Spirituality

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I am reading really good books and trying to integrate your mind and heart to God. Many seminary students feel dry in their spiritual life because they view seminary from an academic/professional model rather than a transformational model. THIS IS SO TRUE. Evangelicals do have right orthodoxy in their beliefs, but somehow they have lost how to integrate the heart as well. This is especially true of me, I have all the right doctrines in my head, but my heart says a different thing. I know all the right things, but my heart feels very distant from God. Praise God for these books. I have been praying a little more, and praying for people. But even my prayers seem short and not genuine. The book also emphasize that different traditions, even within catholicism, has some good devotional practices that we should not quickly dismiss. Practices such as : meditation, solitude, fasting, serving, grace of church.


What practices make me feel uncomfortable?
1. The charismatic movement. Maybe I should be more open to it, and see that worship should be in Spirit and truth.
2. Fasting
3. I LOVE SOLITUDE
4. Prayer for long periods of time

I do long for a deeper walk with God. I want to know his presence in my life and walk in the power of the Spirit.

Reflections on Today

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Some Insights from godly people on how to love people:

1. Be vulnerable with church members, show them my faults and weaknesses
2. Ask for prayer
3. Text people, call people, email people during the week and ask how they are doing.
4. (For girls), bake cupcakes and hand them out to your community.
5. Have 7 minute conversations with fellow church people you do not normally get to talk too.
6. Pray for people, have a prayer list, and be committed to it.
7. Encourage people in their gifts, how you were blessed by them, share words of grace when you see evidence of it.

Some insights on preaching:
1. Recap what was learned last week, and asked how was it applied in their lives during the week.
2. Listen to the needs of the people.

Some insights on meeting unbelievers:
1. LISTEN, LISTEN, LISTEN!
2. Think of ways of how Christ can answer their problems, not in the sense that he is a cosmic genie, but in the way that He alone is to be worshipped and lifted high.
3. Love them by serving them and a willingness to meet any needs that come up. Befriend them.

Reflections on Spiritual Formation

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In Satisfy Your Soul, the author believes that evangelical Christianity has lost the practice of the sprititual disciplines as an overreaction againsts certain movements in church history. The average Protestant understanding of Christianity is: go to church, pray, read your bible. But the problem is that most Christians do not feel an awareness of the Spirit's leading, or growing awareness of God. The author asks the questions, where are you right now in your relationship with God?


I agree with Him, that sometimes prayers and Biblereading can be dead. I want to walk in the power of the Spirit and be strengthened in the inner man. The greatest times I had with God is when I worshipped Him for His marvelous grace and beauty to sinners. It was freeing. Somehow down the road, my service for God crowed my worship. As Paul calls the Galatians foolish by trying to justify themselves by their works, I too am a fool for thinking that justification depends on my works. It is an overwhelming responsibility, and I have been discouraged because of the lack of growth in my life and even in the church. I think these things have hindered me from seeing Jesus. Somehow ministry crowds out Jesus, and I think that it is very ironic. I hope and pray that God would do something different in me through these books I am reading.

The Dangers and Benefits of studying Philosophy

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  1. Intellectual Pride "This knowledge puffs up, but love builds up" 1 Cor. 8:1
  2. Doubt
  3. Spiritual Dryness

How do you fight these things?
1.Understand the primacy of love over knowledge
2.Realize the feebleness of your intellect "the beginning of study is humility
3. Use reason as ministerial, not magesterial over the gospel, "Faith Seeking understanding"
4. The direction of the Holy Spirit
5. Remember the fraility of your limitied intellect
6. Be Spirit Filled
7. Be involved in meaningful worship
8. Be involved in ministry.

Benefits of Studying Philosophy
1. Important aid to spiritual formation
2. Helps train for Christian ministry
3. Transforms the culture for Jesus Christ

The Goal of Preaching

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The goal of preaching is to present Christ in his glory and lift Him up. It is to adore, worship, and apply Christ. Address the idols of the heart and present Christ is his all sufficient saving work. It is to show Christ and worship him. Seeing Jesus and hearing of his greatness will produce sanctification.

The Beauty of the Cross

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Galatians 6:14 "But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world."


The cross should permeate and dominate all of my thinking. The cross shows me that I am a sinner and that I need a savior. The cross also shows me that I need to die to the old self, nail the deeds of the flesh to the cross, and life a new resurrected life through Christ. The cross shows me that I cannot boast in my human achievements. There is no room for pride or human merit at the Cross because Christ died for me. I can never boast about what I have accomplished for God, but only what Christ has accomplished through the Cross. Lastly, the cross displays the glory of God because of his excellent love, mercy, holiness was displayed there. "Open my eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of your law." May the cross be constantly be present and saturate my mind.

Campell Morgan says:

"It is the crucified man that can preach the cross....It is the man....who has died with Christ,...that can preach the cross of Christ"

Some thoughts on Preaching by Stott

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1. God is light, God has Acted, God has spoken

2. True Christian Preaching is Expository Preaching
3. Trust the power of the Word
4. Find the theme of the text or the burden of the text
5. Write down and pray over the message, possibly 30 mins before you preach
6. 10-12 hours should be text selection and sermon prep
7. 1 hour for every five minutes preach

Some ideas on living as a missional community

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  1. Do things with Gospel redemptive intention
  2. Find a core group of people who want to live on mission
  3. Go after the lost in the church
  4. Do not idolize extremes (a. mercenaries who do mission without community b. community who do not reach out and become cliques)
  5. Love the Lord my God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength.

Random thoughts:
God deserves the best of my mind, time, work because the days are short, and most importantly because Christ has redeemed me to live for His glory. God open my eyes to the greatness of your kingdom.