Category Archives: Spiritual Formation

Some Real Prayer Request…

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Last night as we concluded our study on the Holy Spirit in prayer meeting, instead of simply sharing requests and then praying for them, I asked this question: What would you do if you found an Aladdin’s Lamp? You clean it off, and as you rub it, a genie appears and offers three wishes. What would you wish for? This got us thinking of James words when he says we have not because we ask not. Then James immediately remarks that we often ask for selfish motives. As the evening progressed, the small group gathered there moved from talking about genies and talked about what we would really ask God for since we can.

Here’s some items from the list:

  1. That marriages would be healthy and families healed
  2. That we could accept people who are different than us
  3. That people who have been hurt would find healing in Jesus
  4. That we could be better examples of Jesus
  5. That grace would abound in our midst

What a great list of prayer request for our congregation. Join us as we pray for these kinds of things.

~Pastor Steve

Escaping the Dark Night of he Soul…

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This week, someone I care for very much is going through a dark valley. As we talked, I realized I had nothing to offer, except Christ. But often when a person is in that state, thoughts of God are difficult to accept.

Later, Laurel emailed me this devotional from D. Martin Lloyd-Jones.

There is but one cure for the ills of man… When my conscience accuses me, there is but one thing I know of that can give me rest and peace.

It is to know that Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God, who bore my sins “in his own body on the tree,” has forgiven me. It is to believe and to know that because He loved me and died for me, I am clear of accusation. Then, conscious as I am of my weakness and failure and my lack of power to live a life worthy of the name, I am again driven back to Him. It is only from Him and the power of the Holy Spirit that He imparts that I can be made more than a conqueror.

As I contemplate meeting my Maker and eternal judge, my only hope is that I shall be clothed with the righteousness of Jesus Christ and that He will take me by the hand and present me “faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy” (Jude 24).

It is always and only in Christ that I find satisfaction.

It is only in Him that my problems are solved. The world with all its methods cannot help me at the moment of my greatest need. But Christ never fails. He satisfies always and in every respect. The more I contemplate Him, the more I do agree with Charles Wesley when he said:

Thou, O Christ, art all I want:
More than all in thee I find!

He still remains the only hope for individual man, the only hope for the whole world.

Is the Gospel still relevant? It alone can deal with and solve the problems of man.

Only when we grasp and cling to the sufficiency of Christ can we escape and remain free of the dark night of the soul.

Today, take a few moments to pray for ones you know who are struggling in darkness.

Forgotten God — Chapter 2…

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On Wednesdays, we are exploring what may be missing in a Christian’s life — the evidential work of the forgotten God.

Join us at 7 p.m. in room 101 for a group discussion and time of prayer.

This week’s discussion material is here:

The Lord challenges us to suffer persecutions and to confess him. He wants those who belong to him to be brave and fearless. He himself shows how weakness of the flesh is overcome by courage of the Spirit. This is the testimony of the apostles and in particular of the representative, administering Spirit. A Christian is fearless. — Tertullian (c. 160 – c. 220 AD)

  1. What is Tertullian’s point in this statement? What is he saying that God desires in us?
  2. Chan asserts that many Christians are “afraid” to explore the Holy Spirit. Some even become defensive when such teaching is presented. Why? How can one personally avoid/overcome it?

Luke 11:13(NIV) 13If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

  1. Jesus speaks of asking the Father for the Spirit. Chan suggests that some fear doing so because they feel God failed to show up when they prayed in the past. How does his statement, “There’s a difference between believing what God has promised and praying for things you’d like to be true,” (p. 49) address the problem of “unanswered prayer”? How does it apply to the ministry of the Spirit?
  2. A second fear some have regarding the Holy Spirit is not that he won’t show up, but that he will. What are common things that Christians fear when they imagine the Spirit interacting in their lives?
  3. A third fear that keeps us from asking the Holy Spirit to fill our lives is the fear of what others will think. We want to be “Christians” but we want to be “respectable”. What if the Spirit leads us to do something radical? What kind of fear is this? How can we escape it?
  4. The Bible speaks of healthy fear concerning the Holy Spirit. What ones do you see in the following passage? How can we be sure to act correctly as we observe what we believe to be the work of the Holy Spirit?

1 Thessalonians 5:19-22 (NIV) 19Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; 20do not treat prophecies with contempt. 21Test everything. Hold on to the good. 22Avoid every kind of evil.

  1. What standards are we given in the following verses to evaluate what is presented as the work of the Spirit?

1 Corinthians 13:2(NIV) 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

1 Corinthians 14:3(NIV) 3But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort.

1 Corinthians 14:31(NIV) 31For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged.

Take some time to consider what fears you have about the Holy Spirit. It may take a while to pinpoint exactly what your attitudes and responses toward the Holy Spirit have been. Don’t hide your fears. Admit them, first to yourself, and then to God (who knows all of them already yet desires to have us share our fears with Him). As you come to Him, be honest about how you fear disappointing people more than quenching His Spirit, or how you don’t really trust Him to come through on His promises, or whatever else you may be feeling to Him. – Francis Chan, pp. 56-57