I want to share some quotes from his text and begin a few conversations on his writings.  I hope that you will join me and interact in this discussion.

The first quote I want to share is this: “Fathering is different from mothering; involved fathers are indispensable for the good of children and society; and our growing national fatherlessness is a disaster in the making.” (pg. 2)

So what do you think?  How is fathering different from mothering?  Are involved fathers good for our children and society?

Share your thoughts.

Some would say that I should be ashamed to verbalize that thought much less write about it. I am just admitting to it so that I can be honest with myself and begin to know what part of my spiritual life needs to be strengthened. Many people will say that this part of spiritual formation is easy for them, but how many of us can truly say that we desire nothing else but to have God in our life. It would be difficult to be alone and not have the relationships that we have built on earth. I believe God calls us to this mindset, but it is a journey that takes some time to complete. It is my prayer that I will become more comfortable with God in a way that He provides all my needs. I want Him to solely provide the affirmation, praise, and support that
I need so that I will not seek it in a selfish manner.

So where are you in this journey? Are you content with God alone? Am I the only one who admittedly has this problem?

The Bible discusses the topic of spiritual warfare on several occasions. Ephesians 6:12 is a reminder that “we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” This means that Christians are at war! Just like the military there is a need for preparation and discipline if we want to survive this conflict. Proverb 3:11 states that we should not “reject the Lord’s discipline.” This discipline will result in our spiritual lives being more like Christ. Hebrews 12:1-13 shows the effect this has on spiritual formation.

“…Throw off everything that hinders…”
Athletes usually train with many weights on their body in order to become stronger. On the day of the game the weights are removed so that the athlete can perform at their best. If we want spiritual formation to take place then we must examine our lives and see what is holding us back from serving God. We are given some difficulties to go through in life to strengthen us. Many people fail under pressure because they have areas of their life that are hindering them. Career, family, homes, money, attitudes and many other things can keep one from progressing spiritually because of an unwillingness to get rid of the dead weight. It will be impossible to keep up with where God is leading you if some serious self evaluation is not completed.

“…Run with perseverance…”
If you want to run in a marathon you cannot stop after 15 miles and expect success. The runner must be motivated to endure even when their body does not want to go any further. This type of drive will benefit the runner every time. Spiritual formation cannot be attained by giving up easily. The disciplines have to be approached with the mindset of long term grown. I cannot pray for wisdom tonight and wake up the next day expecting it to be there. We must cultivate a faith is “steadfast and immovable” (1 Cor. 15:58). When this is accomplished then giving up because the discipline is hard will never be an option.

God is able to make this requirement of us because He is faithful and full of perseverance. Countless times in the Bible He redeems His people and did not give up on them. This model set by God must be responded to it with the same vigor in which it was given.

“…Consider Him…”
There can be a temptation to feel that the discipline commanded by God is too difficult. It can be easy to complain when we do not feel like going through with what He has asked of us. The comfort given is to remember that Christ died for our sake. Christ took following the will of His Father so serious that He gave up His life for it. Because of His dedication I cannot look at my discomfort and think that it is unbearable. The discipline that I personally go through can never be compared to what happened on the Cross. It is because of this “consideration” that we have the hope that things can and will get better because Christ has already traveled this path ahead of us.

“…it produces a harvest of righteousness… for those who have been trained by it..”
The discipline we receive from God has a purpose. It is God’s intention that we receive the blessing of righteousness if we have received the proper training. It is through this training that God shows us how we are to respond to this world. If I am successful in being discipline by God then I will not have to worry about anything. I will live an existence of peace because I will be ready for anything that comes my way. This is the exciting adventure of spiritual formation that God has called all His believers to partake in.

So how will you respond to God’s discipline? Will you continue to carry extra weight around or discard your extra baggage? Will you give up when things get hard or persevere till the end? Will you consider what Jesus has already done sacrificially or think about your rough experience? Will you produce a harvest of righteous that leads to peace or continue to worry because that is what you are accustomed to? Your answers to these questions will determine the outcome of your spiritual formation.

I once heard a speaker ask “Would your community notice a difference if your church closed its doors forever?” Sadly many communities would go unchanged. Why is that? Is God’s Word still relevant? I know the answer to that is a resounding “Yes!” so that is not the problem. Does the Bible still have the power to change lives? Once again the answer is “Yes!” So the real question is why has the church lost its relevance and connection to the communities that they are in? Why are our churches more commuter oriented than community based?

