Lent 2022 | Day 2: Prayer

God is not merely interested in hearing what we have to ask of him. God is interested in speaking to us.

1. The purpose of prayer is to position our minds and hearts according to God’s purposes

There are many misconceptions about what the purpose of prayer is. Enacted because we have not fully appreciated the lesson that Jesus gave to his own disciples when they asked about the subject. Often times when we think about prayer we see it as one-way communication. That means that we are the ones speaking and God is the one listening. But this misses an important aspect of the relationship we have a God.

The reality is that God is not merely interested in hearing what we have to ask of him. Even though he invites us to do it. We have to recognize that God is interested in speaking to us. That doesn’t mean we will always find it easy to hear what he has to say. But God has spoken. And God will continue to speak. The question is will we recognize his voice when he does?

This is what prayer seeks to find an answer for. Not only can we communicate with God and to God what is on our hearts and in our minds, but God can speak to us and share with us what he feels we must know.

2. The reality of prayer can be difficult when we merely desire for God to satisfy our whims

Related to the purpose of prayer is understanding that prayer can at times be difficult. God is not some divine Santa Claus who is sitting in heaven waiting for his children to offer him all the reasons he should fulfill their requests. That is not what prayer should be. And yet many of us have made it that or something similar.

There is a deeper reality that God is seeking to create within us. And that is to make us and conform us into the image of his son Jesus Christ. That we might live in accordance with his purposes and fulfill his will. So how has God determined to provide us this information? Through a listening for the prompting of his Spirit as our ears have been trained through the reading of his word.

The Bible serves us as teacher to train our ears to recognize the voice of God. When we merely read the Scripture to increase our knowledge we silence what God is trying to say through his revealed word. Yes, we can learn from the Scripture, but I think it is more important that we learn to listen by the Scriptures.

3. The power of prayer is found when we surrender our will to that of God’s.

There is a power to prayer that is oftentimes left unused and unseen. The power of prayer will be experienced when we are no longer trying to cajole God into doing what we want. When we stop and listen and learn what it is God desires we become more able to do what God has revealed to us.

Of the many challenges associated with praying, one of the greatest is understanding that when we surrender our limited understanding to God’s infinite wisdom we will come out better in the end. And so prayer functions in our lives to reveal those areas of our lives where we are not truly surrendered to God’s will.

Series Page

Calm Down and Shut Up, Listen and Live.

Stressed, depressed, busy, angry, anxious, tired.

I bet you identify with one or all of those, or have gone in and out of them for the last 6 months. I have.

And in the last month God has clearly spoken similar words to my soul as the brother of Jesus wrote in James 1:19-27…except this is how I heard it: Calm Down and Shut Up, Listen and Live.

This is how James says it:

19-21 Post this at all the intersections, dear friends: Lead with your ears, follow up with your tongue, and let anger straggle along in the rear. God’s righteousness doesn’t grow from human anger. So throw all spoiled virtue and cancerous evil in the garbage. In simple humility, let our gardener, God, landscape you with the Word, making a salvation-garden of your life.
22-24 Don’t fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear! Those who hear and don’t act are like those who glance in the mirror, walk away, and two minutes later have no idea who they are, what they look like.
25 But whoever catches a glimpse of the revealed counsel of God—the free life!—even out of the corner of his eye, and sticks with it, is no distracted scatterbrain but a man or woman of action. That person will find delight and affirmation in the action.
26-27 Anyone who sets himself up as “religious” by talking a good game is self-deceived. This kind of religion is hot air and only hot air. Real religion, the kind that passes muster before God the Father, is this: Reach out to the homeless and loveless in their plight, and guard against corruption from the godless world.
[The Message Paraphrase]

I’m not sure what you gather from those passages, but for me it boils down to 2 essential rhythms: Listen & Live it out.

Seems simple enough, right? Except it obviously isn’t as evidenced by the roller coaster of our spiritual lives that COVID has revealed.

