Get this one insight, and other things fall into place. Understand this one insight, and life becomes much more straightforward. I don’t mean it gets easier. There will always be struggle, difficulty and pain. Anyone who promises you freedom from struggle, difficulty, and pain is selling you something. But this one insight, if you are … Continue reading The Most Practical Insight Christianity Has To Offer (Meditation on Ephesians 1:3-10 part 1)
Author: Russell Smith
How To Think About Your Life Calling After Retirement (Or Any Major Transition).
You need to meet my friend Gary Sweeten. Gary is a counselor, leadership development expert, entrepreneur, and mental health guru. Every conversation with him turns into a cascade of big ideas and boisterous laughter. Gary is a Baby Boomer, and he’s counseled many of his peers through the adjustment to retirement. In one of our … Continue reading How To Think About Your Life Calling After Retirement (Or Any Major Transition).
What is the Holy Spirit Up To? Giving Varieties Spiritual Gifts (I Cor 12)
You have something particular to give, something that no one else can offer. Sure, others can approximate it, but only you can give of the distinctive spiritual gifts that the Holy Spirit has grown within you. Christians often look at I Corinthians 12 as a definitive “spiritual gifts list,” as though it were a diagnostic manual … Continue reading What is the Holy Spirit Up To? Giving Varieties Spiritual Gifts (I Cor 12)
What Is The Holy Spirit Up To? A Wealth Of Gifts For The Common Good
Ours is an era of suspicion. Don’t take my word for it; read this Nov 30, 2013 article from the Associated Press about their poll of Americans, asking how much they trust their fellow citizens. The results tempt me to fear for the Republic. Now, nearly 2/3 of the American public says they really can’t … Continue reading What Is The Holy Spirit Up To? A Wealth Of Gifts For The Common Good
Sanctified Intuition – the Holy Spirit At Work
The Holy Spirit will guide you in all truth (John 16:13)How does that work?Subtly, I think. I’ve listened to friends tell stories about powerful visitations of the Holy Spirit. Inevitably the tale begins with, “Now, promise me you won’t think I’m crazy.” Then comes the account: an angelic visitation at a young man’s bedside, a … Continue reading Sanctified Intuition – the Holy Spirit At Work
How Many Christians Are Functional Unitarians?
My friend Tim Fary told me once, “We Calvinists really love God the Father a lot; we like Jesus the Son; but the Holy Spirit is a total stranger.”It’s only funny because it rings so true.Fix your attention on some other group of American Christianity, and I’ll wager you’ll find a similar engrossment with one … Continue reading How Many Christians Are Functional Unitarians?
The Holy Spirit: The Introvert of the Trinity
One of my congregation members told me that he doesn’t have a clear mental picture of the Holy Spirit. He has no problem envisioning Jesus. He thinks of all the stories of Jesus laughing, Jesus eating and drinking, Jesus doing miracles, and Jesus spending time with people. But he doesn’t have much to go on … Continue reading The Holy Spirit: The Introvert of the Trinity
Who have you asked into your heart?
“Have you asked Jesus into your heart as your personal savior?” Growing up in the Bible Belt, I often heard the question. A question asked by well-meaning people, earnest people. For certain, that question played its part in many a spiritual wakening.But is it the right question? Are we even offered a question? Are not … Continue reading Who have you asked into your heart?
Explore the Spiritual Classics: Life of the Beloved (part 4)
And now we come to brokenness. Perhaps it is audacious for Nouwen to assert that brokenness is a part of being beloved, but it is so. Why this is the case, I don’t know. Yet it is true. Innocence is shattered by experience. At some point, we discover the darkness within us for what it is, and we … Continue reading Explore the Spiritual Classics: Life of the Beloved (part 4)
Explore the Spiritual Classics: Life of the Beloved (part 3)
What is it to be blessed?Henri Nouwen talks about it as being more than praise or appreciation. He describes blessing as saying “yes” to the Belovedness in the other.“…to give a blessing creates the reality of which it speaks…. A blessing touches the original goodness of the other and calls forth his or her Belovedness.”Now … Continue reading Explore the Spiritual Classics: Life of the Beloved (part 3)
Horizons of the Possible 