Spiritual Growth – Page 6

Seasons of Life

Life is full of seasons. Seasons of health. Seasons of sickness. Seasons of pressure. Seasons of ease. Seasons of excitement. Seasons of disappointment. Seasons of joy. Seasons of despair. Seasons of contentment. Seasons of frustration. These seasons, or cycles, of good and bad perpetuate in my life. And I’m starting to see that it’s the…
Read more: Seasons of Life
Getting to Know Jesus: Matthew 11

Continuing in our study of Matthew, we see this week in chapter 11 how Jesus handles confusion from John the Baptist, how He handles unrepentance in this 1st century generation, and how He cares for the broken. Last chapter, Jesus began equipping the disciples with all they needed to begin ministry teaching, preaching, healing and…
Read more: Getting to Know Jesus: Matthew 11
Running Out of Numbing Solution: When Nothing in Life is Enough

This has really been a tough season for me in so many different ways. I’ve never felt as low as I do right now, but I’ve never reached a greater epiphany than I have the past several days. For the first time in my life, I’m experiencing what this whole theology of God being enough…
Read more: Running Out of Numbing Solution: When Nothing in Life is Enough
Pain’s Family Reunion

There’s a party at the Pain house tonight. It’s a reunion, really. A Pain family reunion. It’s evening now and music is getting louder and louder, sounding into the streets as the pavement echoes the beat of the music. Thump thump sounds the bass coming from the house as the family members arrive all ready…
Read more: Pain’s Family Reunion
Getting to Know Jesus: Matthew 10

Continuing on in our study of Matthew’s gospel, we reach chapter 10 in which Jesus begins equipping His newly found disciples with instructions, warnings and encouragements concerning their ministry from here on out. In chapter 9 we left off with Jesus talking to His disciples about the importance of reaching people with His message who…
Read more: Getting to Know Jesus: Matthew 10
God Knows Exactly What to Do

I thought I was making good progress when it came to trusting in God’s ways. I wrote about the topic several months ago. I’ve been striving to let the Lord lead me to the places He wants to take me, even if that means traversing a very different road than I would have thought. And…
Read more: God Knows Exactly What to Do
Sweet Emotions

For the past year, I’ve found myself more aware of my emotions than I ever been. I used to not be very open when it came to expressing exactly how I felt. I used to be an emotion-stuffer. I stuffed my emotions. I bottled them up. I never let anybody see how I was feeling.…
Read more: Sweet Emotions
The Self-Checkout Line and 50 Shades of Grey

So I have a confession. I encountered the 50 Shades of Grey DVD stand at Kroger last night. And I was tempted for a good while about whether or not I should get it. Especially since it was so appropriately situated next to the self-checkout line. How clever. As I walked around the store the…
Read more: The Self-Checkout Line and 50 Shades of Grey
When I Can’t Find A Reason for God to Love Me

God’s love has never seemed fully unconditional to me. Before, I used to try to find reasons for God loving me. Before, there would always be something that I had done that I thought was good, simmering in the back of my mind to validate God’s reason to want to love me. And in the…
Read more: When I Can’t Find A Reason for God to Love Me
Grace Motivates Purity

I used to assume that the idea of purity in itself motivated purity. Anytime that I glimpsed purity… purity in others, purity of the Lord, purity in the Word or purity manifested in the world I would be very drawn to it. Purity was, and still is, very appealing to me, beautiful to me, desirable…
Read more: Grace Motivates Purity

Tag: Spiritual Growth