Category Spiritual Markers

A personal retreat

I had never heard of the concept of a personal retreat until 1996. I had served as a campus minister in Arkansas for about a year when my boss encouraged me to take one. When I asked what he meant, he described it as simply a few days to be quiet, to rest, to pray, read and enjoy my relationship with God. I remember distinctly his encouragement to not get frustrated if I fell asleep on the first day and felt like I’d “wasted” a day. He said that sleep may be the most spiritual thing I do initially on a retreat.

Honoring God-fearers

Last year, I wrote a post about those who "fear the Lord" from Psalm 15:4. I came across the post in my TimeHop feed today, and strangely enough, I'd read Psalm 15 this morning. I thought it appropriate to revisit the post and mention some of the people who have inspired me this past year.

Discipleship substitutes

Last year I read A.W. Tozer’s The Set of the Sail, a collection of devotionals. One entry in particular really hammered the church during his day for its separation of salvation from discipleship. The notion that someone could “ask Jesus…

God the Includer

Do you think you've messed up, that you've missed your spot with God, that you're relegated to second string - or worse, you've missed the team bus? God is an includer. We don't have to impress Him or clean ourselves up. We just orient our life in His direction through repentance and wonder.