Category Archives: TOPICAL POSTS by SERIES

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Spiritual Weakness, continued (Going Deeper with God, Part 2)

Going Deeper with God, Lesson 2

THE “SPIRITUAL” AREAS OF WEAKNESS:

Be honest with yourself, does God make a difference in how you (not others) live your life? Notice, I didn’t say belief about God. Is our love for God so strong that it transcends our own wants and ambitions? True love must have an object. Is God the object of yours and my love? Is our love pure, or does it have elements of manipulation present?

Set aside a moment and take your own spiritual inventory. Let’s ask ourselves, in what way does my love for God outwork in my life? Notice the actions and good works that we articulate as proof of our love for God, which is true of us if our love is duty-joined as part of a spiritual prototype for successful Christian living.

On the other hand, notice if the actions we articulate to prove our fidelity in our love for God, notice whether they are genuine and life-giving in their internal essence (not as proof of our love but, rather, because of our love) in which our love is love-joined to the Godhead.

Question 2: Name biblical characters who displayed this type of love through a passion for God?

Question 3: What characteristics in their lives demonstrate to us that their love was real?

*Answer the questions before continuing on.

Here is a thought to ponder. Do we try to grow our spiritual life (and our church) to become what we want it to be? —or do we grow our spiritual life (and our church) to become what GOD wants it to be? As Christian individuals, we must look closely at our own motives, why we do what we do, and at our own “inner keep” to see what we’re housing deep inside its protective walls and within the spiritual chambers of our heart.

This takes some sorting out, especially for those of us who were raised in the church and never ventured far from the faith of our childhoods. We tend to see through a narrow glass, convinced that what we believe is right and biblical and that everyone else should agree with us and our interpretations.

This form of constricted, truncated, belief system can actually hinder, harbor and hold hostage the freedom of the Holy Spirit to move inside God’s church, to change, transform, and renew its people. We don’t realize that we, in fact, have become in-grown rather than Christ-led.

Question 4: What limits us? What limits the church?

*Answer the question before going to the next post.

Next post: What’s Wrong with Our Faith? (Going Deeper with God, Part 3)

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Weakness in the Christian (Going Deeper with God, Part 1)

Intentional God-Focused Living

BACKSTORY: I wrote these lessons and then taught them to an adult class in my church. The material was burning in me. I wanted to share these concepts with my church family as a way to help recharge their spiritual engines with a secondary motive to blaze a new trail, to help them take a look at the bigger picture of what it means to live “in Christ.”  Today I share with you, Lesson 1.

GOING DEEPER WITH GOD, LESSON 1

PREMISE: God has made us for relationship.

There is a need for us to go deeper with God, a need that is met through a process of active seeking. The need stems from a realization of a God-placed inner desire resident within us, a desire which creates a longing in our lives for something more fulfilling.

This “more” is found in the context of relationship, within the framework of close fellowship with God, the triune God Who genuinely and constantly cares for us, His people, created in His image and redeemed through His Son. Where and why have we missed this relationship piece, this integral element of Christian living?

Spiritual growth is indicative of a person’s closeness to God. Much of what may seem spiritual because of its theology and study, may be an academic exercise and in response to the need to know what we believe, which is important and essential, but will remain neutral to some degree if it fails to change the heart and the life. It is not enough to fill a mind with concepts about God, and it is not enough when Christians become routine in their faith-based living.

One must also let the truths of God penetrate below the surface of the mind to funnel down to the heart and then absorb into its very tissues. This will have everything to do with the functions of a healthy heart, mind, and soul, one that loves well and loves without expectation, self- promotion or self-protection.

To begin this process of growing closer to God, it works best to take a look inside our interior self. We must be honest with ourselves, completely and truly open with ourselves. This is a good time to ask God for some wisdom as we peer into His looking glass to look at our souls whereby He will reveal to us what is living, halting, or shaping us inside our hearts.

Question 1: Does love for God make a difference in your life?

Answer the question before going to the next post.

Next post: Spiritual Weakness continued: (Going Deeper with God Part 2)

A weakness found in our Christian Life.
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