Glorifying God
Read: Revelation 4:1-11 Worthy are you, our Lord and God . . . (v. 11) We are now ready for the last phrase of our definition of Christian spiritual formation: “the process of being conformed into the image of Christ, through a relationship of intimacy with God, by the power of the Spirit, in order to live a good […]
May 2023 Prayer Guide
INDIA — Our producer in Jammu and Kashmir writes: “Praise God for the great results of our labor in the Lord. Many people have received healing, deliverance, and real joy in the Lord. We had a three-day seekers’ meeting in a village. More than 50 people participated in the meeting, and six new people attended […]
Growing in Love
Read: 2 Thessalonians 1:1-4 Your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. (v. 3) In Invitation to a Journey, M. Robert Mulholland Jr. points out the temptation to believe that our spiritual growth takes place merely in our personal relationship to God. Once it is sufficiently […]
Blessed to Be a Blessing
Read: Genesis 12:1-9 I will bless you . . . so that you will be a blessing. (v. 2) So far we have learned that Christian spiritual formation is “the process of being conformed into the image of Christ, through a relationship of intimacy with God, by the power of the Spirit, in order to live a good and […]
Spiritual Exercises
Read: Psalm 23 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (v. 6) A calendar above my writing table shows a mother duck venturing out from the weeds into a serene lake, followed by five fuzzy ducklings. The caption reads “Come, […]
Training for the Good and Beautiful Life
Read: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 No matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love. (v. 3 MSG) This beautifully written passage is revered by many Christians. However, it may be so familiar that we do not notice that Paul pulls no punches here. He says that it doesn’t matter how […]
Seeking God
Read: Psalm 46 Be still, and know that I am God. (v. 10) Here is a recap of our definition of spiritual formation so far: “Christian spiritual formation is the process of being conformed into the image of Christ, through an intimate relationship with God, by the power of the Holy Spirit, in order to live […]
A Good and Beautiful Life
Read: Colossians 3:1-17 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator. (vv. 9-10 NRSV) What is the key to living a good life? Marketers spend […]
Making All Things New
Read: John 16:5-16 A new spirit I will put within you. (Ezek. 36:26) If you were ever a candidate for cataract surgery, your doctor probably promised that your dull and drab world would be bright and colorful after your surgery. Of course, you couldn’t know that your world was dull and drab until you had […]