Our Lives Need To Be Broken

One thing I have realized during this time is that the gardening and farming analogies used by Scripture are very intentional. In order to have the “good soil” of healthy rhythms in your life, the “hard soil” you’ve likely created (or at least allowed to form) needs to be broken up…

And that starts with the first 2 things I heard: Calm Down (both your emotions and your schedule) and Shut Up (both your mouth and your mind).

Many Christians simply go throughout our weeks trading the busyness of one thing (maybe work) for the busyness of another (likely kids activities), the distraction of one thing (likely social media) for the distraction of another (maybe sports), and the consumerism of one thing (usually materialism for most Americans) for the consumerism of another (usually a religiosity that touts itself as Christianity but really looks only partially like Christ).

What COVID has revealed is a disturbingly ugly truth about many Christians in America: we actually live very little like Jesus did.

Jesus was calm and never hurried. Jesus listened and had compassion.

We are anxious & stressed and always in a hurry for one reason or another. We can’t stop long enough to actually listen, let alone have compassion.

Many in the American Church seem to be worried about many things today, mostly concerning COVID: masks, whether the numbers are accurate, gathering in person, government overreach, and so on.

And while those are not unimportant things, they are certainly not the better portion. The better portion is what Jesus said Mary chose – sitting at Jesus’ feet as a disciple – when Martha was worried about so much (Luke 10:42).

Rebuilding Our Lives To Look Like Jesus

If COVID was a test, I’d say the American Church has widely failed it if I had to be honest. I’d say most have still missed what Jesus has been trying to say, because we haven’t really sat at His feet. We’ve been afraid (of the disease or of the economy) and we’ve been rushing to get back to some semblance normal (which clearly wasn’t working anyways).

What if Jesus wanted to use COVID to get us to Calm Down and Shut Up, Listen and Live like He lived? To change the rhythms of our lives and our churches which continue to produce rampant spiritual and relational immaturity? To make us more compassionate, more connected, more Christlike?

There’s a line in one of my recent favorite songs: “So don’t tell me God is silent when your Bible is closed.” [“Enough” by Social Club Misfits]

Have you been listening to God? Are you even stopping long enough to?

Or are your thoughts and your actions keeping you so busy you can’t hear Him? Are social media and the voices of others creating so much noise that you can’t even hear His voice?

Maybe we’ve missed the opportunity to hear from God. Or maybe the opportunity is still here.

For us to learn to listen.

Listen to Jesus.

Not to ourselves.

Not to others.

Just to Jesus.

Will you Calm Down and Shut Up, Listen and Live like Jesus?

Listening Is An Intentional Act

So go ahead and make plans to do it. Not a “one off” period of listening. But a consistent, daily (throughout the day) & weekly rhythm of stopping your busyness, resting in His presence, calming your mind, and slowing down long enough to actually hear His voice.

Make these rhythms a priority in your life, but especially in this season more than they’ve ever been.

Listen in the morning, in the middle of your day, and in the evening.

Once a week, set aside a half day (or even better a whole day – a Sabbath), to listen more closely and with others.

Figure out simple ways you can hear from Him and live like Him: reading Scripture (alone and with others), spending time in prayer (alone and with others), recreating & eating (definitely with others), showing compassion toward those who are hurting by listening to them (definitely with others), and engaging in meeting the physical needs of those around you (also definitely with others).

It’s these rhythms of life that like a plow running through the ground will actually break up the hard soil that has been there. Plowing is intentional, it takes action, and its hard work. So will living in healthy ways during a season that could only harden you more, make you more busy, and make you less likely to listen (to anyone, let alone Jesus).

Calm down.

Shut up.

Listen.

Live.

It’s not just good advice. It’s how you will tend for your stressed, depressed, busy, angry, anxious, and/or tired soul.

Just Pray: There is too much at stake not to!

I believe every person living will say a prayer to something or somebody at some point in time in their lives. When we pray we give our submission to something that is bigger than ourselves.

