Dogri Christmas Tappa
One of the many forms of media outreach that the Words of Hope team in India employs is music. Setting lyrics to music can touch hearts in ways that words alone do not. And in the region of Jammu and Kashmir, people have been requesting that our team create gospel music in their language of […]
Hope in a Compost Bucket
Read: John 12:20-32 If it dies, it bears much fruit. (v. 24) I love my compost bucket. It’s provided by a local farm, and every month they cart away a full bucket of organic waste, from coffee grounds to dryer lint, and provide an empty bucket in exchange. As the month goes on, the materials break […]
More Than Wishful Thinking
Read: 1 Peter 1:1-16 Set all your hope on the grace that Jesus Christ will bring you. (v. 13 NRSV) I often use the word hope to express wishful thinking. “I hope the weather is nice.” “I hope the Detroit Lions win the Super Bowl.” “I hope there is a parking spot downtown.” In our previous reading, […]
Hopeful, not Optimistic
Read: Hebrews 6:10-20 We have this hope, a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul. (v. 19 NRSV) I am having a hard time feeling optimistic. Perhaps you are too? I was going to write a list of contemporary issues that trouble me, but then I stopped because I feared some readers might find my list […]
The With-God Life
Read: John 15:1-8 I am the vine; you are the branches. (v. 5) Spiritual formation has also been called the “with-God” life. The goal of our with-God life is personal transformation that leads to the transformation of the world around us. The notion of being spiritually formed seems radical to those who have seen the Christian […]
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 […]