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Six Signs You Experience an Abundant Life
I suppose each person has their own idea of what an abundant life looks like, but I am pretty sure people agree on what it feels like to lack one. The promise of an abundant life is perhaps one of the most abused promises precisely because of our individual interpretations. And when those interpretations are mostly external, expectations are likely to be disappointed. The one sure place to look for signs of an abundant life is the only one who really understood what one was. And I suppose even Jesus, like the rest of us, suffered interruptions of that life, particularly in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross.…
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How to Make All Things New
Every time I think of the scene in The Passion of the Christ where Jesus tells His mother, Mary, Behold, I am making all things new, I feel my heart lurch. This is the hope of the Christian, isn’t it? That the old life with its hurts, angers, and grief is now dead. Our new lives have begun in Christ. And yet, what a disappointment to wake up to find the old habits piled on oneself like a giant load of dirty laundry. I believe that many pastors mean well when they tell us that we are new creations in Christ without mentioning the hard part. Even now, when I…
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Spiritual Formation: The Eight Stages of Growth
Spiritual formation is rarely discussed in church. At least, I am sure I have taken in or endured as the case may be, thousands of sermons. The closest they seem to get is on the topic of discipleship, which is related, but not the same. We pore over books about the stages of child development or how a marriage grows, yet spiritual formation remains a bit of a mystery. Part of the reason for this is that, like most theories about spiritual or emotional growth, spiritual formation remains a bit of theory. Like the stages of grief, the actual living out of our spiritual lives is somewhat individualistic. Many hypothetical…
Healing Through Art & Words