For myself, I can’t always say that I have had the best prayer life. I know that when things get hard I find it easier to pray but when times are easy I rarely will speak to God. I can catch myself at times living life as if I control what goes on in it. And when I do find myself praying I even catch myself doubting God in the midst of my prayers. I think a lot of times we pray and God may very well answer our prayers, but in our own doubts, we miss the answers given to us. Continue reading “Just Pray: There is too much at stake not to!”

Self, Schedule, and Stress

I would like to welcome Drew Anderson to the site. He will be contributing to Jeremiah’s Vow as time allows and when inspiration hits (which I hope is often). He is the Discipleship Pastor at Cordele First UMC in Cordele, GA. I hope you enjoy his thoughts and insights as I have. I am glad he will be expressing his writing talents here with you.

I’ve been reflecting a lot recently on the reasons why I don’t grow closer to God.

Mostly I’ve noticed that there are a few basic barriers in my life that keep me from looking and acting more like Christ. All of them are related to priorities. And they all stem from issues of brokenness deep inside my soul. They are self, schedule, and stress.

I divide my struggle into these three categories for a couple reasons. One is that I think many people will be able to relate to these three areas of the Christian life. Another is because I do believe that, while technically all of my struggles are related to sin, some of it is not blatant and intentional sin. In describing the everyday struggles of life, some would simply find sin in every action or a demon under every rock. I instead see much of my struggle as not related to direct disobedience to God, but indirect influence of the world around me. And I actually think that distinction helps attack the problem at its roots.

Self

Most of my life is about me. There, I said it. And don’t pretend as if yours is not the same.

I find myself constantly thinking about what I have to do. What I need. What’s important for me. What people think about the things I do. And while that is certainly a natural and sometimes necessary way of thinking, it should not consume my thoughts like it many times does.

I’ve found that the main reason I cannot break this habit of thinking about “me” is directly related to the influence of the world around me. And that influence is most evident within the use of social media. Social media by its very nature draws attention to me. Even in my best attempts to utilize it to draw attention to important things (God, problems in our world, my child, etc.), inevitably the desire that drives my social media use is directly related to….me. Not altruism. Not others. But me. My curiosity. My need for information. It ends up being about self…

And the only thing I’ve found to counteract this influence on my life is…worship. Focusing all of my attention on someone far more valuable than me—God. It sounds simple. But it’s extremely profound. That God designed us to worship, and that only my worship of Him will correct the tendency in my life to worship myself, is not simply a Biblical principle—but a practical reality.

Schedule

Is your calendar your task-master too? Because it is for me. There is nothing I can do nowadays, it seems, that cannot be done without first consulting my calendar.

Maybe this is a “necessary evil” of life. Or maybe its a result of our culture’s influence that simply goes unaddressed.

The real struggle is not whether or not to keep a calendar. I actually think a calendar is important to control the craziness…but just like thinking about self at times is a necessity. But, just because a calendar might be a necessity for certain reasons it should still not run our lives.

My schedule is constantly packed, and I am sure yours is too. I am constantly adding things that seem important at the time but that soon run me ragged and start to feel less important over time. My schedule has become a huge barrier in my life to growing in Christ. The world around me is constantly moving and is pulling me in tons of different directions. People need me over here, someone else needs me over there, and I need to be back there…my schedule quickly begins to drive my life.

The Bible prescribes one thing to fight against the tyranny of our schedules: Sabbath rest. Intentionally not “doing” work in order so I can acknowledge who actually accomplishes things in my life: God. The only thing that can truly free me from being controlled (and constantly stressed out) by my schedule is Sabbath rest. Not just a nap. Not simply a “day off.” Not an American vacation. But Sabbath rest. Resting, recreating, and relating with others and God in such a way that it reminds me of what’s truly important and who’s truly in control of my days.

Stress

If you are like me, then you have a love/hate relationship with stress. Some times stress causes me to “do my best work.” Many of us perform best under pressure…especially those of us who grew up playing sports…

However, while stress in and of itself is not particularly sinful, it typically causes me to react in such a way that creates distance from God. Stress overwhelms me, destroys my trust, makes me irritable, distracts me from the real purposes of life, and even at times can make me want to be lazy instead of doing my best.

