Spiritual Growth (Page 3)

When we think of spiritual disciplines, we usually think of work, boring, drudgery. But, when done correctly, spiritual disciplines can bring us great joy and be a great reason for celebration.  In the Old Testament book of Nehemiah, the people had rebuilt the wall and began a time of spiritual renewal. It was during this time that Nehemiah and Ezra called the people to celebrate. “Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were interpreting…

Many times, we talk about advancements, improvements, enhancements as if everything from “the old days” has no value in todays society.  We even use the phrase, “Out with the old and in with the new.” Sometimes this is because we feel we are beyond it. We are too sophisticated now.  We are so much smarter now. But all too often we throw the baby out with the bath water. I believe this to be especially true in the area of…

Most of us who have attended church for awhile have heard the story of Adam and Eve being tempted by the serpent and eating the apple, thus committing the first sin of humanity (Genesis 3).  It’s an important story to know and most of us like to imagine that story in our minds.  But rarely do we take the time to really think about what it teaches us about sin. Sin is Sneaky The serpent told Eve that if she…

Photo copyright 2004 Elaine Baird This past week, we began a new worship series at Ashworth Road entitled “The Lost Art: Recapturing spiritual disciplines that strengthen faith.” We started this with a message about Sabbath, the importance of finding times of rest. In our society, it is not uncommon for us to run ourselves ragged, way past the point of exhaustion, to show our value to an organization, to keep others from showing us up, to provide stuff we think…

Over and over in the New Testament we find Jesus moved with compassion, reaching out, healing, and loving those who were hurting, neglected, or in pain. As followers of Christ, compassion is one trait that should not be lacking in our lives. In 1 John 3:17, we read, “If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person?” (NLT) Recently, I saw a video…

On Wednesday evenings in our adult prayer and Bible study time,  we have been studying the topic of prayer and what happen when God’s people pray. We are now half way through the study, and each week we are challenged to pray more and believe God for more when we pray.  I recently ran across this video that speaks to the real power of prayer in our lives. God desires for his people to pray and delights in answering the…

The word friend has become so complex.  What does it actually mean?  In today’s culture we have work friends we only want to see at work, school friends we only see at school functions, facebook friends we only want to spy on online, and frenemies, those we socially have to pretend to like.  Some people have hundreds of “friends” while others struggle to find a single person they call “friend.”  Essentially, the word has lost all meaning by meaning so…

As we consider religion, Christianity, the Bible, church, it is very easy for us to compartmentalize and reduce all these down to the least common denominator. We never verbalize it, but we sometimes think “What is the least I can do to still be considered a Christian?” For some it boils down even further, “What is the least I have to do to avoid hell when I die?” So we tell ourselves if I read a few Bible verses every…

Growing up as a middle child, I suffered from a severe case of Middle Child Syndrome. What you read about Middle Child Syndrome is very true. We ARE the mistreated, abused, neglected children in every family. And no, you may not contact my mother to confirm what I just said! Every time I felt that I was being treated unfairly as a kid, my parents would respond with the same answer…Well, life’s not fair!  All of us at one time…

Years ago, a friend of mine introduced me to an author by the name of Richard Foster. Foster has written several books and founded a ministry around the belief that spiritual renewal and spiritual formation and development can help Christ followers enjoy a closer walk with Jesus, leading to a more vibrant and fulfilling Christlike life. I recently read a quote by Foster, “The essential thing is this: Are people really growing into the life of Jesus? If they’re not, we better take a…

Have you ever felt like you were in a pit? The pit. A deep, dark place of isolation, helplessness, and hopelessness. A place where even God seems a million miles away. Inaccessible.  Most of our lives are like roller coasters with peaks and valleys. Times on the mountaintops and times in the pits. If you are in the pit, you are not alone. We’ve all been there. David wrote Psalm 40 following a time he spent in the pit. Even…