Category Archives: Spiritual Growth

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The Purpose Of Prayer (ESD)

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One of the most important aspects of the spiritual life is centered around the discipline of prayer.

Prayer is an essential part of the inner life because it is an integral part of communication, and communion, with the Father. We receive our communication from God through his Word and other means. But our communication back to God comes through the medium of prayer.

Prayer is more than just talking with God. All too often, we have a misconception that our prayers to God should be like a heavenly vending machine. We submit our requests and sit back and wait for the answers to pop out.

Man Praying

That’s not what prayer is about.

Prayer is much richer and deeper than we can possibly realize. In the next few paragraphs, I want to share something of the importance of prayer. This topic is so critical that books have been written about it, and there are many excellent ones to research. One of my favorite resources is The Complete Works Of E. M. Bounds On Prayer. Of all the works on prayer that I’ve read, this one impacted my life more than any other. If you want to read it, I highly recommend it.

There are scores of examples of prayer throughout the Bible, and dozens of passages that give us a glimpse of what prayer is. Prayer is powerful. Prayer is communication. Prayer is effective. Prayer is asking. Prayer is listening. Prayer changes God’s mind. Prayer is an essential part of the life of the believer.

But there are four main aspects that I think are helpful to remember about prayer. These describe prayer quite accurately, but not completely. Prayer is each of these four things. But prayer is also so much more than just these four things as well.

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Establishing The Discipline Of Bible Reading (ESD)

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The benefits of reading the Bible are almost too numerous to count. If we want to develop spiritual disciplines that help us to grow our faith, then this is a simple first step.

But how do we go about this? What are some ways that we can implement this into our lives? All too often, I hear people say that they’ve tried to read the Bible, but either get discouraged, or fail in their attempt to stick to it.

In the past, I’ve written several articles about how to go about creating an environment where Bible reading and study can flourish.

I’ve used several different styles of Bible reading over the years, and have found one that fits my life pretty well for the time being. I seem to gain a lot from what I read.

I use a system where I read ten different chapters a day. Using this system, the Bible is divided into ten different lists. The idea is to read one chapter from each list daily. When you reach the end of the list, you simply start it over. Some lists are longer, others are shorter, so each one will end at different times. This guarantees you will be reading different portions of the Bible together every day. Many times, you’ll see correlations you never knew were there, simply because you haven’t ever read those passages together before. It’s pretty incredible. You can read more details about this system here.

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The Importance Of Reading The Bible (ESD)

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If you take a look around our society today, you see a level of superficiality that is almost unbelievable. Somehow, over the last few generations, we have turned into a culture that is focused on instant gratification, looks only to ourselves, and refuses to nurture the inner life.

The curse of superficiality is at epidemic proportions in the twenty-first century. The problem lies in the fact that we have lost the ability to be deep people. We are smart. We are connected. We are talented. But we aren’t deep.

If we want to see some incredible change in our lives, we need to be able to look at the inner life and take it deeper than we ever have before. And one of the easiest ways to do this is to spend time in the Bible.

Bible Reading Plans

Tomorrow, we will look at several ways to start this discipline, or deepen in in our lives. But to day, I want to look at some reasons why this is so important.

Here are ten reasons to spend consistent, daily time in your Bible.

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One Word 365 – 2014 Edition

For the past few years, I’ve selected a single word to live by throughout the year. As I’ve described before, this is a word that defines my life for the year, and helps undergird everything I do for the next twelve months.

One Word 365

I’ve settled my focus on several different words over the last few years. For example, in 2011, I chose to focus on the word passion. This word underlined all I did throughout the year. It defined the year. Everything I did, I did with enthusiasm, and passion was pretty visible in most areas of my life.

In 2012, I chose the word commit. One of my biggest struggles in life has been to stick to many of the things I decide to do. Focusing on this word helped me to address that deficiency.

Last year, in 2013, I chose the word intentional. We have a large family, and as a result, we have a lot going on. I realized that I needed to be intentional, especially in my relationships with family and friends, and in my ministry.

Each year, I choose to identify and implement a single word as a part of my life plan. I add this word to the beginning of my plan, and try to use it as a piece of the foundation for every portion of my plan. Some areas are more successful than others.

The past half a year has been a pretty crazy year for my family, and for me, personally. We’ve seen several major changes in our lives, from the birth of our sixth child, to a move to the Midwest from Florida, to a change in ministry role, from youth minister to a lead minister role. I’ve also started a master’s degree program, which requires some time.

Add all of that to the higher priority things, such as family time, personal growth, fun and leisure, and it starts to get pretty hectic.

It’s been obvious to me that I need to slow down, take a deep breath, focus, and wait.

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2014 Bible Reading Plans

One of the most critical disciples we can develop in our lives is consistent, daily Bible reading. I believe strongly that we should take in something from God’s Word on a daily basis. And I believe that the benefits far outweigh the time investment. It’s completely worth it.

Bible Reading Plan Ebook

I’ve written several times in the past about this discipline:

I firmly believe that this is a critical element of our spiritual lives. And it seems to be lacking in a lot of people’s lives. I think, when you experience the many benefits of consistent, daily time spent in God’s Word, you’ll develop a craving for more.

God’s Word truly does change us.

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One Word 2013 In Review

For the past few years, I’ve selected a single word to live by throughout the year. This is a word that defines my life for the year, and helps undergird everything I do for the next twelve months.

One Word 365

The new year is quickly approaching, and a new word is on the horizon. I’m not going to reveal it now; that post will come closer to the end of the year.

I choose to identify and implement a word every year as a part of my life plan. I add this word to the beginning of my plan, and try to use it as a piece of the foundation for every portion of my plan. Some areas are more successful than others.

Right now, I’m examining the past year to see how I lived according to the word that I chose.

For 2013, I chose the word intentional.

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For Freedom…

One of the most personally inspiring passages in the New Testament for me is found in Galatians 5:1:

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.

Fireworks

Such a passage always comes to mind as we celebrate Independence Day in America.

Freedom and liberty have always been cherished concepts in the United States, from the first shots of the American Revolution, to the emancipation of American slaves, and more. Even today, freedom is a banner we can rally under as we protect those oppressed around the world, spreading the chance for liberty to peoples who have been burdened under the yoke of communism, socialism, terrorism and more.

Oppression doesn’t lurk only in such realms though. Our world still sees too much physical slavery, from child labor to child soldiers to the sex slave trade around the world. We kid ourselves to think this doesn’t happen at home as well. It does. I’m thankful for ministries such as Rapha House, who work to expose such slavery and free these people from slavery and fear.

But as Christians, there’s an even deeper layer of meaning than either of these. Paul explains that the worst slavery of all is the slavery of sin. Fortunately, there is a way out of this slavery. Through Christ, our sins are paid for and our bondage is broken. And only Christ can set the sinner free.