When my life becomes stressful in a way that is hindering my relationship with God I know that I have forgotten a basic aspect of that relationship: prayer. Just like the issue of self actually has to do with worship and the issue of schedule actually has to do with rest, the issue of stress actually has to do with prayer.

I stress because God’s desires are no longer mine. I stress because my plans don’t line up with God’s plan. I stress because my relationship with God becomes based upon my performance for God and not upon my intimacy with God. I stress because in practice I am no longer trusting in God, but am rather trusting in myself.

As I spend time in prayer—listening to him, aware of his presence, talking to him—the less the stress of this world influences me. In prayer, I lay my concerns at his feet and know that he will do what’s best for me. In prayer, my desires become like his desires because I am reminded what his desires are and can trust him to conform mine to his. In prayer, I become once again a child trusting a Father and not a teenager trying to prove my independence.

So what now?

None of this is news to a Christian at the end of the day. These aren’t profound truths that no one has ever taught before. In fact, it’s actually just a basic version of a “rule of life”—something that has been around for centuries. However, it is the real truth of where we all typically struggle each and every day.

Do you find yourself in the same place? Do you find yourself making excuses for your own lack of spiritual growth because of these things too? Do you find yourself, like most of us do today, in the midst of the swirling influences of the culture around you without a sense of what to do to fight against them?

Then join me, as I am joining all of those who have gone before me and all of those who walk beside me, in re-instituting the basics of a relationship with God: worship, rest, and prayer. And as we commit ourselves to meet with God, with our families, and with other believers, on a consistent and daily basis in the practice of these things, God will transform us in the midst of our struggles of self, schedule, and stress to look more like Christ thru the power of his Spirit.

Lent Day #11 | Study

Studying is not supposed to be a chore. As a matter of fact, I think study should be a blessing and an opportunity to grow wider and deeper.

I hope the word “study” did not conjure up terrible childhood memories. If I am honest, there are memories I cherish and then there are memories I would rather never bring back to mind. However, studying is not supposed to be a chore. As a matter of fact, I think study should be a blessing and an opportunity to grow wider and deeper.

Student
Continue reading “Lent Day #11 | Study”

Video Spotlight | “Laying Cinder Blocks like a Pro”

A couple of months ago I came across this video. It is what it says. It’s four minutes of a man you can not see laying blocks in a smooth and steady rhythm. I have watched it several times because there is a beauty in it I can’t describe. There is just something about watching an individual who has honed and perfected a trade or craft.

This is what I have asked myself as I have watched this video, “Am I as good at anything as this block layer is at laying block?”

I would have to say no. But, I would like to be. Striving for perfection may never yield the desired result. In the journey what we find is the refinement of skill and satisfaction. We all have to ask ourselves why we do what we do. Is to “get ahead” or make more money? Or, could the simple act becoming “good” at something bring its own spiritual reward? I’m not sure, but I would like to find out. Enjoy!

You can follow the link to the video. Laying cinder blocks like a pro..

“I’ll Pray For You” And Other Lies We Tell

Not until that moment this past week have I ever understood the power of interceding for another, nor my own failure to follow through when I offered to pray for someone.

This past week I had an opportunity to pray with a friend. The two of us gathered with another brother in Christ and we spent time before the Lord. In the course of that time, we lifted him up before our heavenly Father and just tried to encourage him and remind him of who is in Jesus. There is nothing better than speaking the truth to another because, in the end, we are speaking the truth to ourselves. However, something happened as we wrapped up our time together that I could not have anticipated. My friend, let’s call him Rafael, said something that just blew me away. Rafael looked at us and said, “Thank you for being my words.”

OK, I have to be honest, I did not know what to make of that statement. I was shocked by it. It had never occurred to me that when I pray for someone I would actually be praying for them. That the person that I am praying for would use my words for their prayer to God. That as I spoke, they were speaking. Not until that moment this past week have I ever understood the power of interceding for another, nor my own failure to follow through when I offered to pray for someone.