To answer these questions we must look at our definition of evangelism. There was a time in our culture when we knocked on someone’s door, asked them about their salvation, studied the Bible with them, and then waited for their response. This method was effective for many people, but that model does not work anymore. Some would consider having a car wash and handing out their church bulletin as being evangelism. These approaches can open the door to some people, but I believe we have missed the key ingredient to being relevant: relationship.

In order for the church to be relevant in the community we need to know the people in the community and be able to reach them where they are psychologically, emotionally, spiritually, and physically. Any attempts to reach them with the gospel without having a relationship usually will not be successful because we need to deliver the Bible to them in a context that they will understand. This will not always be comfortable for us, but God never called us to comfort only to being faithful.

I pray that the church will regain its relevancy in the community once again. I know that as this process unfolds God will be glorified and His people will be more effective in bringing in those who are lost.

Love
Tina Turner once asked the question “What’s love got to do with it?” I believe Jesus would say “Everything!” 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 says that without love we are “nothing.” I can be the most talented, Spirit filled, Scripture reading, Bible toting, cross wearing believer, but if I do not love as Jesus commands then all of those activities really do not mean a thing. There really is no other way of explaining this passage. Those who are mature in the faith are able to love others regardless of race, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, or any other differences. How do you deal with someone who stole from you? How do you talk to someone you know will twist your words and try to use them against you? How do you pray for your enemies? The answer can only be found in love.
The next natural question is “What is the source of this love?” Romans 5:8 states that “while we were still sinners Christ died for us.” God loved us so much that He cancelled our sin debt because we could never pay for it ourselves. Since He is the source of everything that points to love then the natural reaction must be to freely give love as it has been given to us.
Joy
Joy is a deep sense of well-being that is not dependent upon favorable circumstances, but rooted in a fundamental acceptance of, and confidence in, the will of God. Joy does not come by pursuing joy. Joy comes as a result of pursuing God and the good of others. A spiritually mature person has the ability to experience joy regardless of the situation they are currently facing. You can be on the verge of losing your job and experience joy. You can find out that you have terminal cancer and experience joy. You can be the poorest person in the entire world and experience joy. James 1:2 is a reminder that we are to “count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds.” This statement can be only be lived out when one understands that God is in control of all things and because of this confidence they allow God to control their life instead of their situation controlling it.
Peace
Peace is the absence of anxiety and the presence of trusting assurance in the promises of God. If we have peace then we realize that the same God who created life in us can be trusted with the details of our life. Matthew 6:25 states “do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.” This means that worrying about the future hampers our efforts for today. It is impossible to gain peace when your mind is focused on worry. Worrying is more harmful than helpful because it keeps the mind focused on problems instead of praise. Those mature in the faith realize that God does not ignore those who depend on Him. He is a faithful and just Father who only wants what is best for His children. This understanding of God should wipe away any doubt or worry that we have about Him.
Spiritual maturity is more than just a great goal in life; it is required by God (Hebrews 5:12-14). As we become more mature we become better equipped to face this world that is plagued by sin. Many people want to grow spiritually and be mature, but it will not happen by itself. This process will happen only through the work of the Holy Spirit and the individual’s dedication toward following the will of God. This process is an excellent journey that God is eagerly waiting for everyone to begin.

Abimilech (Judges 9:54)
Hurriedly he called to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and kill me, so that they can’t say, ‘A woman killed him.’ ” So his servant ran him through, and he died.

Abimelech was the son of Gideon who had himself proclaimed king of Israel. He besieged Thebez and was struck in the head due to a woman dropping a rock on him. He knew that he was injured severely. He commanded his armour-bearer to slay him because it was a disgrace to be killed by a woman. His armour-bearer followed the order. He chose his own method of death instead of having his legacy tarnished.

Samson (Judges 16:28-30)
Then Samson prayed to the LORD, “O Sovereign LORD, remember me. O God, please strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes.” 29 Then Samson reached toward the two central pillars on which the temple stood. Bracing himself against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other, 30 Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” Then he pushed with all his might, and down came the temple on the rulers and all the people in it. Thus he killed many more when he died than while he lived.

Samson had been dedicated to God since birth. He became a judge and lived faithfully toward God. He made a mistake by trusting Delilah and lost his power. He then became a slave. Samson prayed to God for strength to pull down the temple. This caused the death of many of the leading Philistines but it also caused his own death. He did this in revenge. He was attempting to make things right with God. It appears that his thinking was clear when he made this decision and he knew that his life would end in this action.

Judas (Matthew 27:5)
So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.

Judas betrays Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. He appears to feel guilty about this and hangs himself in shame.

