On Building Spiritual Muscle, Part 4

By DOlinger on

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You’ve had a few days on the first exercise machine—the Scripture—and if you’ve been diligent, you may have some sore muscles, ones you haven’t exercised in a while. Good for you.

What’s the next exercise machine?

Recall that we’re finding New Testament uses of the word grace where the context indicates that the word is speaking of spiritual strength, and where there’s some sort of practice indicated that builds up the grace.

Our second passage is probably familiar to you; it’s commonly included in Bible memory programs.

On Building Spiritual Muscle, Part 3

By DOlinger on

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So welcome to the gym. You’ll notice the mirrors on the walls (Jam 1.22-25), as well as several exercise machines scattered around the room. Let’s talk a little about what they are and how they work.

On Building Spiritual Muscle, Part 2

By DOlinger on

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I’ve suggested that our lives ought to be oriented around the work God is doing in his people to make them—us—more like his Son. I’ve also suggested that this work can be compared to an exercise program.

Although I think the analogy is helpful, I also recognize that it isn’t really useful unless the Scripture gives us reason to think that the sanctification process is in some ways similar to physical exercise.

Is there any evidence of that? Is there a biblical word for spiritual strength? And are there “exercises” attached to it?

On Building Spiritual Muscle, Part 1

By DOlinger on

What’s the most important question in the world?

I think my fellow Christians would agree with me that it’s the question of where you’re going to spend eternity. If there’s life after death, and if that life is eternal, and if there are different possibilities for the nature of that life, then it’s hard to imagine any question more important than that one.

Life and death. Heaven and hell. It doesn’t get any more consequential than that.

As the Philippian jailer put it so clearly and succinctly all those years ago, “What must I do to be saved?” (Ac 16.30).

What Is Meditation?

By Filings on

“Eastern religions often encourage their practitioners to “empty” themselves through meditation in order to achieve enlightenment or lasting peace and harmony. … Christian forms of meditation are closely associated with prayer. Prayer is a conversation with another to whom we turn—someone outside ourselves.” - Ligonier

How Exactly Do I Meditate? Protestant and Catholic Visions in Tension

By Filings on

“The two approaches represent differing convictions about Scripture and tradition, and differing understandings of meditation itself. The Protestant practice… esteems the primacy of Scripture, treats meditation as a path for the whole Christian pilgrimage, and far better serves real communion with God.” - Desiring God

Pray Until You Feel Like It

By Filings on

“What are we to do when we know that God has called us to pray but we don’t want to pray? H.B. Charles speaks to this situation when he says we are to pray when we feel like it and when we don’t feel like it.” - Challies

On Winning the War, Part 4: The Devil

By DOlinger on

Read Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.

The third front in our three-front war, according to the common saying, is “the devil.” In the Old Testament he’s called Hasatan, the adversary; in the New, ho diabolos, the accuser (literally, the one who throws things through you). The biblical description clearly presents him as a person, someone who makes accusations (Job 1) and seeks “whom he may devour” (1P 5.8).