I have said, “I’ll pray for you,” and “I’m praying for you,” and just offered one prayer right then because I was thinking about it, but forget about them and their situation until I see them again. Or, “You should pray about that,” and I do not even offer to pray for them right there. Prayer is not our way of feeling better about ourselves or what’s going on around us. Prayer has become therapy rather than trembling; an outlet rather than an opportunity to engage God and allow Him to speak. I wonder sometimes if we see prayer as an option rather than as an act of surrender. Rafael needed someone else to speak for him. His heart had feelings and thoughts that were held captive by pain and confusion; issues that I and the other brother did not have. Look around you. What friend, neighbor, or family member needs your help in expressing what they are feeling, but are unable to articulate? I found the following quote by Richard Foster as I was looking for pictures related to prayer.

Does this reflect your view of intercessory prayer? I cannot say this was me before this event. However, I have found myself praying more this week. Not just because I need to, because I do. I find myself praying for those I have promised or offered to pray for, but have not done so as I should. I have come to realize that when I intercede I am standing in the place of another. The word “inter-cede” literally means to surrender for another. I have not been doing that as I should.

If you read my random ruminations would you pray for me? I desire to be more consistent and faithful to walking and talking with my Lord and Savior Jesus, my heavenly Father, and the great helper, the Holy Spirit. I need to surrender more and more in this area and I need your help.

Are My Prayer’s Big Enough?

My pastor, Pastor David, started a series on the book The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson. Batterson is the pastor of National Community Church is Washington, D.C.

The heart of the message on Sunday looked at the legend of The Circle Maker a man named Honi ha-M’agel. The story of Honi (“hoe-knee”) revolves around an event where he drew a circle with his staff and prayed that God would send rain to help put an end to the drought that was ravaging the land.

On one occasion when God did not send rain well into the winter (in the geographic regions of Israel, it rains mainly in the winter), he drew a circle in the dust, stood inside it, and informed God that he would not move until it rained. When it began to drizzle, Honi told God that he was not satisfied and expected more rain; it then began to pour. He explained that he wanted a calm rain, at which point the rain calmed to a normal rain.

He was almost put into cherem (excommunication) for the above incident in which he showed “dishonor” to God. However, Shimon ben Shetach, the brother of Queen Shlomtzion, excused him, saying that he was Honi and had a special relationship with God. [Source]

The impression that I was left with after the story was that this was a very brash and ostentatious way of praying. I do not think that I have ever, in my life, talked to God that way. And that is exactly what we learn from Honi. Honi was not demanding for God answer to him, but that God was more than capable to do what no one else could. That is a very different way of thinking about prayer and why we pray. We have to believe that God can do what he promises because if we do not, then what are we doing praying at all?

Pastor David challenged us to realize that we were not praying bold enough if we are praying for things that we can accomplish on our own, in our own strength. I have heard this often in the church. I get it. It is a challenge to trust God more and more. But, do you know what really struck me as I was listening to Pastor David? What about me? Am I praying that God would conform me into the image of Jesus? Am I praying that God would change my heart, mind, attitudes, emotions and values?

You see, one of the dangers of praying for “BIG” things is that the biggest thing gets overlooked because “I have it under control.” This is a terrible mistake. I can not change who I am, save myself, or even guarantee the next moment of my life, and we want to pray boldly about “big” things. What could be bigger than being the person that Jesus died for us to be?

Pastor David was right, my prayers are not big and bold enough. But, I left with the impression that the subject of those prayers, at least for me, is not those “big” things “out there,” but the big things inside my own heart. I know that this is my tendency, to look inside rather than out. What I have realized is that I want to be the person that prays bigger and bolder prayers because I do believe that God WILL, not just another a person who prays big prayers because I think God CAN.

Ten Questions That May Change Your Life, Pt. 2

These are the other five questions from Donald Whitney’s book. We look at the first five questions in a previous post.

