able to say “no” to the good and “yes” to the best. There are many good things you could do, but the good can become the enemy of the best.\n\n2. Develop an understanding of your limits so that you will budget time with the Father for restoring your inner resources\n\n3. Free yourself from bondage to the opinions, agendas, and expectations of others. Learn to say no to invitations and requests that may flatter you but could drain your time and energy.\n
1. Like Jesus, you must develop a clear sense of your mission so that you can invest your time with God’s calling in mind, and therefore be able to say “no” to the good and “yes” to the best. There are many good things you could do, but the good can become the enemy of the best.\n\n2. Develop an understanding of your limits so that you will budget time with the Father for restoring your inner resources\n\n3. Free yourself from bondage to the opinions, agendas, and expectations of others. Learn to say no to invitations and requests that may flatter you but could drain your time and energy.\n
1. Like Jesus, you must develop a clear sense of your mission so that you can invest your time with God’s calling in mind, and therefore be able to say “no” to the good and “yes” to the best. There are many good things you could do, but the good can become the enemy of the best.\n\n2. Develop an understanding of your limits so that you will budget time with the Father for restoring your inner resources\n\n3. Free yourself from bondage to the opinions, agendas, and expectations of others. Learn to say no to invitations and requests that may flatter you but could drain your time and energy.\n
Resist the temptation to allow work to invade rest.\n
Resist the temptation to allow work to invade rest.\n
Again, this will require an understanding of your personal limits both in your capacity to output and your need for input.\n
Sometimes we’re an inch deep and a mile wide. Look for ways to reduce your commitments so that you will not do a shoddy job on numerous tasks instead of an excellent job on a few. Avoid putting a spiritual veneer on the quest for success. It is better to pursue excellence in what we do for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31) rather than success to receive honor from people.\n
Like recharging and discharging, seeking a balance between your inner life and your outer life simply means spending adequate time with God in order to have the interior resources to meet the challenges of the day.\n
Most people have one-year’s worth of experience repeated over ten years, rather than having ten year’s worth of experience because of their lack of reflection regarding what happened, why it happened, and what could be done to prevent or repeat or improve the event. We tend to move from product to product without reflection. Business call this technique doing a “post-mortum” on a completed project.\n\nAlso, be aware of the distinction between chronos (chronological, everyday events) and kairos (special opportunities or kairos moments God providentially gives you (Ephesians 5:16; Colossians 4:5) since the most significant thing you do in the course of a day may not be in your daily calendar. Seek to manage time loosely enough to enhance relationships rather than tightly to accomplish results.\n
Reflection always requires thinking. But eventually thinking must move to application- doing more of, less of, or keep on doing.\n
Ask yourself how much is enough. Unbridled wants kill contentment and drive us to greater busyness.\n
1. Reduce your commitments to excel in a few things. Its is better to do just a few things well, rather than many things poorly. The counter-balance to this truth for our fast-paced, busy lives is “If its worth doing, its worth doing poorly!”\n\n2. Rest requires faith because it seems nonproductive from the world’s point of view. Since you cannot measure the product of time spend in developing your relationships with God and people, it is a risk to invest a significant amount of time in these ways.\n\n3. Be aware of the human tendency to avoid an honest examination of ourselves in the presence of God. Many people seek diversions, distractions, and busyness to elude this encounter.\n
1. Reduce your commitments to excel in a few things. Its is better to do just a few things well, rather than many things poorly. The counter-balance to this truth for our fast-paced, busy lives is “If its worth doing, its worth doing poorly!”\n\n2. Rest requires faith because it seems nonproductive from the world’s point of view. Since you cannot measure the product of time spend in developing your relationships with God and people, it is a risk to invest a significant amount of time in these ways.\n\n3. Be aware of the human tendency to avoid an honest examination of ourselves in the presence of God. Many people seek diversions, distractions, and busyness to elude this encounter.\n
1. Reduce your commitments to excel in a few things. Its is better to do just a few things well, rather than many things poorly. The counter-balance to this truth for our fast-paced, busy lives is “If its worth doing, its worth doing poorly!”\n\n2. Rest requires faith because it seems nonproductive from the world’s point of view. Since you cannot measure the product of time spend in developing your relationships with God and people, it is a risk to invest a significant amount of time in these ways.\n\n3. Be aware of the human tendency to avoid an honest examination of ourselves in the presence of God. Many people seek diversions, distractions, and busyness to elude this encounter.\n
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Emphasizing causes or activity over intimacy with the Lord Himself is another common pitfall.\n
