pastor || writer || speaker
"Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father?" (Hebrews 12:7) With these striking words, the writer of Hebrews radically reframes the suffering believers endure. The writer is not making light of suffering but inviting believers to see suffering in a different light. What …
Continue reading "Run with Discipline: insights on spiritual growth and suffering from Hebrews 12"
I came across this excerpt from D. Elton Trueblood's 1970 book The New Man for Our Time on the topic of spiritual discipline. It caught my attention as I continue to give attention to the disciplines of grace necessary for us to grow in the spiritual life, drawing upon the influence of writers like Eugene Peterson, …
Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forevermore. (Psalm 73:25-26) The other day while jogging, I came to the most challenging part of my route: running up …
Continue reading "Why It’s Good to Hit the Wall Spiritually … and How God Meets us There"
Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children....God disciplines us for our good in order that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it....without holiness no one …
Continue reading "The Fatherly Discipline of God: a reflection on Hebrews 12"
Matthew Erickson 