The Archives

08.14.08

How do you swim? Authenticity, Musings | (1)
I've got more Twitter conversation to bring you. I'm loving how my circle of tweets continues to be a group I interact with and share prayers, ideas, encouragement and questions. The feedback very often gives me exactly what I'm looking for, or spurs me to deeper creativity and/or thought. Here's one of the latest conversations. I just threw out a question—not knowing what the response might be, if any—and this is the result. A good little bit of banter between myself, Dean Lusk, and Russ Hutto. It got me thinking a little more. Unless you've been under a rock, I'm sure you've ...

Tagged: Authenticity, christ-follower, christian life, christianity, dean lusk, michael phelps, olympics, russ hutto, swimming
06.03.08

Blogger Small Group: Romans 1 Authenticity, Musings | (4)
This is a Blogger Small Group entry in partnership with Run'n Like a Vagabond. Let me start by saying that Romans may be my favorite book of Scripture. I've been known to say before that, in the event I was ever stranded on a desert island, and could have only one book of the Bible, it would be Romans. Romans might just be the most "complete" book of Scripture, covering not only the Gospel well, but also topics such as spiritual growth, morality, social justice, history, prophecy, and a myriad other Scriptural themes. Where most other books of the Bible cover a ...

Tagged: Authenticity, bible, blogger small group, christ-follower, christian life, scripture, small group
03.11.08

iLife: Study Musings, Worship | (0)
A spiritual discipline which is probably universally known within the church walls is that of Bible study. In fact, no other practice beside prayer and worship is probably talked about more in church life than Bible study. But, just because it's talked about, doesn't mean it's done. This may be, in part, a product of neglect, but it can also be a part of misunderstanding what study truly entails. For many years, my concept of Bible study was to do a 15 minute devotional once a day and call myself caught up. This is really nothing more than Bible reading. While ...

Tagged: bible study, christ-follower, christian life, ilife, spiritual disciplines
03.06.08

iLife: Fasting Authenticity, Musings | (3)
A spiritual discipline that often goes hand in hand with prayer is fasting. One thing you will not find in Scripture is a command to fast (previous error corrected here). However, what you will find are multiple examples of fasting, and also an expectation that we will indeed fast from time to time. There are more references in Scripture to fasting than to baptism. Admittedly, baptism is a command and fasting is not, but we should be aware of the weight given to fasting in Scripture. We find there are a variety of reasons why people in the Scripture fasted. First, we see ...

Tagged: christ-follower, christian, christian life, disciple, fasting, ilife, spiritual discipline, Worship
02.28.08

iLife: Prayer, part 3 Authenticity, Musings | (0)
Do you understand how to split the atom? Sure, you might have the school textbook knowledge, but could you do it yourself? Do you really know how it works? Do you understand all the ends and outs of electricity? How it's produced? How it's transferred to your house? How it makes your various electrically powered devices in your house operate? Sure, you might have a basic working knowledge, but do you really know how it works? Even if you're an electrician, do you really know the exact science behind all the disparate parts of electricity production? What about natural gas, or heating ...

Tagged: christ-follower, christian life, christian walk, ilife, prayer, spiritual disciplines
02.26.08

iLife: Prayer, part 2 Authenticity, Musings, Worship, Worship Theology | (0)
There's so much to say and study about prayer, and so we've spent two weeks on this discipline rather than one. I will also split up this week's study into two parts since there is so much to cover. Is there such a thing as "wasted prayer?" Meaning, are there prayers we pray which are useless and needless, not because of sin in our lives, but just because they are unnecessary? Does that sound radical to you? If so, take stock of this. Should I pray for cleansing? Consider 1 John 1:9 = "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous ...

Tagged: Authenticity, christ-follower, christian life, christian walk, holiness, ilife, obedience, prayer, righteousness
02.07.08

you’ve got it all Authenticity, Musings, Worship | (0)
Ever feel like you don't have what you need to get the job done the Lord has given to you? Do you feel inadequate or utterly unable to do what is necessary? Let me cut to the chase. If any Christ-followers feel this way, it is quite likely our own fault. How? Why? Ephesians 1 says, among other things, that we who have received Christ have been given "every spiritual blessing." 2 Peter 1 goes on to emphasize, that "His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness." Paul again points out in Colossians 2 that in Christ ...

Tagged: 2 peter, christ-follower, christian, christian life, colossians, confession, consecration, discipline, ephesians, fruit of the spirit, prayer, spiritual disciplines, spirtual blessing, Worship
02.05.08

iLife: There’s Got to Be More Authenticity, Musings | (0)
Throughout the remainder of the winter and into the spring, our church will be processing through a church-wide study of the Spiritual Disciplines. If you don't know what the Spiritual Disciplines are, I recommend you read Celebration of Discipline by Richard J. Foster. This book is a modern day classic of the Christian faith. Each week during our study, I plan to give some of the highlights of the last week, not only for the benefit of any New Hope members who might stop by, but also for those interested in seeing a glimpse of our journey through the disciplines. The last ...

Tagged: christ-follower, christian life, disciplines, ilife, spiritual disciplines