I chose these three examples specifically because each man took his own life for different reasons, but the result was still the same. Each man died through their own will and by their own choice. Since God is the giver of all life, then their actions should be questioned. Does God give us the right to end our life when we want to? Just looking at these three examples I would have to say no. I believe that since He forbids us to take another’s life that He would not be pleased by us taking our own life. Although Samson prayed for the strength to get revenge it does not clearly state that he had the blessing of God to kill himself. I think the natural assumption then is that suicide is a sin. I believe the sin is in the choice to end a life that God has blessed us to have. He has given us dominion over the Earth and commanded us to be fruitful and multiply. God is in the business of bringing life, so to do the opposite would seem to go against His will.

Is this a forgivable sin?

The main reason people believe that suicide is an unforgivable sin is because you cannot repent of this sin once it is committed. The person who commits suicide in essence has died with unrepented sins. This almost seems like an “open and shut” case but the reality is that EVERYONE dies with sins that they have not been forgiven of. If I die in a car wreck and curse before I die I have unrepented sin. If I drown one day, but forget to apologize to my wife for being mean to her that morning then I die with unrepented sins. Without the grace of God in our lives we are all out of luck and have no hope. So this argument alone will not stand.
Please do not interpret this as me saying that suicide is a good thing to do. I believe it is a terrible way for someone to end their life because they always leave their family and friends behind as vicitims. If you are considering this path I urge you to talk to someone you trust about your feelings so that you can receive the proper help.

I realized a long time ago that I am not God. Due to this revelation I do not make it a practice of deciding who will and who will not make it to Heaven. It is important for all of us to understand that we do not know what is going on in someone’s life or mind when they take their own life. I have no idea if the person is dealing with depression, anxiety, feels trapped, or thinks this is the only way to fix their problem. Since I do not have that information and since God does I will leave it to Him to determine where they spend their eternity. I would love to hear your comments about this.

1) Suicide is always an impulsive act. The truth is that many people have spent days, weeks, and even months planning for their suicide. For whatever reason they want things to go a certain way when they end their life. This preparation is thoughtful and precise. It is only seen as impulsive because usually the one who commits suicide does not tell anyone that they have plans to do it.

2) Discussing suicide will cause the person to move toward doing it. Many people have already had it on their mind before it is discussed with them. Actually bringing up the topic will help them to voice their wishes and give someone else a chance to intervene.

3) A suicidal person who begins to share personal possessions is showing signs of getting better mentally. Many times the person is giving away prized possession because their mind is already made up that they are going to kill themselves. This is a sign that they do not need these possessions any more because they will not be around long.

4) People who threaten suicide don’t do it. Anyone who threatens suicide needs to be taken seriously regardless if it is just for attention.

5) When a person has attempted suicide and is not successful the danger is now gone. The danger is now just beginning because many people attempt suicide multiple times before they are successful. It is has been noted that women attempt suicide three times more often than men, but men are four times more successful according to the CDC. This is usually because men take more aggressive methods.

6) People who commit suicide are insane. People who commit suicide are sick and need help. Most of them feel as if their life is out of control and that they do not have any options. They see suicide as a way of escaping their problems. This does not make them insane just lacking hope.

7) Suicide runs in families, it is an inherited tendency. There is no data that supports this view. It is possible that some families can have more suicides because the family deals with issues such as depression, anxiety, alcoholism, mental illness, etc, but this does not mean that it is biological.

Tommorrow we will look at a biblical view of suicide. Is suicide an unforgivable sin?

1) We must be open to the revelation of God. God is constantly calling us into fellowship with Him. It is His desire to reveal His will for our live to us. Generally the problem is that we are not expecting God to reveal anything to us. Without the expectation of revelation we are placed on a path of trying to figure out our life for ourselves. This can be messy. There have been times in my life where I truly wanted to follow God, but I was not doing anything to hear Him. I was not praying. I was not studying His word. My desire alone was not enough. It was not until I purposely sought Him that I became open to His revelation. I do not think we find God on accident. We don’t just wake up one day and just happen to be serving Him. There must be effort and openness on my behalf to have a relationship with Him.

2) We must obey the call of God. Just having knowledge of what God wants me to do will never be enough. When God called Noah to build the ark He had a particular plan in mind (Genesis 6). When God finished speaking to Noah there was no doubt in Noah’s mind about what he needed to do. The faith of Noah was shown when he began to do what God called him to do. I know of so many people who know God’s purpose for them, but choose not to follow God. I am sure we have all been there before. Bad experiences, trust issues, fear, and many other barriers have deterred some good people from following God, but His call remains the same. We know that prayer, Bible study, fasting, and other spiritual disciplines are ways to be in fellowship and communication with God, but there is a deep lack of obedience to this call. It is in our obedience that God is able to use us to spread His glory throughout this world.

