Category Archives: Spiritual Formation

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

Why Do I Need the Holy Spirit?

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Forgotten God, Chapter 1, by Francis Chan

Join us for an hour on Wednesdays at 7 pm in Room 101 as we discuss the Holy Spirit.

We may as well face it: the whole level of spirituality among us is low. We have measured ourselves by ourselves until the incentive to seek higher plateaus in the things of the Spirit is all but gone…. [We] have imitated the world, sought popular favor, manufactured delights to substitute for the joy of the Lord and produced a cheap and synthetic power to substitute for the power of the Holy Ghost. — A. W. Tozer in Of God and Men

1. What is Tozer saying about his own generation? Does this apply to ours? What’s the problem?

Hebrews 4:12 (NIV) 12For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

2. Chan begins this chapter saying that Christians often approach the Bible with some “passively ingested” beliefs that slant the way they look at Scriptures. These preconceptions can prevent us from actually hearing what the Bible is saying. Can you think of any examples of such beliefs?

Jesus says 7But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you (John 16:7). It’s easy to see this in the Bible. God’s Spirit in Acts 2 brought an unparalleled spiritual awakening. And the Bible shows that this same Spirit gives us power to overcome sin, victory in Christian life, and gifting to do ministry.

3. Do you feel like you are better off with the Holy Spirit living in you than you would be with Jesus here in the flesh? What does that say about you? Why would we feel that way? Can Christians get along without the Holy Spirit? Can a church?

Those of us who believe in Jesus would never deny the truth that we have the Spirit of the living God… living inside of us. I’m just not convinced we’ve internalized this truth…. It seems like…we have not owned it. …[If] we woke up tomorrow and discovered that it is not true the Holy Spirit lives inside of us, most likely our lives wouldn’t look much different. — Francis Chan, pp. 34-35

4. What can Christians who don’t recognize the presence of the Holy Spirit in their lives do to see Him?

I want to live so that I am truly submitted to the Spirit’s leading on a daily basis. Christ said it is better for us that the Spirit came, and I want to live like I know that is truth. I don’t want to keep crawling when I have the ability to fly. — Francis Chan, p. 37.