This whole section is based on the assumption of our having been “raised with Christ”. If we attempt to follow the teaching of the proceeding verses outside of the resurrection power, we will be doing so out of our own strength and it will all be in vain.

The Apostle Paul teaches in Romans 6:4-6 that…

4We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
5If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. 6For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with,[a] that we should no longer be slaves to sin—

Through the crucifixion of Christ, we are invited into a new life. And we are empowered through the resurrection of Jesus to live this new life that is described in this section. The resurrection is the foundation, the linchpin, the hinge. It is a common temptation to try and live the Christian life out of our own strength, but the Bible teaches us that we are only able to live the new life out of the power of the resurrection of Jesus.

As the Apostle Peter proclaims in 1 Peter 1:3

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead

So, we must ask our self, what is the foundation of our spiritual life? Is it our own effort? Or is it the power of the resurrection and the truth that we have been raised with Christ? And we can be confident in this because Paul writes “YOU HAVE been raised with Christ” – it is a statement of a fact for those who are in Christ. Now, we just learn to live in that truth.Similar Posts:

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“…our spiritual enemy is always enticing us to speed. This is the fatallest of fatal things.” Frederick Faber (1814-1863)

I’m personally discovering that there are some days in which there seems to be an extra amount of external pulls – do this, do that, quicker, faster, NOW! Of course, sometimes these are unavoidable and we simply have to do what needs to be done and do it quickly. However, I’m wondering if there are days and moments when these seemingly external influences (and the subsequent pressure we feel to hurry up) are actually pointing to an internal struggles against hurry and the enemy’s attempts to get us to speed up our life so that we ultimately live distracted and disjointed.

I like to think of these as “yellow light” moments.

When I’m driving and the approaching light turns yellow, I have to make the decision to either step on the gas and race against the red light or I can choose to slow down and wait for the next green light. There are times when the pressure of the clock tells me, “Step on it!”. Then there are times when I feel the freedom to slow down and wait.

I wonder if something similar happens in our daily life. Are there moments when we need to recognize that the “light is yellow” and we need to make a choice to either speed up and risk it or slow down and wait? I think so. I don’t think God desires for us to be lazy, but I do believe that God wants us to live a healthy and balanced and unhurried life. Sure, life gets busy sometimes, even Jesus had busy days. But, Jesus did not live a life that was constantly rushed and on the move. He made time to slow down, to pause, to wait. If we follow Jesus, we should learn to do the same.

When we feel the pressure of the “yellow light” – the pressure to hurry up – perhaps we can learn to take a deep breath and ask our self the tough questions such as:

• why do I feel the need to hurry – is it due to procrastination on my part or is it because I feel the need to please someone else?
• what would happen if I paused or slowed down?
• is God inviting me in this moment to pause and look to him?
• if Jesus where with me in this moment (which he is after all) what would he advise me to do?

So, do you ever have “yellow light moments”? How have you responded to them?

thanks to this post by Alan Fadling for inspiration: http://alanfadling.com/2010/05/24/spiritual-formation-health-and-wholeness/Similar Posts:

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Holy Spirit Coming by He Qi

This past Sunday was Pentecost Sunday. On this day, we remember the story told in Acts 2:1-21 which tells the story of the Holy Spirit coming upon the first Christians.

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

Jesus had promised that this was going to happen just a few days earlier when he said, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

But, Pentecost Sunday is not just about remembering something that happened a long time ago. It is about “re-living” the experience of Pentecost and “re-encountering” the power of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit was not just given to the first few Christians. The power is available to every person that follows Jesus today. In the Apostle Peter’s Pentecost sermon, he says, “The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

On Pentecost Sunday we are invited to experience life in the power of the Spirit. We are called to remember that the mission of growing the Kingdom is too big and too important for us to accomplish on our own power. The first Christians were told to wait for the empowerment of the Spirit before they began the work of being witnesses to the world. The work was that important – they needed POWER beyond their own strength. The mission continues and we need the power too!

So, how do you need to encounter the power of the Spirit? What are you giving your life to you desperately need a power beyond yourself?

A Prayer from the Revised Common Lectionary:

Living God,
you have created all that is.
Send forth your Spirit to renew and restore us,
that we may proclaim your good news
in ways and words
that all will understand and believe. Amen.

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/skip/111045024/

Today, in the Christian Year calendar, is Ascension Day. This is the day that we remember when Jesus, risen from the grave, is taken up to be seated at the right hand of God the Father.

Acts 1:9-11 1:9 “When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

Luke 24:49-53 “And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy; and they were continually in the temple blessing God.

After Jesus had been raised from the dead, he spent 40 days with his disciples, teaching them and preparing them for the mission that was to come. Jesus was not only training them about kingdom living, but he was preparing them for the Holy Spirit that was to come upon them and give them power for the work. Ascension Day marks the beginning of the waiting for the Holy Spirit. We are not meant to do the mission on our own strength, we need help!

