Cultural Thinker Analysis

What is spiritual formation? That is a question many evangelical Christian’s began to wonder as it became a popular topic of discussion within many Christian churches in the past twenty years. Dallas Willard in this article takes a look at that question throughout this excerpt from a book he wrote in 1999. Throughout this piece he takes an in depth look at what spiritual formation looks like in different contexts. He begins with what it might look like for the average person walking down the street, but then transitions to what it should look like in the life of a believer in Jesus. Willard is thorough in giving us what spiritual formation is and even why it is such an important part of the life of a Christian.

While it most definitely is Jesus getting down and washing the disciples’ feet, being willing to serve others even when the tasks aren’t the most glamorous, and situations or actions such as these, sometimes humility looks like being open to see things from another perspective. This involves admitting that you might not know everything or that your way might not be the best way, which requires a lot of humility. I never really thought of humility in this light much before. However, this will now be tied to my definition of humility when I think about it from now

Theology has four major components that we use when practicing. These components give us the framework for how we practice. These components are the four questions “What does the Bible say?”, “ What has the church said?”, “ How do we put it all together?”, “ Why does it matter?”. ( Akin pg 3)

Cultural engagement is a process of learning to interact with individuals in another culture. This is highly important in any Christians walk with God because it helps us learn to serve, and not see this world as our own, but rather a world we need to serve in for others to show the care and love that Jesus once showed when he roamed the Earth. As we serve we gain a servants heart, which changes our hearts to look more like Jesus. In Galatians 5:13 it says, “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” We must not just serve others in our community, but serve with the same love that Jesus had, and this will not only change us, but also those that

John Meakin wrote: “The New Testament, which was written in Greek, contains many words that add to our understanding of the concept of sin.” and used a passage from the apostle Paul from Romans 6:6, where he personified sin as a “… an ungodly power that can control people.” As I studied the word sin exclusively within the four Gospels, I found that each Disciple recalled similar yet different truths of the teaching of sin: How it destroys us, condemns us and can jeopardize our salvation. Do you realize that the difference between a sincere, Spirit‑controlled, devoted, godly, obedient Christian and a defeated, weak, struggling Christian is what takes place in the mind? (MacArthur, J., 2012)

There are two forms of humility: genuine humility and false humility; only one though should we drive to attain – and that is genuine humility. The occurrence of false humility can come by means of several ways: Through self-occupation, publication of personal sacrifice to impress, as well submission, without obedience and so on. This is precisely the attitude of Ahaz, the king of Judah (2 Kings). He submits; he takes the humble posture; he speaks the humble words; but, he does not obey God, nor does he put his faith completely in God. I bring up false humility, because within it, is the root of false reverence to and false reliance on Christ. True humility, however, is the fear of the Lord, as put by Proverbs 22:4 “Humility is the fear of the Lord; its wages are riches and honor and

Principally, All Christians experience baptism through Jesus Christ, and are eternally in Christ, to be one with Him. Through

Through this new beginning, there is a call to submission and obedience to the will and word of God. However, this is not left up to the infant to paddle through, but with good counsel and proper parenting the new believer can grow in Christ. Every phase of the “Five Stage of Discipleship” process is important as it brings the believer closer to Christ, and promotes discipleship.

“How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth” (Psalm 119:103, NIV). Such a glorious description of God’s Word as one meditates on it. Engaging one’s senses and savoring the sweetness of the Spirit’s gentle calling, it envelops the individual as they seek to hear God’s voice. Formative reading of Scripture awakens the soul as it anticipates a conversation with God, and a deepening of their personal relationship with Him (Issler, 2012, p. 124). This journal entry will reflect on the practice and evaluation of spiritual reading of Scripture, and its affect on my approach to meditating and reading Scripture in the future.

The journal article is important as it digs in the fundamentals of humility. Humility happens to be a virtue that personalities should possess so that they can relate well to their daily interactions. Additionally, it captures its development in many cultures, societies and religions. Humility demonstrates resonance with the contemporary world today. It calls for self-learning and remarks on the present self-deprecation. This will bring about adaptations, adjustments and reinterpretations of many spiritual texts, profound writings and understandings of the expression of it.

The recent World Health Organization IARC press release on the reclassification of red meat and processed meat as cancer risks brought about a small storm of furious and frustrated readers and writers. Many took the report as another piece of evidence buttressing vegetarianism, while some others warned of the ambiguities and limits of the IARC report. The comment sections of various news reports, in particular, contain a varied and oftentimes contradictory set of conclusions somehow derived from the same report, as well as an occasional commenter trying to clarify the original IARC report.

What is spiritual formation? Spiritual formation is how God impacts our lives and “forms” them (our lives) to be like Christ. It is the “ongoing process of the triune God transforming the believer’s life and character toward the life and character of Jesus Christ.” In other writers words spiritual formation can be defined as ”the ministry through which we seek to stimulate and support the ongoing spiritually transforming work of the Holy Spirit in and through the personal lives, relationships, and ministries of genuine believers so that we all progressively become more conformed to the image of Christ according to the will of God the Father.” These definitions of spiritual formation, I believe, cover the basis of what spiritual formation is and what it is founded on. Spiritual formation is based on and founded through out scriptures. This is evident through us being made in the image of God, the gifts of the Spirit, the fruits of the Spirit and also how God calls us to think upon things that are excellent and worthy of praise (Genesis 1:26, Galatians 5:22-23, 1 Corinthians 12, and Philippians 4:8). In this paper I will be discussing the biblical and theological basis for spiritual formation.

identity in Jesus. In his presentation, a great deal of emphasis was placed on who we are in

Meekness is partially overlapped concept with humility. Henry understood meekness as "a gracious easiness to be wrought upon by that which is good.” Brakel defined humility is ‘the humble disposition’ of the heart of the believer. Meekness and humility both direct to a specific inclination of spirit. Then, what meekness and humility are different? Trench distinguished meekness from humility. He argued that humility is acknowledgement “of creatureliness, of absolute dependence, of possessing nothing and of receiving all things from God.”, and meekness is “an inwrought grace of the soul that is exercised primarily toward God.”

In the Christian context, formation is the process by which someone is made a disciple of Christ; it is “a continual process in the individual of maturation in faith and likeness to Christ, according to the will of the Father, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit”. It is “the call to growth and a continual process of maturation, of always bearing much fruit.” Thus, formation entails a gradual and continual process of conversion that happens day by day throughout one’s life.