Archive for November, 2008
« Previous EntriesAdvent Devotion: The Lighting of the First Candle
Sunday, November 30th, 2008Introduction to Advent?
If you’re looking for some basic material on Advent, I have done some extensive writing on the subject. Please check out the following resources:
What is Advent? An Introduction to Advent
My blog series covers the basics of Advent: its meaning, traditions, and spiritual purpose.
Advent Devotional Guide: Preparing for the Coming of Christ
This devotional guide […]
Advent Approaches . . . .
Saturday, November 29th, 2008Part 1 of series: Introduction to Advent
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Tomorrow is the first day of Advent. If you’ve been reading my blog for more than a year, you know that I generally make a big deal out of Advent. If you’re new to my blog, however, you may wonder why […]
Thankful for the Beauty of God’s Creation
Friday, November 28th, 2008Wherever I have lived during my adult life, I’ve learned to be grateful for the beauty of that slice of God’s creation. When I lived in the Boston area, I loved the turning of the leaves in autumn and the sun shimmering on the Charles River in summer. Moving back to Los Angeles, I enjoyed […]
Be Thankful in All Circumstances
Thursday, November 27th, 2008Be thankful in all circumstances,
for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:18
On this Thanksgiving Day in the United States, I want to reflect on a verse from Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians: “Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ […]
Questions and Answers on Spiritual Gifts
Wednesday, November 26th, 2008Part 14 of series: Spiritual Gifts in the Body of Christ
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1. “I’m pretty new to this ’spiritual gifts’ stuff. How can I begin to experience spiritual gifts?”
If you’ve been a Christian for a while, even a short while, and if you’ve done any kind of ministry, you’ve […]
Spiritual Gifts and the Priority of Love
Tuesday, November 25th, 2008Part 13 of series: Spiritual Gifts in the Body of Christ
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If you want to grow in your experience of spiritual gifts, Paul urges you to eagerly seek those gifts that build up the body of Christ. But, you’ll recall, that’s not all he says: “Pursue love,” he […]
Practical Instruction on the Use of Spiritual Gifts, Part 5
Monday, November 24th, 2008Part 12 of series: Spiritual Gifts in the Body of Christ
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Yesterday I began commenting on the closing verses of 1 Corinthians 14:
So, brothers and sisters, keep on eagerly desiring to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. But let all things be done decently and in […]
Autumn in the Texas Hill Country, Part 4
Saturday, November 22nd, 2008A ranch in the Hill Country, not too far from Vanderpool. The “cattle” you see are actually American Bison (buffalo).
Practical Instruction on the Use of Spiritual Gifts, Part 4
Friday, November 21st, 2008Part 11 of series: Spiritual Gifts in the Body of Christ
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So far we’ve been learning from 1 Corinthians 14 how to use spiritual gifts in ministry. All of us need to focus on loving and on building up the body of Christ. Each one of us needs […]
Practical Instruction on the Use of Spiritual Gifts, Part 3
Thursday, November 20th, 2008Part 10 of series: Spiritual Gifts in the Body of Christ
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According to biblical teaching on spiritual gifts, each and every Christian should expect to be gifted by the Spirit for ministry. This should be true every time the church gathers together. But, as I mentioned in my […]
Practical Instruction on the Use of Spiritual Gifts, Part 2
Wednesday, November 19th, 2008Part 9 of series: Spiritual Gifts in the Body of Christ
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So far we have seen that if we want to receive spiritual gifts, we should focus, not on the gifts or on our experiences, but on loving others and building up the body of Christ. Spiritual gifts […]
Practical Instruction on the Use of Spiritual Gifts, Part 1
Tuesday, November 18th, 2008Part 8 of series: Spiritual Gifts in the Body of Christ
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Desiring Spiritual Gifts
1 Corinthians 14 provides practical instruction on the use of spiritual gifts. Even though a substantial portion of the chapter deals with the specific problem of inappropriate tongue-speaking among the Corinthians, much in Paul’s discussion […]
All Gifts Matter to the Body of Christ
Monday, November 17th, 2008Part 7 of series: Spiritual Gifts in the Body of Christ
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After beginning his correction of Corinthian abuses by outlining the nature of spiritual gifts, Paul proceeds to an extensive discussion of the church as the body of Christ (1 Cor 12:12-27). Because I have written about this […]
Sunday Inspiration from The High Calling
Sunday, November 16th, 2008When Work Seems Useless
READ Isaiah 49:1-4
I replied, “But my work seems so useless!
I have spent my strength for nothing and to no purpose.
Yet I leave it all in the LORD’s hand;
I will trust God for my reward.”
Isaiah 49:4
In Isaiah 49, the Lord speaks to his Servant, sometimes pictured as Israel, and at other times […]
Autumn in the Texas Hill Country, Part 3
Saturday, November 15th, 2008The Medina River as it runs through Bandera City Park in Bandera, Texas, “The Cowboy Capital of the World.”
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