Jesus has been given all authority and power (Matthew 28:18, Ephesians 1:21-23). And now, Jesus lives in us and we are “clothed with power from on high” for the purpose of continuing the work that Jesus started. Jesus may have physically left this earth, but we has not abandoned us. Ascension Day reminds us that we are here for a purpose and that Jesus has given us a mission.

I think the core messages of Ascension Day are that:

• we have not been left to ourselves – Jesus ascended into heaven, but he is there as our intercessor, constantly praying for us (Hebrews 7:23-25)
• we have not been left alone – Jesus ascended, but he now lives in us by his Spirit. Jesus did not abandon us, he is always with us (Matthew 28:20).
• we have not been left helpless and without direction – Jesus has given us a mission, and has given us his power and presence to accomplish that mission (Acts 1:8-9)

And I think the hope we find in Ascension Day is:

• Jesus is with us. Immanuel – God with us, is still with us. He lives in us as we find our life in him
• Jesus is praying for us. As he is at the right hand of God, he is continually praying for us
• Jesus has promised us power. Part of Ascension Day is preparing for the Holy Spirit to come upon us (The Day of Pentecost in 10 days).
• Jesus will come back.  “This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”
  

So, as we remember and reflect on this day, I also encourage you to begin the waiting and anticipation for Pentecost Sunday. Waiting teaches us that we desperately need God’s help to accomplish his work.Similar Posts:

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The Story of Mary and Martha gives us one look of a Christian moralist

notes of the lecture)

Listen here:
Download audio file (Resisting%20the%20Temptation%20of%20Moral%20Formation.mp3)

In this first lecture, John Coe makes the case that true Christian Spiritual Formation is not simply about becoming a “good boy or girl”. Despite this fact, Christian spirituality often becomes just that – moral formation. He calls this the Moral Temptation:

Moral Temptation: the attempt of the hidden heart (not conscious) to try to perfect oneself in the power of the self, the attempt to use formation, the spiritual disciplines, being good etc, to relieve the burden of spiritual failure, lack of love and the guilt and shame that results. To try to relieve that burden that Christ alone can relieve.

When we try to use spirituality or spiritual activities for the purpose of either making us good or making us feel better about our hidden heart of sin, we are returning to the “law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2) – or in today’s terms moralism. It is very easy to slip into this mode of being, mainly because it is part of our nature. But, this is what Christ has set us free from!

Dr. Coe looks at Galatians 3:1-3 in which the Apostle Paul addresses this very problem.

You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?

In this lecture, I think Dr. Coe touches on a foundational element of spiritual formation – the biblical balance (maybe balance isn’t the best word – interplay may be better) between our effort and God’s activity. We very often swing between two extremes of depending on our own effort or God’s when it comes to our formation. However, as Dallas Willard points out, the opposite of grace is not effort it is “works”. By “works” he means the human effort that is done in the mindset of “I can do this myself”.

Perhaps the most poignant thought is that when we become Christian Moralists, Christ becomes of no use to us.

Galatians 5:1-2 – It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.  Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all.

I would argue also that when we go the route of moral formation, the Holy Spirit also becomes of little benefit as well. Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 3:18 that our spiritual formation into Christ’s likeness is the work of the Spirit. When we try to do it on our own through moralism, we basically push the Holy Spirit aside saying “I’ve got this one”.

So what are your thoughts from the lecture? Do you agree or disagree? How have you seen the temptation to moralism creep up in your own life?Similar Posts:

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If you are interested, go here to download the whole series and stop back (or just subscribe to the site and get all our posts sent to your RSS reader or email) here starting next week.Similar Posts:

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Lent is not just about giving up something for the sake of giving up something. As with all fasting, we say “no” to habits or things in order to say “yes” more deeply to Christ.

One of today’s Scripture readings (Amos 5:6-15) tells us to “seek the Lord and live” to “seek good and not evil”. Now, the things that we choose to fast from may not be inherently “evil”, but if they are preventing us from living the full abudant life that Christ came to give us, then perhaps we should consider saying “no” so that we can say “yes”.

So, I encourage you to enter fully into this season of Lent (even if you never have), and prayerfully ask God to reveal what in your life you should abstain from so that you can more fully enter into the life he wants you to live.

Today’s Scripture readings from the Book of Common Prayer

LENT BONUS:

Lent: Inquiry and Instruction

By Robert E. Webber

Question: What is the meaning of the word Lent?

Answer: It has no religious meaning like Advent or Pentecost. It comes from an Anglo-Saxon word, Lencten, meaning “spring.”

Question: Why do we observe Lent?

Answer: The purpose of Lent is to provide a time for us to enter into the suffering of Jesus and to go with Him to the tomb.

Question: How can we do this?

Answer: The experience of the people of God who have gone before us is that we best identify with Jesus by adopting a discipline of prayer, fasting, almsgiving.

Question: How should we pray?

