A Soul Seeking

  “I discovered the Sabbath isn’t about what is done or left undone as much as breathing the goodness of God. The more I inhaled, the more I desired another long breath.” Margaret Feinberg   A Soul Seeing… SABBATH   We embark upon another season of exploration through the blog entitled “A Soul Seeking.” The last series of posts reflected on the role of  soteriology …remember?!… the doctrine of salvation.   We explored the roles that both God and humanity play in moving through the spiritual formation process that results in holiness and happiness through an eternal relationship with the Triune God lived out in community with the people of God.    This leg of our journey will lead us further into a deeper understanding of this eternal and communal relationship. However, instead of fulfilling our role through actively participating in the means of grace… we will forsake activity.    We will cease from seeking results and measuring growth. ...

  A Soul Seeking… GRACE & LOVE One thing I learned about journeying with God through Christian discipleship is that the experience requires a “rotational viewpoint.”   WHAT?!… What is a “ rotational viewpoint ?”   It is the process of perpetually shifting your view in various directions in order to keep growing and moving.    There are moments when we need to  look at  the Presence of God in our  present  circumstances.   There are moments when we need to  look back  to acknowledge our God-given grace and avoid the pitfalls of the  past .   There are moments when we need to  look ahead  in order to align our life trajectory with God’s plan for our  future .   A “rotational viewpoint” positions us to stay closely connected with the heart and voice of God to know  where to look, and  when  to look… so we don’t end up distracted or disoriented.    My time of “Soul Seeking”...

“A Soul Seeking… PERFECTION?… Really! Ok, before you get all nervous or start moving down a mental spiral about this week’s topic, take a breath!   Breath. Clear your mind of preconceptions. Breath. Let the grace we found in the last blog post ground you in this moment.  Breath!   Let the heart and voice of God meet you in this moment with this verse found in Psalms 46:10 NLT   “ Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! ”   And … He will be exalted in and through our  imperfect  lives!   To frame our conversations and even the conversion of our perspectives, let us share a common definition of the word “PERFECT.”   Oxford dictionary defines perfect as… “ having all the required or desirable elements, qualities, or characteristics; as good as it is possible to be ”   That definition does not sound so bad… “ as good as it is possible to be”  would suggest that there is some...

  “A Soul Seeking… GRACE!   “the whole body of Christians being agreed, that Christ had ordained certain outward means, for conveying his grace into the souls of men.”                                                                         John Wesley, “Means of Grace” Sermon   Grace . A simple word with profound meaning and resounding impact.   How does one describe the grace of God to someone still seeking to understand and know God?    Is it defined by Oxford Dictionary as “courteous goodwill” or in the Christian belief, the “free and unmerited favor of God as manifested in the salvation of sinners an...

  “A Soul Seeking… The WAY! The word  way  can have many different interpretations and applications. For instance which way is the restroom? This question speaks to the definition of way in reference to a road, track or path for traveling along. In comparison, the question “What is the best way to barbecue brisket- coals or hickory pellets?” In this context the term way means a method, style or manner of doing something.    So what role does  way  play in salvation. Last time we gathered in this “blog zone” we began our journey in mining the meaning of salvation. We began to explore John Wesley’s way of viewing and experiencing soteriology. Soteriology is…remember…the study of salvation. Wesley’s experience with salvation was evolutionary as he personally grew in the “grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18 NKJV).   So the question is, how are we to grow in grace and knowledge as we mine the meaning of salvation. Wha...

My seminary professor charged us with the responsibility of doing an assignment... go figure! This specific course is the study of soteriology. Come again?! I know, right, I had to look it up too..LOL! It is the study of or doctrine of salvation. For those of us who have chose the life of Christianity, salvation is a pretty BIG DEAL! It is the gift that rescues us from death, keeps us from paying the ultimate price for our endless mistakes, and secures our eternal position in relationship with a God who loves us unconditional. Pretty sweet if you ask me! But...yeah there is a but! Always a but! This gift was NOT free. It was pretty costly. As a matter of fact, or a matter of truth, it cost someone His life and status (temporarily). Jesus is the someone who loving and sacrificially decided to give His life in exchange for my life. This life exchange was gift wrapped in a thing we Christians call GRACE. If I had to make the definition of grace plain (which I should for the sake of all re...