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Ghost Dose #3, A Spirit of Power

May 16th, 2010 | Add a Comment

Verse: For this reason I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of hands. For God has not given us a spirit of timidity , but of power and love and discipline. 1 Timothy 1:6-7 Meditation:      There are multiple truths offered to us in today’s verse, but our focus will be upon one truth.  The gift of the Spirit is a gift of power.  The Greek word used here for power is “dunemaos”, from which we get the word “dynamite”.  I once witnessed dynamite exploding.  I was at a 4th of July celebration and sticks of dynamite were laid out on the surface of a dam and ignited.  We were in a canoe easily a couple of hundred yards away.  I … Read entire article »

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Ghost Dose #2, The Spirit Teaches

May 15th, 2010 | Add a Comment

Verse: “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you.  But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your rememberance all that I have said to you.”   Meditation: Two truths are given to us in today’s verse. First, the Holy Spirit will teach us all things. God will directly give to us the things we must know. The Helper, the Holy Spirit will educate us. I am reminded of the Jeremiah 31:33-34 where God describes the future covenant that God will have with his people. “I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts and I will be their God and they shall be my people. And no longer shall … Read entire article »

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A Protestant Novena, A Dose of the Ghost

May 12th, 2010 | 10 Comments

A Protestant Novena, A Dose of the Ghost

“Protestant novena” may be an oxymoron, because as far as I  know a novena is a totally catholic thing.  I wonder how many people reading this have even heard of a novena.  I never had until this morning.  Or, at least I don’t recall knowing about it.  I was researching the church holiday  ”Ascension of the Lord” this morning and came across the term.  A novena is a nine day prayer commitment focused upon a … Read entire article »

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Powerful Prayer though Visualizing

January 31st, 2010 | Add a Comment

A number of years ago, I listened to a tape series about prayer by Richard Foster, author of Celebration of Discipline.  One lesson that stood out to me and made a marked difference in my prayer life was his recommendation to visualize prayer.  There are at least four beneficial shifts you will experience if you strive to visualize your prayers. First, specificity. When you take time to vividly imagine what your prayer would look like answered and lift that image with all its details upto God you tend to be far more specific in what you pray.  For example, I had an extremely unruly Sunday School class of Junior High kids once. (Okay, may be more than just once)  I was about to give up on the class and it was … Read entire article »

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Prayer Journaling Orientation

September 22nd, 2009 | 3 Comments

Our youth group this past week began a three week journey into prayer journaling.  We are starting with a method that I have used intermittently for over 20 years.  This five minute video outlines the process.  This discipline really enhances my relationship with God.  Specifically, I see God more clearly and I apply scripture more frequently when I journal daily using this method.  My journaling frequently takes as little as five or ten minutes.  I hope you will try it.  May it be a blessing to you from The Practical Disciple. … Read entire article »

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31 “31′s” of prayer

June 3rd, 2009 | 3 Comments

I have learned the hard way that spiritual growth most frequently happens when we are intentional and committed to it.  Duh!  That may sound obvious, but is it?  For example, what can you list right now that you are doing on a disciplined basis with an intent to grow spiritually…to become a better disciple?  If you just paused and groped how to answer those questions, then you aren’t currently exercising the obvious.   I regularly take on practices for set periods of time.  For example, right now I am spending 15 minutes of giving thanks every evening for 31 days.  I am about halfway through.  I will report on how that goes in a couple of weeks, but in the meantime, I encourage you to take on some form of thirty … Read entire article »

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