Growing up!

On Spiritual Growth

I have been reading and studying for a few years now in the area of spiritual formation and spiritual direction.  I have now come to a firmer conclusion that I have held loosely for years.



True spiritual growth does not happen by chance.  Growth happens intentionally and purposefully.  Sad to say, many believers in Christ, do not progress on their spiritual journey because they don’t have the necessary tools or understanding to move forward.

I recently read Teresa of Avila’s 4 blockage in spiritual progression:

# 1.  A Carelessness about Sin
Here the admonishment is about paying close attention to our words, conduct, thoughts, and actions.  Ralph Martin: “Making a decision never to freely choose to commit even a small sin is an important turning point in our spiritual journey.”

# 2.  Not avoiding the Near Occasions of Sin
We too often fall back into the same sin(s) and end up spinning our spiritual wheels.  We excuse our sin, plus we refuse to remove ourselves and our sin tendency from the temptation source.  Sometimes the source is the TV, certain people, certain activities that create an opportunity to sin.

# 3.  Self-Reliance
We need to settle this once and for all—left by ourselves we will get no where in our spiritual lives.  We need to be totally God-reliant.  Here are Teresa’s words:  “I give you one counsel; that you don’t think that through your own strength or efforts you can arrive, for reaching this stage is beyond your power; if you try to reach it, the devotion you have will grow cold.”

# 4.  Not Valuing the Graces of God

What she means by this is the promptings of the Spirit of God.  These are moments when we know the voice of the Lord is telling us to pray, read the Bible, visit a lonely person, bake a cake for a neighbour.  We need instant and ready obedience to these promptings.  Ralph Martin:  “Frances De Sales defines the nature of the devout life as being characterized by a frequent, careful, and prompt response to the will of God and His inspirations.” 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Learning to hate your sin

Image
   John 5:13-15 (NLT) 13 The man didn’t know, for Jesus had disappeared into the crowd. 14 But afterward Jesus found him in the Temple and told him, “Now you are well; so stop sinning, or something even worse may happen to you.” 15 Then the man went and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had healed him.   Lord give me grace, power, and effort to maintain a resilience against sin.  Sin is ALWAYS a dark path. It ALWAYS pays wages.  The wage of sin is death.  Sin will always hurt, always destroy, always wound—you, relationships, stuff, goals, etc.  It is a killer.  It is a wound-er.  It is a consumer of all that is healthy, strong, good, and perfect. Learn to hate sin. Learn to fear sin. Learn to run as fast as you can away from sin. Search deeply for hidden sin. Be disgusted with your sin.  Repent, repent, repent daily for your sin. Be afraid of your sin. Be petrified of your sin. Be worried about your sin. And keep repenting, keeping running into the arms of grace and the arm
Read more

Duh--What church should I attend?

Image
Part # 3 of three Part Blog: Why go to church? What is the ‘church?’ How to find the right congregation? How to find the right congregation? A congregation is what we normally refer to as a church.  Here is the distinction I am making.   The Church; This is the one described in my previous blog… “what is the church.”  It is the timeless eternal body of believers. A Congregation: This is a local gathering of believers who are part of “The Church”. Think of it this way—-three levels: Level # 1-  THE CHURCH—the mystical eternal union of all believers. Level # 2-   The Church in a town/ city/ area.  Because of level # 1, there is realistically only ONE church in a town, city, etc. Level # 3-  Congregations:  These are various groups of people that meet together for primarily four interactive, communal, things: Word:  Preaching, teaching, sharing Sacrament:  Celebration of the Lord’s Supper (communion/ eucharist) Worship: Music,
Read more

It's just too noisy!

Image
  “Be still and know that I am God:   Ps 46:11 Silence What a pile of noise! Noise—Noise—Noise. Noise in my head. Noise in my ears. Noise in my eyes. Noise—Noise—Noise. Are you crying out for silence? His presence manifests itself, not in fire or wind or thunder, but in a still small voice.  Only in this quietness does he give us the certainty of his presence.  We usually cannot hear this because we are making so much inner noise… The word from the Word is often something like “Grow up!”  I suddenly see the far more important things are at stake than my feelings…We do not always get specific answers, even when we invoke his name, but we always get the Answerer! … Peter Kreeft- Payer for Beginners Silence is not just silence or emptiness or nothingness but…the best preparation there is because then there is no obstacle.  And God’s love—since it is no pervasive—just comes in, like the weather, and like it fills any empty spaces. …Thomas Keating— Silence and Centring P
Read more