Meditation – What it is
Psalm 1 gives us a key to deeper fulfillment in every dimension of our being: meditation. Its essence is reading and reminding ourselves of the truths of God while dwelling in his presence. As we dwell on him with our minds, our other dimensions ignite, affecting our lives and relationships, infusing them with wisdom, stability, and delight. This talk was given during a leadership training session at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City.
Cross; The way to Endurance
No one knows better than Jesus that life is full of suffering. What does it mean to rejoice in our sufferings, or even grow from them? There is only one thing on which you can build your life and not be shaken – your love for him and his love for you.
Praying in The Spirit
To address God as Father was an intimate and shocking thing for Jesus to do. As we move toward the Father in intimacy of prayer, the Spirit will grow in us a deepening wisdom, develop beauty of heart, and give us spiritual clarity. Prayer is primal, realistic, positional, experiential, and communal.
Friendship
Wise people are good at choosing, forging, and keeping friendships. The marks of a true friend are constancy, carefulness, candor, and counsel. When you are liberated to be the great friend you need to be by the great friendship of Jesus on the cross, then you will find yourself getting, paradoxically, all the friends your heart needs.
Bible: End or Means?
Jesus tangles with the beliefs of the most scrupulous scripture readers, the Pharisees. He argues that Scripture is divine testimony but that it is still possible to believe this testimony as true and be as deaf to what God is saying as if you had no faith at all. The purpose of the entire Bible is to point us to Jesus. Each story is not an end in itself but the means to illuminate the Son.
Discipline of Desire
Only God can bring us to the place where we are earnestly seeking him. When we begin to experience a spiritual appetite for him and his presence, we will know that we belong to him.
Worship
The worship of the living God gives us peace and equilibrium to face the troubles of life. Worship engages our entire being in adoration and brings us to a sense of joy in God’s ravishing beauty.