Transformation Blog

An Interlude at the Beginning of Advent... Today we took time to enjoy the work of The Advent Project , put on each year by Biola University's Center for Christianity, Culture and the Arts. The story of Christmas actually began in the Garden with the story of Adam and Eve.  The drawing that caught my eye was one of Eve kneeling at the foot of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in despair as the serpent looks on from the trunk.  But rather than the figure of the angel ordering her from the Garden, the figure of a glowing Mary stands next to her, linking the 2 stories, linking the lives of these two Mothers--one of pride and grasping, the other of obedience and humility-- as surely as Paul linked the First and Last Adams. Please click the link below and enjoy the art, music, poetry and meditative writing you find. http://ccca.biola.edu/advent/#day-nov-29 And sign up, if you like,  to have this wonderful devotional sent to you daily throughout Advent by entering your

The Journey Invitation to a Journey ~ A Road Map to Spiritual Formation M. Robert Mulholland & Ruth Haley Barton plus Notes and writings on Spiritual Formation from the Institute for Spiritual Formation, Biola University Lesson 4 Opening Prayer—Chapter 2—Being Formed pp. 33-34 1.   Thoughts from last time? ·       The Sanctification Gap ·       Making ourselves available to God so that He can transform our lives. 2.   I’d Rather Do It Myself! ·       Graspers o    What is ‘grasping’? o    How do you grasp things in the world? o    How do we resist being ‘grasped’ by God? ·       Manipulators o    What does it mean to manipulate the world? o    How do we manipulate people?   o    Is it intentional or un intentional? Conscious or un conscious? ·       Controllers o    How do we control our world? o    How much control do we really have over circumstances?   People? Ourselves? o    What is the difference of being a steward and c

The Journey  Invitation to a Journey ~ A Road Map to Spiritual Formation M. Robert Mulholland & Ruth Haley Barton plus Notes and writings on Spiritual Formation from the Institute for Spiritual Formation, Biola University Lesson 3 Opening Prayer—Chapter 2—Being Formed 1.   Thoughts from last week? ·       How did our Life Map exercise influence the way you thought about your Journey? ·       Did it help you to see how spiritual formation is happening in your life?   How? 2.   Being Formed vs. Forming Ourselves ·       I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing .   ( John 15:5 NASB) 3.   Control ·       Why is control such a big issue for us? ·       What are some of the consequences of humans having control? ·       How can we give control over to God? 4.   On God—C. S. Lewis On God As a great Christian writer (George MacDonald) pointed out, ev

The Journey--  Questions to accompany reading Chapter 2  Use these questions to guide your reading of Chapter 2.  This is a very dense chapter, so take your time and give lots of thought and prayer to each question.  It will prepare you for the next few lessons. Invitation to a Journey- Chapter 2 Being Conformed 1. Spiritual formation is a process of being conformed to the image of Christ. What does that mean to you right now? 2. What actions or thoughts would be proof to you that this occurring in your own life or the life of someone close to you? 3. This concept of changing or being changed presents a veritable seesaw between conforming ourselves and being conformed. There is a massive issue centering on control. Who is in control? Who is running your spiritual life? 4. So many of us control most if not all aspects of our lives. What are some areas you control completely and perhaps haven’t thought about surrendering to God? 5. There is nothing we

The Journey Invitation to a Journey ~ A Road Map to Spiritual Formation M. Robert Mulholland & Ruth Haley Barton plus Notes and writings on Spiritual Formation from the Institute for Spiritual Formation, Biola University WEEKS 2 ~ 4 Opening Prayer—Chapter 1—The Process, p. 24-27 1.   Thoughts from last week? ·       How did you relate to Mulholland’s definition of Spiritual Formation? ·       Spiritual Formation is a process of being formed in the image of Christ for the sake of others. ·       How did you relate to the discussion about Worldview? ·       Has the Holy Spirit been the agent of change in your life? 2.   C. S. Lewis—Thoughts on a faraway country… When I attempted . . .  to describe our spiritual longings, I was omitting one of their most curious characteristics. We usually notice it just as the moment of vision dies away, as the music ends, or as the land- scape loses the celestial light. . . . . For a few minutes we have had th