8.7.23 Body, Mind, Heart, and Soul In the American culture, we are mostly defined by our minds, how we should think, what goals we want to set, how we are going to accomplish those goals, and more from our minds without even acknowledging the other parts of our being—our body, heart and soul. […]
7.31.23 Patience, Goodness, Kindness, Faithfulness, Gentleness This week I want to focus on these five fruit of the Spirit which are all part of the totality of love when we live in love, peace, joy, and humility, the other fruit of the Spirit described by Paul in Galatians 5:22-23. These five qualities that the […]
7.24.23 All people on this earth are made in the image of God. That means several things. First, all men and women and children are created by God, loved by God, and potentially forgiven for all their sins. Secondly, every single person has the potential to turn back to God, to repent and change […]
Too often we need to protect ourselves from what happened to us in the past and prevent it from happening again in the future. We cannot be present to anything, much less to ourselves in the present moment. Last month I was writing about the presence of God. If we are able to be […]
In Psalm 46:10 the Lord says, “Be still and know that I am God.” In the early days of the church, men and women moved out to the desert to live in this stillness. And later in church history this led to the development of monasteries and convents for those called to live in the […]
7.17.23 Love, that is, love in a spiritual context, is not just a feeling. It is love in action, in support, in forgiveness, in walking alongside someone, and in so much more. When we decide to follow Jesus, human love needs to grow out of its being about ourselves and who we love or […]
7.10.23 Symptoms of Inner Peace One of the great gifts of the journey of following Jesus is the emergence in us of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) as step by step we give up one issue after another that stands between us and God. The qualities that we most long for, I […]
7.3.23 The Purpose of Our Lives God participated in our creation, creating each one of us, and marking us for a purpose in His kingdom which would fulfill us in all that we do. Of course, as we grow up in childhood several other things are implanted in us. First, our self-image is crafted […]
6.26.23 In Galatians 5:19-23, Paul contrasts the “acts of the flesh” with the ‘fruit of the Spirit.’ The flesh deals in all that we feel free to do in the world, regardless of the objections of our conscience or the laws of God(v. 19-21). “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, […]
5.19.23 Presence In Psalm 46:10 the Lord says, “Be still and know that I am God.” In the early days of the church, men and women moved out to the desert to live in this stillness. And later in church history this led to the development of monasteries and convents for those called to […]