6. Do you delight in the Bride of Christ?

This was one of those questions that did not seem to fit in with the rest of the questions. My first reaction was this, “What does this have to do with my ‘personal’ faith journey?” And, fundamentally, that was part of the problem. When I create a scenario where my faith is all about “me” and my faith is not a part of the greater “we,” (i.e., the church), then I have set myself up to no longer need anybody else. In order to avoid this we have to see the faith as something that we come into rather than as something that belongs to me. I just bought shares in the Kingdom of God. That is not how it works.

“So one of the best tests of whether we belong to Christ is whether we delight in His delight, namely, the people who comprise His church.” (Kindle Location, 754)

This is a wonderful reflection of what is missing in many areas of the church. There are places where members of the same congregation have not spoken to each other in years, maybe even decades. This is not a good witness to the world about the love of God in us, for them. If I do not or cannot delight in the company of the other believers, heaven will not be as blissful as many have imagined. This next statement and question helped me to clearly understand what this idea of delighting in the Bride of Christ meant.

“The truth of Scripture is better expressed by a congregation confessing, ‘We are the bride of Christ,’ than by a solitary Christian saying, ‘I am the bride of Christ.’ Therefore, do you delight in the church, that is, in the gathering of believers, their corporate experiences and labor?” (Kindle Location, 772)

7. Are the spiritual disciplines increasingly important to you?

My first reaction was, “No.” I have not participated in spiritual disciplines like I should. The primary reason is that I was unaware that there were a variety that could be practiced. After reading Whitney I have discovered that the spiritual disciplines must move from the category of “could be done” and become “should be done.” There are several statements made by Whitney in this chapter that are worth highlighting.

“Remember also that the spiritual disciplines found in Christian Scripture are sufficient.” (Kindle Location, 876)

“All the Christian spiritual disciplines are important and singularly beneficial. A discipline neglected is a blessing unclaimed.” (Kindle Location, 879)

This final example reveals the goal of the disciples life. To learn and grow and foster a consistent witness and a growing faith. We shouldn’t want to be a flash of fervor followed by nothing.

“Perhaps you are like a Christian woman I know who sometimes wonders if she is still growing spiritually, because the original God-kindled blaze of eternal life that once illuminated the darkness of her life so suddenly, seldom flames up as dramatically as when she was first converted. But what is true for the woodstove is true in this case for the Christian heart as well: just because the beginning of the combustion may briefly be more spectacular than at present doesn’t mean the fire isn’t growing. The initial burst of spiritual flame may be more dazzling, but the heartfire’s greatest effectiveness occurs as it burns into consistency.” (Kindle Location, 861)

8. Do you still grieve over sin?

My first reaction to this was, “I am not even sure people would understand this question.” As I read through the chapter it was just amazing to me how easy it is to become prideful in having received God’s grace. The wonderful words of God’s love are supposed to make us for full of ourselves. We should be moved to become more full of Him. Grieve over my sin changes how I look at everything, or at least it should.

“The closer you get to Christ, the more you will hate sin; for nothing is more unlike Christ than sin. Because Jesus hates sin, the more like Him you grow the more you will grow to hate sin. And the more you hate sin, the more you will grieve whenever you realize that you have embraced that which killed your Savior.” Kindle Location, 956)

Whitney’s clear description of what it means to draw closer to Jesus is important. Sin is darkness. It is everything that God is not and will never be. Therefore, if we are drawing closer to the eternal life of the Son of God the must necessarily be change occurring in our lives. This understanding of drawing close and the quote from Thomas D. Bernard, was also very revealing.

“The closer you come to the light of Christ, the more sins His holy light will expose in you. In the words of nineteenth century Bible scholar Thomas D. Bernard, ‘Our sense of sin is in proportion to our nearness to God.'” (Kindle Location, 971)

Finally, I was struck by the unshakable reality that grieving over sin will actually have the opposite effect than what I anticipated. Whitney says that

“Godly sorrow in the growing Christian makes him a thousand times more aware of his pride than his humility.” (Kindle Location, 1013)

9. Are you a quicker forgiver?

As I mentioned in Part 1, these questions are so simple and direct the longer you look at them the more you realize how important the answers are. This question in particular, has that effect. Let the two following passages sink in for a moment.

