• renewal
    Featured - Renewing the Mind

    Renewing the Mind: Three Questions to Ask the Holy Spirit

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    One of the most important tasks we are given as Christians is that of renewing the mind. Learning how to do this is crucial if we want to grow, both in love and power. Renewing the mind is the process of understanding what lies we believe and asking God to replace those lies or tear down those strongholds so He can replace them with His truth. But this means we must become good lie detectors. I find that, often, the filters of my past or even of my emotions can make finding those lies challenging! After all, they are my…

  • Damages picture of bench
    abuse - abuser - Featured - Trauma - True self

    How Abuse Damages Your Faith

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    The damages of abuse are well-documented and include PTSD, mood disorders, physical illnesses, and a host of relational difficulties. Less discussed are the damages an abusive relationship can inflict on a victim’s relationship with God. Often a good deal of spiritual abuse accompanies any other type of mistreatment and can really hamper a person’s belief in and relationship with God. Because our relationship with God serves as a basis for both deliverance from the abuser as well as healing from abuse, the enemy often targets a victim’s faith. For most of us, our experiential belief trumps the intellectual assent of…

  • ruler
    Redemptive Gifts

    The Unruly Ruler: The Challenges of Leadership

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    It took me a bit to decide how I wanted to write about the redemptive gift of ruler. While any unsanctified gift can lead to incredible harm, the ruler, if immature, leaves a lot of pain in his or her wake. Ask anyone if they have been injured by someone in authority and stories begin to pour forth. Don’t get me wrong. Rulers are no better or worse than anyone else. But by their very nature, they have a tendency to take charge. A ruler often influences more people than most of the other gifts. Because of this, the ruler…