1. All of us have a built-in hunger for security, significance, and satisfaction, but our world teaches us to pursue these things in the wrong places. It should come as no surprise ,then, that the dreams and goals promoted by our culture have also infected our whole approach to the spiritual life.\n\n2. There are Christian books, seminars, and churches that have baptized the media agenda of self-orientation, success, and ambition with a spiritual veneer.\n\n3. Many believers are encouraged to set their hear on goals that actually distance them from Christ. \n
1. All of us have a built-in hunger for security, significance, and satisfaction, but our world teaches us to pursue these things in the wrong places. It should come as no surprise ,then, that the dreams and goals promoted by our culture have also infected our whole approach to the spiritual life.\n\n2. There are Christian books, seminars, and churches that have baptized the media agenda of self-orientation, success, and ambition with a spiritual veneer.\n\n3. Many believers are encouraged to set their hear on goals that actually distance them from Christ. \n
1. All of us have a built-in hunger for security, significance, and satisfaction, but our world teaches us to pursue these things in the wrong places. It should come as no surprise ,then, that the dreams and goals promoted by our culture have also infected our whole approach to the spiritual life.\n\n2. There are Christian books, seminars, and churches that have baptized the media agenda of self-orientation, success, and ambition with a spiritual veneer.\n\n3. Many believers are encouraged to set their hear on goals that actually distance them from Christ. \n
1. By contrast, Scripture teaches that our meaning is not found in a quest for self but in a calling to know God.\n
1. By contrast, Scripture teaches that our meaning is not found in a quest for self but in a calling to know God.\n
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Even worthy causes like helping poor children will sustain growth in our interior life if we are constantly cultivating a personal relationship with Jesus.\n\nSanctification is generated not by moral behavior but by the grace of a relationship with Christ. If we miss this, we will be driven to causes rather than to Christ. \n
Even worthy causes like helping poor children will sustain growth in our interior life if we are constantly cultivating a personal relationship with Jesus.\n\nSanctification is generated not by moral behavior but by the grace of a relationship with Christ. If we miss this, we will be driven to causes rather than to Christ. \n
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1. Being and Doing are interrelated, but Doing should flow out of being. Unfortunately, many confuse spiritual activity (Doing) with intimacy with Jesus. \n\n2. Actions and service alone do not lead to intimacy (Being). People who work and minister without adequate restoration through prayer and meditation do not have the interior resources to manifest the fruit of the spirit in a stress-filled world.\n\n3. The biblical order is critical: what we do should flow from what we are, not the other way around.\n\n4. Otherwise our worth and identity are determined by achievements and accomplishments, and when we stop performing, we cease to be valuable.\n
1. Being and Doing are interrelated, but Doing should flow out of being. Unfortunately, many confuse spiritual activity (Doing) with intimacy with Jesus. \n\n2. Actions and service alone do not lead to intimacy (Being). People who work and minister without adequate restoration through prayer and meditation do not have the interior resources to manifest the fruit of the spirit in a stress-filled world.\n\n3. The biblical order is critical: what we do should flow from what we are, not the other way around.\n\n4. Otherwise our worth and identity are determined by achievements and accomplishments, and when we stop performing, we cease to be valuable.\n
1. Being and Doing are interrelated, but Doing should flow out of being. Unfortunately, many confuse spiritual activity (Doing) with intimacy with Jesus. \n\n2. Actions and service alone do not lead to intimacy (Being). People who work and minister without adequate restoration through prayer and meditation do not have the interior resources to manifest the fruit of the spirit in a stress-filled world.\n\n3. The biblical order is critical: what we do should flow from what we are, not the other way around.\n\n4. Otherwise our worth and identity are determined by achievements and accomplishments, and when we stop performing, we cease to be valuable.\n
1. Being and Doing are interrelated, but Doing should flow out of being. Unfortunately, many confuse spiritual activity (Doing) with intimacy with Jesus. \n\n2. Actions and service alone do not lead to intimacy (Being). People who work and minister without adequate restoration through prayer and meditation do not have the interior resources to manifest the fruit of the spirit in a stress-filled world.\n\n3. The biblical order is critical: what we do should flow from what we are, not the other way around.\n\n4. Otherwise our worth and identity are determined by achievements and accomplishments, and when we stop performing, we cease to be valuable.\n
People who work and minister without adequate restoration through prayer and meditation do not have the interior resources to manifest the fruit of the spirit in a stress-filled world.\n
People who work and minister without adequate restoration through prayer and meditation do not have the interior resources to manifest the fruit of the spirit in a stress-filled world.\n
People who work and minister without adequate restoration through prayer and meditation do not have the interior resources to manifest the fruit of the spirit in a stress-filled world.\n
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1. The problem is that people typically approach the spiritual life in terms of the right column, supposing that their actions and service will lead them to intimacy in their relationship with God. \n\n2. While the greatest commandment exhorts us to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30), we tend to reverse the order, thinking we can go from the outside in rather than the inside out. Instead of ministry flowing out of our relationship with God, many people suppose that ministry will sustain (or shore-up) or establish their relationship with God. \n\n3. Thus, the erroneous thinking that Doing will establish Being.\n
