Six GROWTH practices: Go, Read, Obey, Witness, Trust, Humble Yourself Humble Yourself Through Discipline During the Pandemic, I would drive by a house that had a yard announcing, “I Am A Health Care Hero.” What an odd thing to boast about. Real heroes don’t brag. Certainly, front-line health providers were heroes, especially in the earlier stages […]
Read MoreSix GROWTH practices: Go, Read, Obey, Witness, Trust, Humble Yourself Trust God in a New Venture Another phrase for Spiritual GROWTH is Spiritual Formation. My focus is on making the basics of such formation as practical as possible. One way is learning to trust God. Everyday life teaches lessons of trust for believers as they learn […]
Read MoreSix GROWTH practices: Go, Read, Obey, Witness, Trust, Humble Yourself Think of spiritual growth as going through stages of development. Martin Luther himself offered a three-stage scheme of faith development. First is learning the external rules of church life. The second is living faithfully but out of guilt with no joy. The third is living with […]
Read MoreAre you interested in growing spiritually? Most Christians are not. The usual category for this topic is discipleship. Believers should want to become more like Christ. However, in my experience, most don’t because they do not understand the benefits of such growth. This is because they do not understand the work of the Holy Spirit. […]
Read MoreI’ve reached 3 BIG milestones in 2021! Milestone #1: I hit 100 blogs! Over the span of two years, I have sent out over 100 weekly blogs. My open rates range from 25-50% each week! I have had over 1,200 comments on my website alone related to the blogs and well over a thousand on social media. My […]
Read MoreIt’s there tucked into the middle of John’s account of Jesus as the Good Shepherd, the analogy for Jesus beloved by all (John 10: 1-18). In verse 10 Jesus says, “I have come that they may have life and have it to the full” (John 10:10). A more accurate translation is “that they may have life overflowing.”
Who was Jesus talking about? The sheep, of course. Jesus invited us to see ourselves as the sheep he protects and lays down his life for. There was no suggestion he is talking about what will happen in a future life. He addressed our daily life in this world.
What will be overflowing in this abundant life here and now? I believe the Good Life now will be overflowing with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. I trust you recognize that this listing comes from Galatians 5:22, where Paul described the fruit of the Spirit. Understand that “fruit” means what we would call product, that which a business makes and sends out the door. The Spirit produces the inner qualities of love, joy, peace and the other fruit.
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