Every once in a while, I like to point out which posts have been most visited and, I assume, most helpful or intriguing. My Retreats page (listing Southern California retreat centers) and Ministry Burnout Statistics post continue to receive daily landings from Google searches on those themes. Other daily posts that have been most read:
- “Off We Go…” – I recently pointed back to this first blog post of “Notes from my Journey” in December 2005. Notes had been an broadcast email since 1996 before that. The post was an excerpt from Eugene Peterson’s The Wisdom of Each Other on the subtle danger of spiritual sins (as opposed to obvious sins of the flesh).
- “What Do We Expect From Prayer?” – A core passage that I’ve preached and led retreats out of is Paul the apostle’s prayer in Ephesians 3:14-21. This post from October 2009 was a retreat journal entry of my own in which I imagined what a church community would look like if this prayer was deeply answered in it.
- “Spiritual Confidence” – I reflected on 2 Corinthians 3:4-6 where Paul says, “Not that we are competent of ourselves to claim anything as coming from us; our competence is from God…” What’s the difference between self-focused confidence and God-focused confidence?
- “Growing in Love for God” – Some classic spiritual counsel on expressing our love for God in prayer. Simple and powerful.
- “The Ways of Jesus” (Part one and part two) – a few thoughts on Jesus way of life and ministry as seen in his teaching from the sermon on the mount. In part two, I especially focused what He says about prayer.
I hope one of these posts might help you today.
Alan, thank you so much for your caring heart. May God hold you and Gem tight in the palm of his mighty hand.