Spiritual Formation

Let’s face it, there’s nothing like marriage to allure us and at the same time make us spontaneously combust with fear or anger at a moment’s notice. In the middle years of marriage, youthful fantasies can give way to painful realities. Mike Mason spoke some of my favorite words on the disruptive power of marriage. A marriage, or a marriage partner, may be compared to a great tree growing right up through the center of one’s living room. It is…

Dale Earnhardt Jr. describes the awful moment he understood his father was gone. Motor racing legend Dale Earnhardt Sr. had just been killed in a horrific crash at the end of the Daytona 500—a race in which Dale Jr. had also participated. “There’s this noise coming outta me that I can’t re-create,” said the younger Earnhardt. “[It’s] this bellow of shock and sorrow—and fear.” And then the lonely truth: “I’m…

Time after time the Scriptures help us make sense out of life’s puzzles: failing marriages, rebellious children, drug addiction, warring nations, the return of leaves in spring, the insatiable longings of our hearts, the fear of death, the coming into being of children, the universality of praise and blame, the prevalence of pride, and the admiration of self-denial. The Bible confirms its divine origin again and again as it makes sense out of our experience in the…

In the era of unlimited information, it’s easy to take the Bible for granted—to forget how rich it is with spiritual insight and understanding. In Scripture, we’ve been given both the revelation of who God is and a practical guide for how to live today and prepare for eternity. Hebrews 4:12 tells us, “The word of God is living and active.” We can observe that the Bible is miraculously complex enough to satisfy both the intellectual and simple;…

If someone asked what your gifts are, what would you say? We may struggle with such questions because we either aren’t sure or don’t want to seem conceited. And sometimes it’s hard to know if something is a gift or a talent. How can we tell the difference? Generally speaking, a talent is something that you’re naturally good at—such as sports or art or science—and can excel at through training, practice, and experience. It can be a…

Think about a time when you received praise from a parent, a teacher, or an employer. How did you feel? Did it make you glad or uncomfortable? For many people, praise is nearly as difficult to handle as criticism. Because God’s Word instructs us to be humble (Matthew 18:4; Philippians 2:3), we may sometimes feel confused about how to receive compliments. Here are three ways to respond: 1. Acknowledge the comment by thanking the person. Don’t explain why you are…

When branches are full and spilling over with big, bright fruit, we assume the tree is healthy. We may not be able to see the quality of the soil, and we probably didn’t witness the tree being fertilized or pruned. But looking at its boughs, we can see the evidence of steady growth and regular maintenance. Likewise, fruit in our spiritual life indicates health and maturity in a believer. And today’s passage lists nine traits that show up in our life when God&rsquo…