Tedder’s Top Ten: Spiritual Formation

Talk of spiritual formation is all the rage. I just read an article by Dallas Willard in which he said that, in some circles, it seems as though spiritual formation is quickly approaching “fad” status. But, of course, pursuing God, renewing our minds, and transforming our lives into the likeness of Christ should be anything but a fad. It should be the very purpose of our existence.

Below are some websites that I have found very helpful in my own spiritual formation. As always, let me know any that I have missed and I’ll see about adding them as a postscript.

The Lord bless you as you seek to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Joy and Truth,
Dale

1.) Reflections Ministries - Ken Boa’s ministry. What else can I say about Ken Boa that I haven’t already said several dozen times? Ken’s website keeps getting better and better. There are articles, audio, video, blog posts, etc. And, he has a great store to purchase his products. Well worth your time.

2.) The Center for Biblical Spirituality - Donald Whitney’s ministry. Donald Whitney is a gem. I’ve read most of his books and have used his fantastic book on the spiritual disciplines as my curriculum for a class I have taught. Whitney’s website also continues to improve and become more and more user-friendly.

3.) The Fellowship of Ailbe - T.M. Moore’s ministry. I don’t know if Moore would consider himself as one who writes primarily on spiritual formation, but it certainly seeps through all his writing (which is prolific). I don’t think I’ve ever read anything by Moore which didn’t bless me tremendously. I feel like a broken record, but Moore’s website also continues to improve. It’s a real treat to check out.

4.) Transforming Center - Ruth Haley Barton’s ministry. Barton is very insightful and has been a big help to me. Her book, Sacred Rhythms, is well worth purchasing. Lots of good resources at her website.

5.) Dallas Willard - Not the world’s greatest website… but it’s loaded with Willard’s writing (and some audio) which makes it priceless. Folks will be reading Willard’s books 100 years from now, if Jesus doesn’t return before then.

6.) Renovare - The good folks at Renovare are veterans in the world if spiritual formation. Great website. Lots of resources. Their tagline, “becoming like Jesus,” says it all. You can’t be a serious student of spiritual formation without checking them out.

7.) NewWay Ministries - Larry Crabb’s ministry. Helpful website. But the real value here is their training in spiritual direction. I think I’m going to look into this myself. Good stuff.

8.) David Benner - I’m really including him because his books are so good, especially Sacred Companions and Care of Souls. Very deep. I think he has to be read several times before understanding kicks in.

9.) Gary Thomas - Great website. Very helpful and easily accessible resources. I’ve only recently been introduced to Gary Thomas, but from all that I can tell, he’s a real blessing. I look forward to learning more about him and from him.

10.) A Tie: Conversations Journal and Journal of Spiritual Formation and Soul Care

I hate limiting such a rich topic to only ten (or, in this case, eleven) websites. So here are some other names of people and ministries you will want to check out: John Ortberg, Monvee, b-ing.org, Formatio at IVP, Institute for Spiritual Formation at Biola, Jan Johnson, Metamorpha, The Upper Room, The Academy of Spiritual Formation, Pierre Eade

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Prayer for this Lord’s Day

Sit back and enjoy this beautiful video of some of the prayers of A.W. Tozer put to music.
(Put together by Ken Boa and the good folks at Reflections Ministries)

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For This Lord’s Day…

Galatians 2:11-21
    When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. [12] Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. [13] The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.
    [14] When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?
    [15] “We who are Jews by birth and not ‘Gentile sinners’ [16] know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.
    [17] “If, while we seek to be justified in Christ, it becomes evident that we ourselves are sinners, does that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not! [18] If I rebuild what I destroyed, I prove that I am a lawbreaker. [19] For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. [20] I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. [21] I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”

Heidelberg Catechism: Lord’s Day 36

The Ten Commandments

99. Question: What is required in the third commandment?

Answer: We are not to blaspheme or to abuse the Name of God by cursing,[1] perjury,[2] or unnecessary oaths,[3] nor to share in such horrible sins by being silent bystanders.[4] In short, we must use the holy Name of God only with fear and reverence,[5] so that we may rightly confess Him,[6] call upon Him,[7] and praise Him in all our words and works.[8]

[1] Lev. 24:10-17. [2] Lev. 19:12 [3] Matt. 5:37; James 5:12. [4] Lev. 5:1; Prov. 29:24. [5] Ps. 99:1-5; Is. 45:23; Jer. 4:2. [6] Matt. 10:32, 33; Rom. 10:9, 10. [7] Ps. 50:14, 15; I Tim. 2:8. [8] Rom. 2:24; Col. 3:17; I Tim. 6:1.

100. Question: Is the blaspheming of God’s Name by swearing and cursing such a grievous sin that God is angry also with those who do not prevent and forbid it as much as they can?

Answer: Certainly,[1] for no sin is greater or provokes God’s wrath more than the blaspheming of His Name. That is why He commanded it to be punished with death.[2]

[1] Lev. 5:1. [2] Lev. 24:16.

Victory in Jesus

Chambers Devotion for this Lord’s Day
from Oswald Chambers: My Utmost for His Highest

The Missionary Watching

“Watch with Me.” Matthew 26:40

“Watch with Me” – with no private point of view of your own at all, but watch entirely with Me. In the early stages we do not watch with Jesus, we watch for Him. We do not watch with Him through the revelation of the Bible; in the circumstances of our lives. Our Lord is trying to introduce us to identification with Himself in a particular Gethsemane, and we will not go; we say – “No, Lord, I cannot see the meaning of this, it is bitter.” How can we possibly watch with Someone Who is inscrutable? How are we going to understand Jesus sufficiently to watch with Him in His Gethsemane, when we do not know even what His suffering is for? We do not know how to watch with Him; we are only used to the idea of Jesus watching with us.

The disciples loved Jesus Christ to the limit of their natural capacity, but they did not understand what He was after. In the Garden of Gethsemane they slept for their own sorrow, and at the end of three years of the closest intimacy they “all forsook Him and fled.”

“They were all filled with the Holy Ghost” – the same “they,” but something wonderful has happened in between – Our Lord’s Death and Resurrection and Ascension; and the disciples have been invaded by the Holy Spirit. Our Lord had said – “Ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you,” and this meant that they learned to watch with Him all the rest of their lives.

The Gospel of John: Part 18

Prayer for this Lord’s Day

Clamoring for Lesser Goods: A Prayer
by Ken Boa

Dear Father, I rejoice in the revelation that You want to be with me and me with You. The depths of Your grace are unfathomable—I cannot see how You could wish to have such intimacy with me. Yet daily I seem to forget this glorious truth and turn my heart instead to lesser goods that compete with the one thing most needful. Why do I clamor after other affections above Yours? How did I get betrothed to your enemy? I ask that you would untie me and break that knot, and take me to Yourself. Only when I am enthralled by You will I ever be free. Knowing this, I ask for the grace of holy aspiration, so that I will treasure what You declare to be important and stop giving myself to lesser things that cannot satisfy, but only entrap. By Your grace, I would break free from the bondage of the flesh, the world and the devil.

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Prayer for this Lord’s Day

A video of the prayers of A.W. Tozer from Reflections Ministries…

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