1. The problem is that people typically approach the spiritual life in terms of the right column, supposing that their actions and service will lead them to intimacy in their relationship with God. \n\n2. While the greatest commandment exhorts us to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30), we tend to reverse the order, thinking we can go from the outside in rather than the inside out. Instead of ministry flowing out of our relationship with God, many people suppose that ministry will sustain (or shore-up) or establish their relationship with God. \n\n3. Thus, the erroneous thinking that Doing will establish Being.\n
1. The problem is that people typically approach the spiritual life in terms of the right column, supposing that their actions and service will lead them to intimacy in their relationship with God. \n\n2. While the greatest commandment exhorts us to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30), we tend to reverse the order, thinking we can go from the outside in rather than the inside out. Instead of ministry flowing out of our relationship with God, many people suppose that ministry will sustain (or shore-up) or establish their relationship with God. \n\n3. Thus, the erroneous thinking that Doing will establish Being.\n
1. The problem is that people typically approach the spiritual life in terms of the right column, supposing that their actions and service will lead them to intimacy in their relationship with God. \n\n2. While the greatest commandment exhorts us to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30), we tend to reverse the order, thinking we can go from the outside in rather than the inside out. Instead of ministry flowing out of our relationship with God, many people suppose that ministry will sustain (or shore-up) or establish their relationship with God. \n\n3. Thus, the erroneous thinking that Doing will establish Being.\n
1. What we do should flow out of who we are, not the other way around. Said another way, our external action should derive from an internal reality. People who work and minister without adequate restoration through prayer and meditation do not have the interior resources to manifest the fruit of the Spirit in a stress-filled world. During the quiet times of the devotional life, we gain the perspective and power we need to live with character and composure in the context of daily demands. “In repentance and rest you will be saved, in quietness and trust is your strength.” (Isaiah 30:15)\n
1. What we do should flow out of who we are, not the other way around. Said another way, our external action should derive from an internal reality. People who work and minister without adequate restoration through prayer and meditation do not have the interior resources to manifest the fruit of the Spirit in a stress-filled world. During the quiet times of the devotional life, we gain the perspective and power we need to live with character and composure in the context of daily demands. “In repentance and rest you will be saved, in quietness and trust is your strength.” (Isaiah 30:15)\n
In this table, the real life (left column) should energize the reflected life (the right column). \n
In this table, the real life (left column) should energize the reflected life (the right column). \n
In this table, the real life (left column) should energize the reflected life (the right column). \n
In this table, the real life (left column) should energize the reflected life (the right column). \n
In this table, the real life (left column) should energize the reflected life (the right column). \n
In this table, the real life (left column) should energize the reflected life (the right column). \n
In this table, the real life (left column) should energize the reflected life (the right column). \n
In this table, the real life (left column) should energize the reflected life (the right column). \n
In this table, the real life (left column) should energize the reflected life (the right column). \n
In this table, the real life (left column) should energize the reflected life (the right column). \n
In this table, the real life (left column) should energize the reflected life (the right column). \n
In this table, the real life (left column) should energize the reflected life (the right column). \n
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1. Send up “flash prayers” at various times during the day. These are brief prayers or mental notes that acknowledge God’s presence or lift up others. They can be offered when walking, sitting down for a meal, walking, driving, waiting, listening, and so forth.\n\n2. Try using the same Short Prayer throughout the course of a day, such as the Jesus Prayer (” Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner”) or another brief prayer such as “I love you, Lord; I thank You in all things; By Your grace, Lord; Thank You, Jesus.\n\n3. Pray and work (ora et labora). Do you work with an ear that is cocked to the voice of God. When you combine prayer and action, even trivial tasks can be spiritualized through divine orientation. Invite the Lord to animate your work so that the ordinary is transmuted to the eternal.\n\n4. Play to an Audience of one; live corum deo (before the heart of God). Seek obscurity and anonymity rather than public accolades so that you will desire to please God rather than impress people.\n\n5. Pray for strangers you see while you are walking or driving. Ask the Lord to direct your prayers and listen for His promptings and impressions. Reach beyond your own concerns and become a channel of God’s grace and mercy to others.\n