3) We must allow God to grow our faith. Spiritual formation is a process. We will never do it perfectly. Our flesh will continue to fight our spirit as we seek growth (Romans 7:15-25). I believe that at times we will respond to God the same way Abraham did. We will seek shortcuts in our spiritual formation. We will try to get God to bless situations that do not need to be blessed. Thankfully God can use our weaknesses to help us to become stronger in our faith.

4) We must make God our top priority in life. Due to our lives being directed by school schedules, work, children, marriages, and many other distractions, we leave God little time to work in our life. It is going to take time and effort to practice any of the spiritual disciplines. We will have to make God our priority in order for transformation to take place. If I only give God five minutes a day to work on me He can still use that time to develop us, but we should not expect much. When I make His will and the disciplines priority one in my life my schedule and everything about me will point to God. This is not to say that I will spend 24 hours a day in prayer and fasting. The balanced spiritual life finds time to deal with all of its responsibilities, but God is given precedence in all things.

Spiritual formation is serious business. It cannot be approached lightly. God wants to see us changed, but it begins with us being open to His revelation, being obedient to His call, allowing Him to grow our faith, and making Him our top priority in life. I hope you are ready to begin this journey with Him.

I have wondered why we still talk about Abraham in 2007. Why is his name always brought up when the topic of faith is mentioned? It is my belief that he continues to be brought up because the actions he took were so unrealistic and impractical in the human perspective, but necessary in order to follow God.

1) Abraham was open to the revelation of God. Genesis 12 is the first place you see God communicating with Abram. It does not tell of their past relationship. It does not tell of the blessings that God had already given him. Here you see a picture of a man whose life was in a place where he was willing to listen to the revelation of God. He was open to the possibility that God had a plan for him and was ready to hear it. I do not believe that Abram responded that way on a whim. I believe that Abram had an attitude that allowed him to be ready to listen to God when the time was right.

2) Abraham obeyed the call of God. Genesis 12:4 says “so Abram left.” He followed God to an unknown destination. He traveled in a distant land. He did not wait around for a sign. He did not come up with excuses to offer God. He did not even question where he was going. He just did it. The only way he could have responded in this way was because he trusted God. Trust does not necessarily mean that all our fears are gone. Trust means that we know that someone is looking out for our best interest. God was looking out for Abram and he laid his confidence upon that fact.

3) Abraham allowed God to grow his faith. It is tempting to forget that Abraham made some mistakes while following God. He had Sarah his wife tell a lie (Gen 12:11-20; 20:1-18). He questioned God when he and Sarah did not have children (Gen 15:2-3). He showed weak faith in the case of Hagar (Gen 16:1-4). Through each of these instances God continued to work on him and through him. God did not give up even though Abraham’s faith was not where it needed to be. God used these weaknesses to help Abraham to become stronger.

4) Abraham made God his top priority in life. It took Abraham and Sarah late into their lives to have the child they always wanted. They prayed for him and about him. God answers this prayer and allows this blessing to come into their life. God now tests Abram to see if his faith is real. He tells Abraham to sacrifices the thing that was the most precious to him (Gen. 22:1-18). Once again Abraham had to trust God’s voice even though it did not agree with common sense. Through this and all of his other actions he showed God that he trusted him fully.

How is all of this practical in view of spiritual formation today? Come back tomorrow to see.

2 Peter 1:3 states “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.” To refute that the Bible has all the answers for our life in Christ would be a pointless argument. I have full confidence in God’s Word. I would never teach anyone to listen to any other authority except for the scriptures. My problem lies with the minister. There are too many ministers who are counseling people through the use of God’s Word, but are not trained appropriately to deal with serious mental health issues. I have heard of people dealing with depression, anxiety, or some other psychological disorder and the minister decides that they do not have enough faith. In this example faith has nothing to do with it, but the right type of counseling does.

I firmly believe that we should use the Bible to deal with spiritual problems. My fear is that there are ministers and church members who are operating outside of their area of expertise and causing more problems for the people they seek to help. The church and the mental health community need each other desperately. There is a need for the meeting of the minds where each entity learns to respect what each group brings to the table so that people can get the best help that is out there. I am looking forward to the day when we strengthen our efforts in this area because the church will benefit in beautiful ways that will keep us healthy and better able to serve God.TheThe