Answer: Our prayer may be a spiritual meditation on Jesus Christ–His teaching, His suffering, His death on our behalf.

Question: Why should we fast?

Answer: Fasting is an aid to prayer. Years ago Augustine wrote, “When a man imposes on himself the burden of fasting, he shows that he really wants what he is asking for.” Christians fast in order to pray more intently.

Question: What is the purpose of almsgiving?

Answer: We give alms to the poor and needy because it is a specific expression of the brotherly love produced by prayer. The closer we are to Jesus, the more we care for our neighbor.

Source: Robert Webber, The Family Book of Prayer (Hendrickson, 1996).Similar Posts:

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Photo by Jordan Hill

I am currently in a class titled “Christian Spirituality in Everyday Life” and we are currently discussing the topic of discovering the sacred in what may seem like the mundane – experiencing God’s presence in ordinary life. A basic foundation is the truth that God is “omni-present”, everywhere at all times. Consider Psalm 139:7-12. But, how do we learn to “practice the Presence” in ordinary times? It can be “easy” to experience God when we are at worship or participating in communion, but what about when we are at home doing chores or at the office keeping up with work?

I think the Message translation of Romans 12:1-2 offers us some guidance here.

So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

Perhaps one way we learn to be attentive to God’s presence in everything is to very practically take our normal activities and offer them to God. Sometimes, I know from experience, that we can feel overwhelmed at this proposal as we try to jump in feet first and attempt to transform the way we see everything all at once. While God can surely open our eyes in dramatic ways, most of the time this is probably akin to quickly taking off your sunglasses on a bright day. Our eyes take time to adjust.

Perhaps a more practical approach would be to look at our daily, ordinary life and prayerfully choose just one activity in which we will practice God’s presence on a daily basis – “fixing our attention on God”. What would it look like to begin to practice God’s presence on our daily commute? The daily task of cleaning dishes? The evening dog walk? The morning cup of coffee?

Can we take these “everyday, ordinary life” activities and begin to invite God into them (really he is already there) and “embrace what God is doing” in these simple times? I think it is this type of practical approach that will enable us to awaken to the presence of God and become sensitive to God’s activity in and around us.

What do you think? What is one daily activity that you could begin to see as sacred time? How might you go about experiencing God in it?Similar Posts:

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Emergent theology is a very controversial topic. Critics say that it is watering down and diluting the gospel, while its proponents say that it is making the gospel relevant to our contemporary world.

According to Stoner, many who believe in Emergent theology are trying to domestic God. While Christians believe that God is love (1 John 4:18), and know He gracious and compassionate (Psalm 145:8), it can often be difficult to reconcile these truths with the fact that terrible things happen, such as the recent earthquake in Haiti. Ironically one of the chapters in the book is called God Is An Earthquake. No doubt many would object to this, but Stoner makes the point that God is in control of the universe. To illustrate his point, Stoner points out two incidents in the life of King David: taking the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, and the counting of David’s army. In both of these incidents God seemed to act in ways we cannot fully understand. Stoner also points out in the book that God never explained to Job why he suffered the way he did. The Old Testament is full of accounts of God acting in ways that seem beyond our comprehension. We cannot domestic God and put Him in a neat little box. As difficult as it may be, we must admit that God is good and bad things happen, both through nature and the evil acts of men.

Stoner also points out in the book that many who profess Emergent theology put more emphasis on caring for the poor than preaching salvation. No doubt the church is called to help the poor, and both the Old and New Testaments are full of references urging believers to be generous to the poor. While there is merit in helping the poor, the church’s primary calling is to preach salvation through Jesus Christ. Stoner admits that at times the church has gotten judgmental and bigoted with this mandate. However, he still contends that the message of salvation still needs to be preached. Some in the Emergent movement have watered down this truth, and in an effort to be polite have ignored the consequences of rejecting Jesus.

Stoner’s book acknowledges that the Emergent movement has some important things to say to the church, mainly  be open in worship, don’t allow minor things to get in the unity, and listen to what unbelievers have to say. However these things should never be used as an excuse not to preach the gospel or exalt Christ.

The God Who Smokes is ultimately about God, the One who baffles, surprises us, love us beyond measure, and is worthy of all our worship and praise. This was a highly readable book and I would recommend it.

Book review submitted by Steve RyanSimilar Posts:

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What topics would like for us to discuss on this blog?

(Obviously they need to stick to the general realm of spiritual formation, but I’m open to ideas).

Also, I’d like to develop more of a sense of conversation and community on the blog. We have a lot of readers and visitors, but not too many commenters (you may notice that we have a new comment system that will allow you to link your comment to your Facebook or Twitter account too). It’s totally fine if you just want to read and reflect, but I also want to invite you to join in the conversations! Feel free to express your thoughts, questions, whatever (just stick to the general rule of being courteous and respectful).

So…if you have some ideas for topics, feel free to leave them in the comments section below.Similar Posts:

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