Christian Spirituality – Page 2

The Christian Soul: The Devil

Published on February 24, 2018February 25, 2018 by dpatrickcollins2 Comments

When I was young, my mother received a knock at the door one Saturday morning. It was the neighbor’s kid who could not have been more than four years old. “Do you know the Debo?” he asked. Puzzled, my mother asked, “Who?” “You know,” the small boy continued, putting his fingers to his head in the form of horns. “The Debo!”

Thus began my first encounter with theology in the public square. I thought to myself this neighbor kid was much too young to be worrying about the Devil. And in a way, all of us are. Continue reading “The Christian Soul: The Devil” →

The Christian Soul: Goodness

Published on February 17, 2018February 18, 2018 by dpatrickcollins8 Comments

As I argued in my last post, belief in God’s sovereignty is not only Biblical but vital for progressing in the Christian life. Without it, we have no assurance of God’s protection; as a result, both faith and God simply become things we attempt to control to ensure our own safety.

There is, however, a sinister form of belief in God’s sovereignty that we must address before proceeding. It goes something like this:”Everything that happens in my life is a perfect expression of God’s goodness.” In other words, everything that happens is God’s absolute best for me. So if my child dies, for example, it is not an unfortunate event God never intended, but instead a thing God orchestrated for my good, even if I fail to see how good it is.

Continue reading “The Christian Soul: Goodness” →

The Christian Soul: Sovereignty

Published on February 10, 2018March 3, 2018 by dpatrickcollins11 Comments

So much rests on God’s sovereignty.

By sovereignty I mean the idea — and not just the idea but the very fact — that God is in control of our lives. That He is not only allowing but orchestrating every circumstance in which we find ourselves, down the the smallest detail. And it is all for our good. Continue reading “The Christian Soul: Sovereignty” →

The Christian Soul: Faith

Published on February 4, 2018February 4, 2018 by dpatrickcollins5 Comments

The idea that the Christian life is essentially about relinquishing control may be something you are on board with, but the Bible-believing friend next to you may not be so sure. After all, where is “control” mentioned in the Bible? Did Jesus ever use the word “control”? Technically, no. But Jesus of course had much to say about repentance and uncompromising surrender.

But more importantly, the act of relinquishing control, in the way we are meaning it, goes by a different name in the Bible: It is called faith. Continue reading “The Christian Soul: Faith” →

The Christian Soul: Principles

Published on January 27, 2018January 28, 2018 by dpatrickcollins4 Comments

I wish to expand on the idea we introduced in our last post concerning the idea of control in the Christian life and outline five principles pertaining to how control — or rather our surrendering of control — determines our success in the Christian life.

But first, let’s connect some dots and briefly discuss how control relates to the other concepts we have discussed in this series. Simply put, control is the opposite of love. You may say hate is, and that is fine. But in the context of relationship, control is more its opposite than anything else. When we seek control in a relationship, we have ceased to love. Continue reading “The Christian Soul: Principles” →