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New FREE Download - Part 1 - Contemplation-Beholding God
Spiritual Formation~
Jessica's Weird Blog Post
Note: This is the opening vignette from our free download study called Contemplation - Beholding God.
Read more about this download here.
Today was one of those days when I just kept thinking, "Am I crazy? Can I go home now?"
I've had a lot of these days lately. I keep wondering how long I can go on in the same mode.
All my life I wanted popularity and perfection. I've had this job since my mid-20s that demands perfection and gives me a sea of friends and fans. My job has been the one constant in my life that reminds me of who I am and what I want.
Wait, did I just say my identity is in my job? That's like my dad. I remember how depressed he was when he realized he would never reach the top.
Anyway, my schedule is so cluttered there's no time to reflect on important stuff like who I am. But I'm wondering if it's about my work or if it's really about me. And, what about God?
I claim to be a Christian, and I go to a church where the music is awesome. Worship is my big thing. But, will I go to hell if I admit that it all seems empty?
At the same time, I think that God is pretty awesome. You see, that's it. I say music is awesome and God is awesome like they're both equal. What would I do if I ever had an experience with God in quiet that was more awesome than praise singing?
Yes, and my point would be? So the point is, my perfect popular life is shallow. If God is truly awesome, then I must be missing it. Maybe my faith is dead, or maybe I just want faith that gives me calmness and peace. My cluttered schedule is never peaceful. So how can I calm down?
I want to really experience God, and not just sing about him. I want to ponder what an authentic relationship with Jesus is like. If Jesus is a real person, then it's weird to think that I don't treat him like a person.
So here I am. I want something different but I don't even know what it is. Am I the only person thinking like this?
Copyright © 2010, Calvin R. Wulf and Lisa Are Wulf
Read more about our free download study called Contemplation - Beholding God.
TAGS: Spiritual Formation, Spiritual Disciplines, Small Groups
THE DEPOT - by Calvin Wulf
Spiritual Struggles~
I struggle deeply from time to time. There are days called, "Today," when I arrive at the depot in a time-delay mode. The chaos around me blurs and I am lost. It isn't something I am able to set aside.
As one who is baptized into Christ, I am not immune to sorrows of the heart. My life has splinters that jab my wounded soul from time to time. There is no button to mute or to pause, but only to play; even if frame-by-fame.
At times I am allowed to experience paradise and I have hovered over the gates of hell in this same body. But every morning I exit the gate and every evening the Shepherd's voice calls me back to his rest. The depot is a passage way into each day called, "Today." I scan the departures and follow the Way. My struggles remind me I have yet to arrive, but my beloved bids me gently onward.
TAGS: Spiritual Struggles, Trusting God, Spiritual Journey
BELOVED DISCIPLE - by Calvin Wulf
Christian Discipleship~
John is remembered as the disciple whom Jesus loved. He reclined next to Jesus at their final Passover meal. John rested his head on the breast of God and whispered a question no one else at the table could hear. What an intimate union they revealed in that moment.
A beloved disciple knows Jesus intimately and is willing to be known. Can you trust Jesus enough to be his bride; his lover? Does he trust you? John is our example of what it is to be a beloved disciple.
Love is a gift that is given freely. At the same time, love is not always received. Jesus would know you as a lover and a friend if you were willing. How would you receive him? My desire is to recline with Jesus, allowing him to receive me as a beloved disciple. I choose to learn how to love him as completely as he loves me. How far would you go with Jesus?
TAGS: Christian Discipleship, Christian Spirituality, Trusting God
A GENTLE GUIDE - by Calvin Wulf
Spiritual Formation~
Living out the Christian life isn't easy. No wonder Isaiah describes a person despised and rejected who knows sorrows and sufferings. Finding our own way can be a challenge. We need a skilled spiritual guide to lead us along the path toward Christlikeness.
Jesus is a loving shepherd and a gentle guide even when the path is hard. He leads us on paths where we could never find our way alone. The first disciples followed Jesus to become like him. They had so many mysteries to unravel. Who can we follow?
We can find guidance in a woman or a man who is both experienced and skilled with spiritual tools to help navigate the Christian way. Some are trained and gifted as spiritual directors or spiritual friends with a ministry of guiding others. These are people who reflect Christ in everyday life. Would you like a guide for your journey with Jesus?
TAGS: Spiritual Formation, Spiritual Direction, Christian Discipleship
HOLY SORROW - by Calvin Wulf
Spiritual Journey~
It is said that tears mark the transformation from life in the flesh to life in the Spirit. Whoever walks in the flesh seeks only external happiness and rebukes any source of pain. Holy sorrow is the narrow passage way to the heart of Christ.
