spiritual formation
This is The Way – Devo Day 40
1 So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. 2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. 1 Peter 2:1–3 (ESV) In the first chapter of this letter, Peter showed the wonder of God’s salvation through Jesus Christ. Now he shifts his emphasis to show the status that Christians have as…
This is The Way – Devo Day 39
Mem – Psalm 119:97-104 97 Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day. 98 Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is ever with me. 99 I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation. 100 I understand more than the aged, for I keep your precepts. 101 I hold back my feet from every evil way, in order to keep your word. 102 I do not…
This is The Way – Devo Day 35
The Discipline of Journaling Many have found that keeping a journal helps them better understand their process of spiritual formation superintended by the Holy Spirit. By recording your interactions with the Word of God, your feelings and insights from the stream of your life, and your God sightings (in nature, in people, in circumstances) you’ll have a chronicling of your spiritual development. Journaling is not just an introspective exercise, it is also a method of keeping track of what the…
This is The Way – Devo Day 34
Yesterday (Psalm 119:81-88) the psalmist said that the hardships he was experiencing and the adversaries that opposed him ALMOST wiped out his faith. But, by the end of the stanza, he has reasserted his confidence and dependence on the Word of God. It was a sobering reminder that our faith is always under attack. Satan didn’t tempt Adam and Eve to commit a sin; he only tempted them to doubt His Word. So what is faith anyway? Faith is the…
This is The Way – Devo Day 29
The Disciplines of Solitude and Silence This was one of the surprise golden nuggets that I discovered while I was at seminary and went on two retreats to a Trappist monastery in southern Missouri. I’d like to say that I learned some amazing spiritual insights from the monks or that God revealed a cosmic mystery to me but what I found there was me. I can honestly say, “I didn’t know myself very well.” I know that sounds stupid for…
This is The Way – Devo Day 28
Jesus Prays for His Disciples – John 17:14-23 14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them in the truth; your…
This is The Way – Devo Day 27
Teth – Psalm 119:65-72 65 You have dealt well with your servant, O LORD, according to your word. 66 Teach me good judgment and knowledge, for I believe in your commandments. 67 Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word. 68 You are good and do good; teach me your statutes. 69 The insolent smear me with lies, but with my whole heart I keep your precepts; 70 their heart is unfeeling like fat, but…
This is The Way – Devo Day 26
The Extremes of Spiritual Development It’s easy to slip into the extremes of spiritual development. The first extreme overemphasizes our role and minimizes God’s role. This position is characterized by the mentality of striving and living for Christ. It emphasizes knowledge, rules, rededication efforts, and human activity, and it undervalues the work of the Holy Spirit. The second extreme (the opposite of the first) overemphasizes God’s role and minimizes our role. This position is characterized by a let-go-and-let-God passivity. It…
This is The Way – Devo Day 25
It is the night before his crucifixion at their Passover celebration. Jesus had washed the disciple’s feet, revealed his betrayer, and foretold of Peter’s denial. Then he turns to His disciples to encourage them, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.” John 14:1 (ESV) It’s another way of saying “Fear not” which is what God says throughout the Scriptures when his people feared what they were confronting. He tells them to trust in God…
This is The Way – Devo Day 23
6 If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed. 7 Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; 8 for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.…
This is The Way – Devo Day 20
16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is…
This is The Way – Devo Day 18
Waw – Psalm 119:41-48 41 Let your steadfast love come to me, O LORD, your salvation according to your promise; 42 then shall I have an answer for him who taunts me, for I trust in your word. 43 And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth, for my hope is in your rules. 44 I will keep your law continually, forever and ever, 45 and I shall walk in a wide place, for I have…