“Repenters toward God are forgivers toward others. Those who find themselves unable to forgive reveal that they’ve never experienced the transforming forgiveness of God.” (Kindle Location, 1084)

“The one who announces forgiveness where it hasn’t been sought not only discounts the importance of repentance, he also misunderstands the requirement of Scripture. But the one who is not willing to forgive is contradicting the Scripture, and for the moment at least, is putting the reality of his salvation to the test.” (Kindle Location, 1106)

I do not think that Whitney was off the mark here. Not only is our testimony questionable when we fail to forgive, but we should be concerned about where we stand before. When we are unable or unwilling to extend forgiveness to others after we have experienced it for ourselves, something is terribly wrong.

10. Do you yearn for heaven and to be with Jesus?

We have all heard that there are some people who are “So heavenly minded that they are no earthly good.” Well, the truth may actually be the opposite. What if we are not heavenly minded enough? What if we have failed to truly consider the wonder and joy of heaven? What if, because we do not appreciate what is to come, we have sold ourselves and those around us short of God’s best?

The twist that Whitney provides here is that the yearning for heaven that all Christian’s should have is at its heart a longer for the completion of God’s work of making us totally holy. When the work of Salvation that Jesus ratified on the cross is completed, we will be able to enjoy God’s company forever. But, only a holy people can enjoy that. That is why a yearning for heaven is a desire to holy. This was last statement is just a striking truth.

“Jonathan Edwards put it this way: “But neither a … longing to be in Heaven, nor longing to die, are in any measure so distinguishing marks of true saints, as longing after a more holy heart.”‘” (Kindle Location, 1198)

“Paul wrote like a man who had not only tasted and seen that the Lord is good (Psalm 34:8), but like one who has found the holiness of the Lord eternally and irresistibly addictive.” (Kindle Location, 1229)

The single best sermon I have EVER heard on what heaven will be like was given by Dr. Sam Storms in 2003 at the Desiring God National Conference. It was called “Joy’s Eternal Increase: Edwards on the Beauty of Heaven”. You can listen online or download the video here.

Conclusion

These ten question have the potential to provide a major course correction in your faith journey. But, they could also end up doing nothing to take you deeper into God’s plan and purposes for your life. The choice is yours.

Book Review | Ten Questions to Diagnose Your Spiritual Health

Donald Whitney’s book on spiritual health is probably one of the most challenging that I have read in the last few years. I began to read it not really expecting to finish. You just never know what you will find in books that claim to offer insights into spiritual formation. What I found was a book that did not travel the same path as other books. Each of the questions struck a different note. And each question moved me closer to understanding that there is much more involved in my own spiritual development than I had noted before.

I think that one of the things that struck me about each of the questions was how “ordinary” they were. There were not overly spiritual, but as I dug deeper into what they meant for my own faith journey I was struck at how much was still left to uncover. This is not a book that can be read or digested quickly. I would say that each question could be expanded into individual books themselves. As I read I found myself challenged on two fronts.

First, I was struck by the directness of the questions. There was not mincing of words. Whitney was direct and went right to the bottom line. There is a wonderful mix of practical application and spiritual depth. I found myself having to pause and think, often times several times on the same page. This is not one of those books you just push through reading. It has a tendency to push back.

The second area that I found myself thinking about was this. If I cannot answer these questions in a Biblical and honest way there is a problem with my spiritual health. Along these lines, I realized that the questions were not what I expected. I was expecting some other “spiritual” questions, but as I read and thought about the questions that Whitney asked I was left rethinking what I thought was spiritual and what was not.

As we walk along the path of faith, we will be confronted with the fact that the longer my “life” and my “faith” exist in different, separate areas, the longer it will take for me to arrive at a place of maturity. These questions reveal that I cannot avoid becoming a Christian if I practice spiritual disciplines. And isn’t this exactly what we want, to be what we profess?

My next post will give the ten questions and some of my thoughts about each.