1. Send up “flash prayers” at various times during the day. These are brief prayers or mental notes that acknowledge God’s presence or lift up others. They can be offered when walking, sitting down for a meal, walking, driving, waiting, listening, and so forth.\n\n2. Try using the same Short Prayer throughout the course of a day, such as the Jesus Prayer (” Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner”) or another brief prayer such as “I love you, Lord; I thank You in all things; By Your grace, Lord; Thank You, Jesus.\n\n3. Pray and work (ora et labora). Do you work with an ear that is cocked to the voice of God. When you combine prayer and action, even trivial tasks can be spiritualized through divine orientation. Invite the Lord to animate your work so that the ordinary is transmuted to the eternal.\n\n4. Play to an Audience of one; live corum deo (before the heart of God). Seek obscurity and anonymity rather than public accolades so that you will desire to please God rather than impress people.\n\n5. Pray for strangers you see while you are walking or driving. Ask the Lord to direct your prayers and listen for His promptings and impressions. Reach beyond your own concerns and become a channel of God’s grace and mercy to others.\n
1. Send up “flash prayers” at various times during the day. These are brief prayers or mental notes that acknowledge God’s presence or lift up others. They can be offered when walking, sitting down for a meal, walking, driving, waiting, listening, and so forth.\n\n2. Try using the same Short Prayer throughout the course of a day, such as the Jesus Prayer (” Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner”) or another brief prayer such as “I love you, Lord; I thank You in all things; By Your grace, Lord; Thank You, Jesus.\n\n3. Pray and work (ora et labora). Do you work with an ear that is cocked to the voice of God. When you combine prayer and action, even trivial tasks can be spiritualized through divine orientation. Invite the Lord to animate your work so that the ordinary is transmuted to the eternal.\n\n4. Play to an Audience of one; live corum deo (before the heart of God). Seek obscurity and anonymity rather than public accolades so that you will desire to please God rather than impress people.\n\n5. Pray for strangers you see while you are walking or driving. Ask the Lord to direct your prayers and listen for His promptings and impressions. Reach beyond your own concerns and become a channel of God’s grace and mercy to others.\n
1. Send up “flash prayers” at various times during the day. These are brief prayers or mental notes that acknowledge God’s presence or lift up others. They can be offered when walking, sitting down for a meal, walking, driving, waiting, listening, and so forth.\n\n2. Try using the same Short Prayer throughout the course of a day, such as the Jesus Prayer (” Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner”) or another brief prayer such as “I love you, Lord; I thank You in all things; By Your grace, Lord; Thank You, Jesus.\n\n3. Pray and work (ora et labora). Do you work with an ear that is cocked to the voice of God. When you combine prayer and action, even trivial tasks can be spiritualized through divine orientation. Invite the Lord to animate your work so that the ordinary is transmuted to the eternal.\n\n4. Play to an Audience of one; live corum deo (before the heart of God). Seek obscurity and anonymity rather than public accolades so that you will desire to please God rather than impress people.\n\n5. Pray for strangers you see while you are walking or driving. Ask the Lord to direct your prayers and listen for His promptings and impressions. Reach beyond your own concerns and become a channel of God’s grace and mercy to others.\n
1. Send up “flash prayers” at various times during the day. These are brief prayers or mental notes that acknowledge God’s presence or lift up others. They can be offered when walking, sitting down for a meal, walking, driving, waiting, listening, and so forth.\n\n2. Try using the same Short Prayer throughout the course of a day, such as the Jesus Prayer (” Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner”) or another brief prayer such as “I love you, Lord; I thank You in all things; By Your grace, Lord; Thank You, Jesus.\n\n3. Pray and work (ora et labora). Do you work with an ear that is cocked to the voice of God. When you combine prayer and action, even trivial tasks can be spiritualized through divine orientation. Invite the Lord to animate your work so that the ordinary is transmuted to the eternal.\n\n4. Play to an Audience of one; live corum deo (before the heart of God). Seek obscurity and anonymity rather than public accolades so that you will desire to please God rather than impress people.\n\n5. Pray for strangers you see while you are walking or driving. Ask the Lord to direct your prayers and listen for His promptings and impressions. Reach beyond your own concerns and become a channel of God’s grace and mercy to others.\n
1. Develop an eye that looks for God’s beauty and handiwork in nature. Learn to savor the wonders of the created order, since they point beyond themselves to the presence and awesome mind of the Creator.\n\n2. Turn the other pleasures of this life (times with close friends, enjoyment of great music and food) into sources of adoration for the One who made these things possible. Cultivate a sense of gratitude for the goodness of life and the tender mercies of God that are often overlooked.\n\n3. Ask for the grace to see every person you meet and every circumstance you face today as a gift of God. Whether these experiences are bitter or sweet, acknowledge them as coming from His hand for a purpose. Look for sacred in all things, and notice the unlovely and those who are usually overlooked. Remember that EGRs (extra-grace required) in our lives are there for a purpose.\n\n4. Because we tend to live ahead of ourselves by dwelling in the future, try occasional time-stopping exercises by standing in and relishing the present moment. Realize that Jesus is with you and in you at this moment and thank Him for never leaving or forsaking you even in the smallest of things (Deuteronomy 31:6; Hebrews 13:5).\n
