Spiritual Formation

1: Desire for God
I truly believe that every person has a desire for God set in his heart. I do not think everyone realizes it. There are people who try to fill this desire with different things, like drugs, work, or pride. However, I believe that there is one thing that can fill this desire, and that is a relationship with the Creator of the universe. As Christians we can read this and think, “Of course,” however, sometimes we still try to fill the desire of God with other things. I think to fill that desire we have spiritual disciplines that help us. Through these disciplines we can know and grow in our desire of God. Also, in knowing Him we realize the true nature of our desire.

2: Words of Life
The Word is the primary way that God communicates with us and we must feed on it. Jesus said that we do not live on bread alone but it is by every word that God has given to us. Constantly the Scripture calls us to meditate on it day and night. We must do it to get to know our father, and I know that I lose that focus even when I read my Bible. God’s Word is powerful and life changing. It gives life. It is important for us to study because it is life. It is God talking to us about what Jesus Christ did, and what that means for our lives.

3: True Love
In chapter 13 of Corinthians it talks about what love is (patient, kind, etc.). The more and more I think about it, I think of how God is the best example of all those descriptions of love. Therefore, when we think about what love is, we must think about Who love is, and God is love. If we want to know true love, we have to know God. Any other forms of love are fallen, unperfected images that distort loves true meaning. If you want to truly love someone, love God, and He will show you how to love them.

4: Forgiving Me
I kept thinking about how hard it can be to forgive yourself. I know that I have a hard time doing that from time to time. Why is it so hard to forgive yourself, and why do I feel burdened like I can’t? I continued to think and pray through this question and I got an answer. We are not in authority to forgive ourselves, but must believe that we are forgiven. 2 Cor. 12:9 “And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.”

5: Colossians 3:1-4
“Do not be so heavenly minded that you are no earthly good.” In other words we have not been called to a holy huddle. I have heard this saying a lot and I started to unpack it, and then I read this chapter and it came up once again. I understand that we can be out of touch with this earth and that we need to engage the earth for Christ. However, the more I think about that statement I think we should add something at the end, “Do be heavenly minded.” I believe that those who have eternity set in their hearts are the ones that can change the world. Jesus had eternity set in His heart as He came to do the will of His Father.

6: Why we Serve
Service is an expression of love, it is love that is played out in action, the visible form of love. It is a discipline and a commandment. It is a visual expression of an inward love. We serve because we want to become Christ like. Christ said that the greatest among us will serve each other, and then testified that to us by dieing for us so that we could be in relationship with him. Service can be something that we can do with one another, and grow in love in that way. We must realize that it is not the service that makes us better, but it is Christ in us that compels us to do the service, and then grows the love in us through serving others. Service can lead to many other Christ-like attributes, and is something we must be obedient to.

7: Dealing with Sin
We are new creatures, we do not have to be bound by our sin, but we get to live in freedom that we can conquer it. I do not know every time I sin. I have seen myself become more and more aware of it, however, I know that there are so many things that I miss. Sometimes I do not think that I am troubled enough that I sinned. I have to believe the Gospel in my life and change my action. We have confidence in the Word in relation to sin as well. We are no longer its slaves, but we are slaves to righteousness. We must believe what the Word tells us and enter into the war with sin properly, with the Holy Spirit aiding and interceding with and for us.

8: Benefits of Frugality
Before this semester I have never thought about what it means to be frugal, or that it has any importance to me. However, I see the value in frugality. It allows us to be better stewards of the resources and money that we have so that we can give it to others and use it for things that we need, and not things that we want. Frugality allows us to not be materialistic and keep in align what we need and what we want.

9:In His Presence
As I put these two together I realize that as long as I have His word, and live in His creation, and have His Spirit, then I am never out of His presence. I also have thought about how He may to appear to have withdrawn from us. I think in those times it is when our faith is strengthened the most. It is not that we grow apart from God, but that in those times we persevere and persist in His Word, and He uses it to increase our faithfulness. He uses our weak times to build us up. I think that if we constantly “felt like we were in His presence,” that we could grow complacent.

10: Is Time Ours?
The more that I think about time I think that it is arrogant for us to assume any claim on our time. How can we, created in time by one who is transcendent of time, claim to own time? I realize that some of us are not claiming to own it but we treat it as an offense if it is misused. We feel as though it is a right, when in fact, it is graciously given to us as a privilege by our Creator. Who are we to assume that our time is being taken up, when in fact, it is something that has been given to us. When we realize that we are not the author of our time we are able to submit to whose time it is, and know who we are according to him.

11: Value In Community
A community of believers is a valuable thing for us to have. We are made to be in community. God gave man a companion. It is not good for us to be alone. In community we are able to be sharpened and discipled by one another. We can learn from those who are older than us and live the Christian life together. We can bear one another’s burdens fulfilling the law of Christ. Being in community enhances our solitude times because we are able to pray and be in community with Christ in those times.

12: What am I called to do?
As we get older and think about things in life, a major thing that we think about is what we are going to do. As a Christian we think about what we are called to do. We are called to do what we are made to do. God knits us together in our mother’s womb. He wired us to do the work that he has given us. Jesus came to glorify the father in doing what He was called to do. We are not called to do anything more than what we are called to do, and not called to do anything less. Do not sell yourself short that you cannot do something, God equips the called and has knit you to do things that you may not think you can do. That is why he called you to do it, because He wants you to rely on Him.

13: Fasting
I have never given too much thought about fasting before, mainly because I did not see or understand its importance. However, what I understand now it is about denying yourself. It is a discipline that develops characteristics in you that you do not realize are developing. It allows you to be able to submit, to pray, and to resign to the fact that life is not about you, it is about Him.

14: Emotions?
Emotions are not bad, they tell us how we feel. However, we should not be controlled by them. Emotions can be subjective, and compulsive. Acting on emotion can cause us to act on something that is not real, or misconceived. Emotions are temporal, and when we are controlled by them we lack self-control, however, when we learn the proper way to act on them we can act according to the situation and understand things in our lives that in the heat of the moment we would not take the time to understand.

15: Peace from God
I have thought about what peace is a lot this semester. A major thing I think about is peace compared to happiness. Happiness, as I define it, is an emotion, where as peace is a state. I will take peace over happiness any day. Having the peace of God allows you not to be a victim of your circumstance, because you know that God is God, and He will never leave you nor forsake you. You are free from the aforementioned emotions, and you have, for lack of a better word, peace in every situation. When God grants us peace, he gives us comfort and shows us a taste of who He is and we can find comfort in Him.