The Teacher writes, "For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief (Ecclesiastes 1:18 TNIV)." One who grows in the wisdom of God increases in knowledge that leads to holy sorrow. It is beyond mere repentance. This is the reality of Christ that receives pain and suffering with weeping and it leads to pure joy.
Those who live outside themselves in goals and goods remain in the flesh. Whoever rejects the applause of the world is able to begin an authentic spiritual journey inward. This is what it means to be born of the Spirit. Only here will the pilgrim receive the gift of holy sorrow.
TAGS: Spiritual Journey, Reflecting Christ, Christian Spirituality
DAY-BY-DAY BREAD - by Clavin Wulf
Christian Prayer~
Give us the bread we need day-by-day. Yes, God knows our needs even before we ask. But like any loving mother or father, God delights in our asking. We also understand that we need more than bread to keep us living for God every day.
As we need bread to sustain us physically, we also need love to sustain us emotionally. Our broken hearts need healing and those who have harmed us need forgiving. As for me, I need enough patience and enough justice to carry on from day to day. I even have needs that I don't consciously know.
Bread gives life to all of life. We eat the bread of life and receive life eternal. And God causes rain to fall on the wheat fields of the just and the unjust alike so that all might have enough bread. This is the perfect love of the Father. Pray that the hungry of the world will have day-by-day bread.
TAGS: Christian Prayer, Daily Prayer, Kingdom of God
TAGS: Christian Prayer, Daily Prayer, Kingdom of God
FREE Download - LENT, FASTING and CHARITY
Spiritual Life~
How would you prepare yourself spiritually for the holiest of all celebrations? Easter is the most holy festival in the Christian faith. Lent, Fasting and Charity is an enlightening study that tells how the apostles and early Christians answered that question and offers practical ideas that you can practice today.
In this study, you'll learn:
- How the apostles prepared for their Easter celebration
- Our Jewish heritage of prayer, fasting and charity
- The development of Lent among the early Christians
- Meaningful and personal ways you can observe Lent
This download is designed for personal use and as a group discussion study. It includes duologue questions that stimulate thoughts and discussion. Read more here.
TAGS: Spiritual Life, Christian Discipleship, Reflecting Christ
REPENTANCE - by Calvin Wulf
Spiritual Struggles~
I am grateful for times of repentance when I get intimate with God. Repentance in Jesus is my response to the goodness of his Father. And when my repentance is complete, a joyous celebration begins and I sing with angels.
His light carries me up. The Lord searches and knows my heart. I am ashamed of the thoughts and images he reveals. Fire pierces my inner heart with sacred pain. My confession rides on a flood of tears. The whole communion in heaven and earth hears my sins with compassion. I wrestle with God until he is finished.
Such times may last only a few seconds. Some are long and difficult seasons. But my love for God is greater than my inner struggle. I want to grow up into Christ. Clearly, I have not arrived. Times of repentance draw me closer to Jesus until a day comes when I will disappear into his glory. Great joy! You know the way, want to follow?
TAGS: Spiritual Struggles, Christian Spirituality, Reflecting Christ
DEEPER COMPASSION - by Calvin Wulf
Spiritual Life~
The more I interact with people, the greater my understanding and compassion. And wouldn't you know, in a week when I had posted an entry on compassion that my own sense of empathy would be rocked. Just when I think I have learned something, Jesus shows me something deeper.
Frustrations with some face-to-face interactions and a Facebook contact, caught up with me upon reflection. I was slapped with an insight that I didn't take time to understand the person before my inner frustration caused me to judge them. I am humbled and grieved. It isn't enough to see with compassion eyes if I don't listen with a compassionate ear.
Note to self, a big step toward deeper compassion is to hear and understand. It's a basic principle for loving my neighbor. Every story is sacred. That includes social networking transactions. Listening is hard work. Understanding is compassion. Lord, help me to love enough that I will hear and understand with compassion.
TAGS: Spiritual Life, Reflecting Christ, Kingdom of God
LENT - by Calvin Wulf
Christian Discipleship~
The Twelve Apostles prepared for their celebration of Easter with prayer, fasting and almsgiving. That's right, the guys who Jesus called to follow him gave us the tradition of Lent. We ought to do the same; it's just part of being a follower of Jesus.
Within the first few generations of Christians, the observance of a forty-day season of repentance, prayer, fasting and charity was practiced by all Christians. We call it Lent. It wasn't enforced, but it was an matter of conscience and faith. It's an appropriate way to prepare for the celebration of Easter, the holiest festival on the Christian calendar.
How would you prepare for the holiest celebration of the year? Jesus was crucified so that the world would not die without hope, but have life that never ends. The Father raised Jesus from the dead to guarantee our hope and show that he is God. This isn't the Super Bowl, this is Easter. Are you ready for that?
TAGS: Christian Discipleship, Spiritual Disciplines, Spiritual Journey