1. Develop an eye that looks for God’s beauty and handiwork in nature. Learn to savor the wonders of the created order, since they point beyond themselves to the presence and awesome mind of the Creator.\n\n2. Turn the other pleasures of this life (times with close friends, enjoyment of great music and food) into sources of adoration for the One who made these things possible. Cultivate a sense of gratitude for the goodness of life and the tender mercies of God that are often overlooked.\n\n3. Ask for the grace to see every person you meet and every circumstance you face today as a gift of God. Whether these experiences are bitter or sweet, acknowledge them as coming from His hand for a purpose. Look for sacred in all things, and notice the unlovely and those who are usually overlooked. Remember that EGRs (extra-grace required) in our lives are there for a purpose.\n\n4. Because we tend to live ahead of ourselves by dwelling in the future, try occasional time-stopping exercises by standing in and relishing the present moment. Realize that Jesus is with you and in you at this moment and thank Him for never leaving or forsaking you even in the smallest of things (Deuteronomy 31:6; Hebrews 13:5).\n
1. Develop an eye that looks for God’s beauty and handiwork in nature. Learn to savor the wonders of the created order, since they point beyond themselves to the presence and awesome mind of the Creator.\n\n2. Turn the other pleasures of this life (times with close friends, enjoyment of great music and food) into sources of adoration for the One who made these things possible. Cultivate a sense of gratitude for the goodness of life and the tender mercies of God that are often overlooked.\n\n3. Ask for the grace to see every person you meet and every circumstance you face today as a gift of God. Whether these experiences are bitter or sweet, acknowledge them as coming from His hand for a purpose. Look for sacred in all things, and notice the unlovely and those who are usually overlooked. Remember that EGRs (extra-grace required) in our lives are there for a purpose.\n\n4. Because we tend to live ahead of ourselves by dwelling in the future, try occasional time-stopping exercises by standing in and relishing the present moment. Realize that Jesus is with you and in you at this moment and thank Him for never leaving or forsaking you even in the smallest of things (Deuteronomy 31:6; Hebrews 13:5).\n
1. Develop an eye that looks for God’s beauty and handiwork in nature. Learn to savor the wonders of the created order, since they point beyond themselves to the presence and awesome mind of the Creator.\n\n2. Turn the other pleasures of this life (times with close friends, enjoyment of great music and food) into sources of adoration for the One who made these things possible. Cultivate a sense of gratitude for the goodness of life and the tender mercies of God that are often overlooked.\n\n3. Ask for the grace to see every person you meet and every circumstance you face today as a gift of God. Whether these experiences are bitter or sweet, acknowledge them as coming from His hand for a purpose. Look for sacred in all things, and notice the unlovely and those who are usually overlooked. Remember that EGRs (extra-grace required) in our lives are there for a purpose.\n\n4. Because we tend to live ahead of ourselves by dwelling in the future, try occasional time-stopping exercises by standing in and relishing the present moment. Realize that Jesus is with you and in you at this moment and thank Him for never leaving or forsaking you even in the smallest of things (Deuteronomy 31:6; Hebrews 13:5).\n
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1-2. One of the great enemies of Process Spirituality is the craving to control our environment and the desire to determine the results of our endeavors. \n\n3-6. Many of us have natural inclination to be manipulators, grabbers, owners, and controllers. The more we seek to rule our world, the more we resist the rule of Christ; those who grasp are afraid of being grasped by God. Thus, even in our prayers, we can adopt the mentality of a consumer rather than a servant.\n
1-2. One of the great enemies of Process Spirituality is the craving to control our environment and the desire to determine the results of our endeavors. \n\n3-6. Many of us have natural inclination to be manipulators, grabbers, owners, and controllers. The more we seek to rule our world, the more we resist the rule of Christ; those who grasp are afraid of being grasped by God. Thus, even in our prayers, we can adopt the mentality of a consumer rather than a servant.\n
1-2. One of the great enemies of Process Spirituality is the craving to control our environment and the desire to determine the results of our endeavors. \n\n3-6. Many of us have natural inclination to be manipulators, grabbers, owners, and controllers. The more we seek to rule our world, the more we resist the rule of Christ; those who grasp are afraid of being grasped by God. Thus, even in our prayers, we can adopt the mentality of a consumer rather than a servant.\n
1-2. One of the great enemies of Process Spirituality is the craving to control our environment and the desire to determine the results of our endeavors. \n\n3-6. Many of us have natural inclination to be manipulators, grabbers, owners, and controllers. The more we seek to rule our world, the more we resist the rule of Christ; those who grasp are afraid of being grasped by God. Thus, even in our prayers, we can adopt the mentality of a consumer rather than a servant.\n
1-2. One of the great enemies of Process Spirituality is the craving to control our environment and the desire to determine the results of our endeavors. \n\n3-6. Many of us have natural inclination to be manipulators, grabbers, owners, and controllers. The more we seek to rule our world, the more we resist the rule of Christ; those who grasp are afraid of being grasped by God. Thus, even in our prayers, we can adopt the mentality of a consumer rather than a servant.\n
