Category Archives: Spiritual Growth

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Reading God’s Word

Developing A Love For The Bible

I have recently been convicted concerning the idea of developing passion in my life as a believer. Such a passion has to be rooted in God’s Word.

God's Word and Coffee

Hebrews 4:12 gives us an incredible insight into the Word of God, and God’s own view of it:

For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Did you notice the very beginning of that verse? God’s Word is living. If the Bible was a dead book, I would be able to read it once, and would never need to read it again. But it is a living Word. And every time I read it, I experience new and different things in it. As I read in it now, I am in a different place in my spiritual walk than I was the last time I might have read any given passage.

And since it is living, it has the power to work within my life and change me. God, through his Holy Spirit, will nudge me to change the things that he points out to me from reading his Word.

Each time I read this book, I find something new to me that I may never have noticed before. And I may not have ever noticed it before because I was not spiritually ready for that particular piece of Truth. And there are things that I am not ready for even yet. But I may be tomorrow, or next week, or next year, as I continue to grow.

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The Difference Between Evangelism And Discipleship

Have you ever experienced an epiphany? One of those moments where something becomes crystal clear to you like it never has been before? I experienced one of those the other day.

Evangelism Vs. Discipleship

At our staff meeting this week at my church, we had a brief discussion about the differences between discipleship and outreach/evangelism. It was a good conversation, and it sparked some thinking in my mind for the next few days.

The following morning, I posed a question based off of my thoughts on this to a group of men that I meet with weekly. I wanted to gather some additional viewpoints and perspectives. Some of their comments added to my thoughts as well.

I have always differentiated between these two concepts. In my mind, they were two very distinct and different things. Outreach and evangelism is what we do to reach the lost and bring them to Christ. Discipleship, on the other hand, is the process that takes place after one becomes a believer, and conforms us to the image of Christ.

Or at least that is what I have always thought about these two ideas.

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Deepening Our Roots

Developing Passion In Our Spiritual Life

The more I read the New Testament, the more I find that passion is an essential element of discipleship. Without passion, our faith could be seriously questioned.

Pine Tree

Psalm 1 gives us an excellent image of what it means to be deeply rooted, to be spiritually passionate. In verse 3, the psalmist says:

He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers.

This image of a tree is a perfect illustration of what it means to develop passion in our lives. The roots have to go deep, or there can be no production of fruit. In this psalm, the tree is planted strategically next to a stream of water, and it is rooted deeply enough to receive the nourishment it needs, and to prevent it from being easily uprooted.

This is exactly what we need to do in our lives. Passion and discipleship require us to be both strategic and solid in where we plant ourselves.

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Pursuing Passion

I have become increasingly aware of my need to be more passionate in my life. And by passion, I mean my passion for Jesus Christ.

Tree

Several years ago, I was challenged to begin journaling as a key discipline in my spiritual life. Over the years, this has taken many forms. One of the more exuberant efforts was a journal I put together with several different categories, such as Bible reading, Bible study, memorization, prayer lists and forms, and more.

Now, each of these different disciplines were crucial, and I still believe that they are. But attempting them in that fashion did nothing but discourage me, and many of them didn’t last long.

Regardless, I still felt, and still feel, the need to become more passionate in my walk with Jesus. But how do I do that?

What I didn’t understand then, and have begun to learn now, is that discipline, for discipline’s sake, will never be effective. Discipline needs to happen in order to draw nearer to God.

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The Benefit Of Short Term Mission Trips

You may recall that our church went on a mission trip to Arizona a few weeks ago. It was an incredible trip, and our group was able to accomplish a lot while we were there. But what did we learn?

CCC AICM Group Photo

Near the end of July, we loaded up and headed to American Indian Christian Mission, near Show Low, AZ, to work with them on the reservation of the White Mountain Apache tribe. Our trip was incredible. It was one of the highlights of ministry for me for the past several years.

While we were there, we operated in two different ways. First, we spent the mornings on the AICM campus, doing work projects. We helped remodel several school classrooms, getting them ready for the school year. And we also stained several of the staff homes, which were log cabins, and in need of some treatment. As far as work projects go, these were fairly easy to do and we accomplished quite a bit of work for the ministry.

After lunch, we loaded up and headed onto the reservation, where we gathered the kids from two small communities, Turkey Creek and Corn on the Cobb (yes, those are the real names of these communities). Once gathered, we had Vacation Bible School activities; we taught a lesson, sang some songs, created some different crafts, and then played a lot of games with those kids. It was very incredible.

But, really, this is a very common approach for mission teams who come to AICM. And, as the week progressed, I began to wonder just how effective we were being, and how that was affecting and changing us.

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Taking The Time To Refuel (ESD)

Spiritual Disciplines Banner

How many times have you taken the time to refuel and recharge your spiritual batteries?

I don’t mean taking time on a daily basis and spending time with God. That is necessary, certainly, but I’m referring to something other than that. Something big.

This week, I am attending the North American Christian Convention. This is my first time to attend this conference, and I am looking forward to what this will bring to my spiritual life.

Worship

I am completely committed to the idea of taking a week, at least once a year, and attending some sort of conference or spiritual retreat in order to renew yourself, to refuel your spiritual life.

For the past half a dozen years, I attended Wilderness, a program of Christ In Youth, and went to Colorado each October to reconnect my spiritual life with God. That event was designed primarily for youth ministers, and I enjoyed it while I was in that role, and even for a couple of years afterwards. But this year, I decided to try something different, partly because I am in the lead role at our church now, and need to recharge myself in different ways.

And so, I chose to attend the biggest conference put on by the Christian Churches and Churches of Christ in the United States. The NACC has all the earmarks of being a phenomenal spring board for refueling my spiritual life. I’m looking forward to the week. Plus, I am alone, in a hotel room, in Cincinnati. Last night, I spent several hours going over my Life Plan and spent some significant time in God’s Word, all without distraction. That was incredible.

But why am I so sold on the idea of taking in a conference each year, or even more often if possible? Here are three reasons.

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A Matter Of The Heart

Life can throw you a curve ball occasionally.

Several days ago, I shared some ideas on how to rejuvenate yourself when you’re tired. Not just physically tired, but when you are spiritually tired and worn out.

Heart Exam

I shared that because that’s where I am in my own life right now.

But there’s more.

Over the past several months, my wife has been watching me and keeping copious amounts of notes and observations. I’ve been dealing with several small issues, from depression to stress to headaches and high blood pressure. I’ve had aches and pains, and have been overly tired to the point where I felt like I needed a nap several times a day.

Each of these things, by themselves, don’t seem like that much. But when you add them all together….

My wife sat me down, and presented her observations and research. To the best of our own self-diagnosing abilities, and with the help of Dr. Google, she determined that I may be dealing with some heart issues.

Wait… What?