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 […]
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, […]