1-2. One of the great enemies of Process Spirituality is the craving to control our environment and the desire to determine the results of our endeavors. \n\n3-6. Many of us have natural inclination to be manipulators, grabbers, owners, and controllers. The more we seek to rule our world, the more we resist the rule of Christ; those who grasp are afraid of being grasped by God. Thus, even in our prayers, we can adopt the mentality of a consumer rather than a servant.\n
1-2. One of the great enemies of Process Spirituality is the craving to control our environment and the desire to determine the results of our endeavors. \n\n3-6. Many of us have natural inclination to be manipulators, grabbers, owners, and controllers. The more we seek to rule our world, the more we resist the rule of Christ; those who grasp are afraid of being grasped by God. Thus, even in our prayers, we can adopt the mentality of a consumer rather than a servant.\n
Perhaps the most painful lesson for beleivers to learn is the wisdom of being faithful to the process and letting loose of the results, as this table shows.\nWe have little control over opportunities we encounter and the outcomes of our efforts, but we can be obedient to the processes.\n\nWe cannot be responsive to God’s purposes until we abandon our strategies to control and acknowledge his exclusive ownership of our lives.\n
Perhaps the most painful lesson for beleivers to learn is the wisdom of being faithful to the process and letting loose of the results, as this table shows.\nWe have little control over opportunities we encounter and the outcomes of our efforts, but we can be obedient to the processes.\n\nWe cannot be responsive to God’s purposes until we abandon our strategies to control and acknowledge his exclusive ownership of our lives.\n
Perhaps the most painful lesson for beleivers to learn is the wisdom of being faithful to the process and letting loose of the results, as this table shows.\nWe have little control over opportunities we encounter and the outcomes of our efforts, but we can be obedient to the processes.\n\nWe cannot be responsive to God’s purposes until we abandon our strategies to control and acknowledge his exclusive ownership of our lives.\n
Perhaps the most painful lesson for beleivers to learn is the wisdom of being faithful to the process and letting loose of the results, as this table shows.\nWe have little control over opportunities we encounter and the outcomes of our efforts, but we can be obedient to the processes.\n\nWe cannot be responsive to God’s purposes until we abandon our strategies to control and acknowledge his exclusive ownership of our lives.\n
Perhaps the most painful lesson for beleivers to learn is the wisdom of being faithful to the process and letting loose of the results, as this table shows.\nWe have little control over opportunities we encounter and the outcomes of our efforts, but we can be obedient to the processes.\n\nWe cannot be responsive to God’s purposes until we abandon our strategies to control and acknowledge his exclusive ownership of our lives.\n
1. Another key to staying in the process is learning to receive each day and whatever it brings as from the hand of God. \n\n2. Because God’s character is unchanging and good, whatever circumstances He allows in the life of His children are for their good, even though they may not seem so at the time.\n\n3. Instead of asking God to change our circumstances to suit us, we can ask Him to use our circumstances to change us.\n\n4. We must trust God with the outcome of our spiritual life, because it simply cannot be measured, counted, or controlled. God alone controls the power to cause any growth, either visible or invisible. Nor, for that matter, can we measure our ministry or impact on others in this life.\n
1. Another key to staying in the process is learning to receive each day and whatever it brings as from the hand of God. \n\n2. Because God’s character is unchanging and good, whatever circumstances He allows in the life of His children are for their good, even though they may not seem so at the time.\n\n3. Instead of asking God to change our circumstances to suit us, we can ask Him to use our circumstances to change us.\n\n4. We must trust God with the outcome of our spiritual life, because it simply cannot be measured, counted, or controlled. God alone controls the power to cause any growth, either visible or invisible. Nor, for that matter, can we measure our ministry or impact on others in this life.\n
1. Another key to staying in the process is learning to receive each day and whatever it brings as from the hand of God. \n\n2. Because God’s character is unchanging and good, whatever circumstances He allows in the life of His children are for their good, even though they may not seem so at the time.\n\n3. Instead of asking God to change our circumstances to suit us, we can ask Him to use our circumstances to change us.\n\n4. We must trust God with the outcome of our spiritual life, because it simply cannot be measured, counted, or controlled. God alone controls the power to cause any growth, either visible or invisible. Nor, for that matter, can we measure our ministry or impact on others in this life.\n
1. Another key to staying in the process is learning to receive each day and whatever it brings as from the hand of God. \n\n2. Because God’s character is unchanging and good, whatever circumstances He allows in the life of His children are for their good, even though they may not seem so at the time.\n\n3. Instead of asking God to change our circumstances to suit us, we can ask Him to use our circumstances to change us.\n\n4. We must trust God with the outcome of our spiritual life, because it simply cannot be measured, counted, or controlled. God alone controls the power to cause any growth, either visible or invisible. Nor, for that matter, can we measure our ministry or impact on others in this life.\n
