Quotes about Spirituality

The issue is not, by any means, to blindly follow our feelings, but to acknowledge them as a part of the way God communicates to us.

4. Contemplate The final quality of a biblical Sabbath is, of course, the contemplation of God. The Sabbath is always "holy to the LORD" (Exodus 31:15). Pondering the love of God remains the central focus of our Sabbaths.

The emotionally unhealthy leader is someone who operates in a continuous state of emotional and spiritual deficit, lacking emotional maturity and a "being with God" sufficient to sustain their "doing for God." When

genuine love is released in a relationship, God's presence is manifest. The separate space between us becomes sacred space.

Mature spiritual leadership is forged in the crucible of difficult conversations, the pressure of conflicted relationships, the pain of setbacks, and dark nights of the soul.

Using God to run from God Ignoring anger, sadness, and fear Dying to the wrong things Denying the impact of the past on the

the result of denying and minimizing our wounds over many years is that we become less and less human, empty Christian shells with painted smiley faces.

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To feel is to be human. To minimize or deny what we feel is a distortion of what it means to be image bearers of God. To the degree that we are unable to express our emotions, we remain impaired in our ability to love God, others, and ourselves well. Why? Because our feelings are a component of what it means to be made in the image of God. To cut them out of our spirituality is to slice off an essential part of our humanity.

While I was disciplined in spiritual practices, the people closest to me (starting with my wife, Geri) did not experience me as more loving with each passing year.

Your being with God (or lack of being with God) will trump, eventually, your doing for God every time. We cannot give what we do not possess. We cannot help but give what we do possess.

True spirituality frees us to live joyfully in the present. It requires, however, going back in order to go forward. This takes us to the very heart of spirituality and discipleship in the family of God—breaking free from the destructive sinful patterns of our pasts to live the life of love God intends.