Tag: Holy Spirit

Hearing Voices

Published on by dpatrickcollins58 Comments

Hearing from God, I would argue (and probably have argued), is the backbone of the Christian life. Not only is the fact that we are able to hear and follow the voice of Jesus a squarely Biblical idea (John 10:27, 1 Corinthians 2:16, 1 John 2:27), the Christian life does not actually work without it. Without God personally speaking to us, we are not able to follow Him. And without following Him, we are left following a Book and the dictates of the religious community in which we live. The problem is: The Book points to Him, and in Him alone do we find eternal life (John 5:39). Continue reading “Hearing Voices” →

Faith is a World

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When I was a teenager, my best friend’s older sister told the story of attending a Catholic charismatic service. It was her first time. And during the service, her arm started killing her. The pain came on more suddenly than made sense. Out of nowhere, she had (as I recall it) a terrible burning sensation around her elbow. So she stood up and shared it with the other members of the group. One of the other women responded and said her arm had been in pain with exactly the same symptoms for months. The group prayed for this woman, and she was healed. Continue reading “Faith is a World” →

The Christian Soul: Principles

Published on 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” →

The Christian Soul: Learning to Drive

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In our recent discussions about Christian spirituality, we have taken time to discuss the concept of obedience and its antithesis, freedom. We have done so because Christian spirituality is built on the principle of surrender. Other forms of spirituality seek to meet God, or access the divine, through various methods and disciplines that largely amount to an attempt to control our circumstances, our lives, or others.

But Christianity works the opposite way. Being a child of God is all about surrendering one’s freedom in order to experience God, and be one with God. This is what leads us to abundant life, deep joy, and incredible fruitfulness — success in this life, if you will. Continue reading “The Christian Soul: Learning to Drive” →

The Invasion

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Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. (Romans 8:12-13)

The movie Gladiator opens with a division of the Roman army about to go into battle against the Germanic barbarians of Northern Europe. The commander Maximus (played by Russell Crowe), mustering his troops, declares to them, “Brothers, what we do in life echoes in eternity.” Continue reading “The Invasion” →