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We are an ungrateful people, as Dostoevsky points out in this quote.\n\n
We are an ungrateful people, as Dostoevsky points out in this quote.\n\n
We cannot give thanks and complain at the same time!\nGratitude is a choice, not merely a feeling, and it requires effort especially in difficult times.\n
We cannot give thanks and complain at the same time!\nGratitude is a choice, not merely a feeling, and it requires effort especially in difficult times.\n
We cannot give thanks and complain at the same time!\nGratitude is a choice, not merely a feeling, and it requires effort especially in difficult times.\n
We cannot give thanks and complain at the same time!\nGratitude is a choice, not merely a feeling, and it requires effort especially in difficult times.\n
Our propensity to forget is a mark of our fallenness. Because of this, we should view remembering and gratitude as a discipline, a daily and intentional act, a conscious choice.\n
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1. “We want a whole race perpetually in pursuit of rainbow’s end, never honest, nor kind, nor happy NOW, but always using as mere fuel wherewith to heap the altar of the future every real gift which is offered them in the Present.” Uncle Screwtape’s diabolical counsel to his nephew Wormwood in C.S. Lewis’s The Screwtape Letters is a reminder that most of us live more in the future than in the present.\n\n2. We think that the days ahead will make up for what we perceive to be our present lack. We think, “When I get this or when that happens, then I’ll be happy,” but this exercise in self-deception overlooks the fact that even when we get what we want, it never delivers what it promised.\n\n3. Most of us don’t know precisely what we want, but we are certain we don’t have it. Driven by dissatisfaction, we pursue the treasure at the end of the rainbow and rarely drink deeply at the well of the present moment, which is all we ever have.\n\n4. The truth is that if we are not satisfied with what we have, we will never be satisfied with what we want.\n
1. “We want a whole race perpetually in pursuit of rainbow’s end, never honest, nor kind, nor happy NOW, but always using as mere fuel wherewith to heap the altar of the future every real gift which is offered them in the Present.” Uncle Screwtape’s diabolical counsel to his nephew Wormwood in C.S. Lewis’s The Screwtape Letters is a reminder that most of us live more in the future than in the present.\n\n2. We think that the days ahead will make up for what we perceive to be our present lack. We think, “When I get this or when that happens, then I’ll be happy,” but this exercise in self-deception overlooks the fact that even when we get what we want, it never delivers what it promised.\n\n3. Most of us don’t know precisely what we want, but we are certain we don’t have it. Driven by dissatisfaction, we pursue the treasure at the end of the rainbow and rarely drink deeply at the well of the present moment, which is all we ever have.\n\n4. The truth is that if we are not satisfied with what we have, we will never be satisfied with what we want.\n
1. “We want a whole race perpetually in pursuit of rainbow’s end, never honest, nor kind, nor happy NOW, but always using as mere fuel wherewith to heap the altar of the future every real gift which is offered them in the Present.” Uncle Screwtape’s diabolical counsel to his nephew Wormwood in C.S. Lewis’s The Screwtape Letters is a reminder that most of us live more in the future than in the present.\n\n2. We think that the days ahead will make up for what we perceive to be our present lack. We think, “When I get this or when that happens, then I’ll be happy,” but this exercise in self-deception overlooks the fact that even when we get what we want, it never delivers what it promised.\n\n3. Most of us don’t know precisely what we want, but we are certain we don’t have it. Driven by dissatisfaction, we pursue the treasure at the end of the rainbow and rarely drink deeply at the well of the present moment, which is all we ever have.\n\n4. The truth is that if we are not satisfied with what we have, we will never be satisfied with what we want.\n
1. “We want a whole race perpetually in pursuit of rainbow’s end, never honest, nor kind, nor happy NOW, but always using as mere fuel wherewith to heap the altar of the future every real gift which is offered them in the Present.” Uncle Screwtape’s diabolical counsel to his nephew Wormwood in C.S. Lewis’s The Screwtape Letters is a reminder that most of us live more in the future than in the present.\n\n2. We think that the days ahead will make up for what we perceive to be our present lack. We think, “When I get this or when that happens, then I’ll be happy,” but this exercise in self-deception overlooks the fact that even when we get what we want, it never delivers what it promised.\n\n3. Most of us don’t know precisely what we want, but we are certain we don’t have it. Driven by dissatisfaction, we pursue the treasure at the end of the rainbow and rarely drink deeply at the well of the present moment, which is all we ever have.\n\n4. The truth is that if we are not satisfied with what we have, we will never be satisfied with what we want.\n
1. You will generally find a direct ratio between a society’s affluence and its discontentment.\n2. The more people have, the more discontent they are.\n3. Those who do not have are envious and those who do have are not satisfied.\n4. The more people have the more bored they are with life and the more preoccupied with autonomy they become.”\nMan’s lust for autonomy reveals his grotesque nature.\n\nSource: Day 208, Walt Henrichsen’s “Thought from the Diary of a Desparate Man,” The Quest for Autonomy\n
1. You will generally find a direct ratio between a society’s affluence and its discontentment.\n2. The more people have, the more discontent they are.\n3. Those who do not have are envious and those who do have are not satisfied.\n4. The more people have the more bored they are with life and the more preoccupied with autonomy they become.”\nMan’s lust for autonomy reveals his grotesque nature.\n\nSource: Day 208, Walt Henrichsen’s “Thought from the Diary of a Desparate Man,” The Quest for Autonomy\n
1. You will generally find a direct ratio between a society’s affluence and its discontentment.\n2. The more people have, the more discontent they are.\n3. Those who do not have are envious and those who do have are not satisfied.\n4. The more people have the more bored they are with life and the more preoccupied with autonomy they become.”\nMan’s lust for autonomy reveals his grotesque nature.\n\nSource: Day 208, Walt Henrichsen’s “Thought from the Diary of a Desparate Man,” The Quest for Autonomy\n
1. You will generally find a direct ratio between a society’s affluence and its discontentment.\n2. The more people have, the more discontent they are.\n3. Those who do not have are envious and those who do have are not satisfied.\n4. The more people have the more bored they are with life and the more preoccupied with autonomy they become.”\nMan’s lust for autonomy reveals his grotesque nature.\n\nSource: Day 208, Walt Henrichsen’s “Thought from the Diary of a Desparate Man,” The Quest for Autonomy\n
1. Contentment is not found in having everything but in being satisfied with everything we have. Paul told Timothy that if we have food and covering, with these shall we be content. (1 Timothy 6;7-8)\n2. Paul acknowledged God’s right to determine his circumstances, even if it meant taking him down to nothing. His contentment was not grounded in how much he had but in the One who had him.\n3. “[Contentment] requires an act of your will to put limits on your appetites.” Walt Henrichsen, “Thoughts from the Diary of a Desperate Man” Day 208\n4. We must choose to be satisfied with whatever we have right now, because this represents God’s provision for us.\n
1. Contentment is not found in having everything but in being satisfied with everything we have. Paul told Timothy that if we have food and covering, with these shall we be content. (1 Timothy 6;7-8)\n2. Paul acknowledged God’s right to determine his circumstances, even if it meant taking him down to nothing. His contentment was not grounded in how much he had but in the One who had him.\n3. “[Contentment] requires an act of your will to put limits on your appetites.” Walt Henrichsen, “Thoughts from the Diary of a Desperate Man” Day 208\n4. We must choose to be satisfied with whatever we have right now, because this represents God’s provision for us.\n
1. Contentment is not found in having everything but in being satisfied with everything we have. Paul told Timothy that if we have food and covering, with these shall we be content. (1 Timothy 6;7-8)\n2. Paul acknowledged God’s right to determine his circumstances, even if it meant taking him down to nothing. His contentment was not grounded in how much he had but in the One who had him.\n3. “[Contentment] requires an act of your will to put limits on your appetites.” Walt Henrichsen, “Thoughts from the Diary of a Desperate Man” Day 208\n4. We must choose to be satisfied with whatever we have right now, because this represents God’s provision for us.\n
1. Contentment is not found in having everything but in being satisfied with everything we have. Paul told Timothy that if we have food and covering, with these shall we be content. (1 Timothy 6;7-8)\n2. Paul acknowledged God’s right to determine his circumstances, even if it meant taking him down to nothing. His contentment was not grounded in how much he had but in the One who had him.\n3. “[Contentment] requires an act of your will to put limits on your appetites.” Walt Henrichsen, “Thoughts from the Diary of a Desperate Man” Day 208\n4. We must choose to be satisfied with whatever we have right now, because this represents God’s provision for us.\n
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The real issue of contentment is whether it is Christ or ourselves who determine the content (e.g. money, position, family, circumstances) of our lives. When we seek to control the content, we invariably turn to the criterion of comparison to measure what it should look like. But comparison is the enemy of contentment.\nOnly when we allow Christ to determine the content of our lives can we discover the secret of contentment. Instead of comparing ourselves with others, we must realize that the Lord alone knows what is best for us and loves us enough to use our present circumstances to accomplish eternal good.\n
The real issue of contentment is whether it is Christ or ourselves who determine the content (e.g. money, position, family, circumstances) of our lives. When we seek to control the content, we invariably turn to the criterion of comparison to measure what it should look like. But comparison is the enemy of contentment.\nOnly when we allow Christ to determine the content of our lives can we discover the secret of contentment. Instead of comparing ourselves with others, we must realize that the Lord alone knows what is best for us and loves us enough to use our present circumstances to accomplish eternal good.\n
The real issue of contentment is whether it is Christ or ourselves who determine the content (e.g. money, position, family, circumstances) of our lives. When we seek to control the content, we invariably turn to the criterion of comparison to measure what it should look like. But comparison is the enemy of contentment.\nOnly when we allow Christ to determine the content of our lives can we discover the secret of contentment. Instead of comparing ourselves with others, we must realize that the Lord alone knows what is best for us and loves us enough to use our present circumstances to accomplish eternal good.\n
