Nurturing Spirituality

SylviaHear God's Word for you in 2 Corinthians 11:2-3.

"I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him. But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ."

God is jealous for your undivided affection. He pictures this in the imagery of two lovers. He counts you as a pure virgin engaged to His Son Jesus. When you are madly in love, it is easy to have eyes only for the one you love. You listen in rapt attention for the next word from your beloved's mouth, and any wish is your command. You let nothing disturb your communion.

Listen to the single commitment of a lover of Jesus. He said, "Only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her." Choose the one thing that cannot be taken away from you: fellowship in devotion to Jesus, filling your heart with Him, hanging on His words, and joyously abandoning yourself to Him. On earth Jesus was conscious of one thing: perfect oneness with His Father (John 10:30; 17:22). Be blessed with the simplicity that is in Christ, so that all you do aims for perfect unity with Him.

Feel the love hunger of a great lover of God. Among all the privileges of royalty, where no pleasure of the king was denied, David said in Psalm 27:4, "One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple." This was the priority of a man after God's own heart, pure devotion to Him, being in His presence, drinking in the beauty of His holiness, wanting nothing and nobody else.

After Jesus ascended back to His Father, Peter and John amazed the most learned and powerful Jewish ruling body of the day. Dr. Luke tells us, "When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished, and they took note that these men had been with Jesus" (Acts 4:13). Being with Jesus was their credential: being entirely dedicated to Him, letting nobody turn them aside, being faithful to the power He imparted to them. Be blessed with the courage and boldness that mark the devotion of being with Jesus. Be blessed with freshness and power that causes others to be amazed and marvel at your purity in Jesus alone. Live with no other agenda than being sold out to making the name of Jesus famous.

As Paul sat in jail near the end of his life, he boiled his life down to its essence. He said, "One thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 3:13-14). His single-minded devotion to Jesus baptized him with love that did not shrink from pouring his life out as a drink offering. He had eyes only for the prize: Jesus Himself and His pleasure. Be blessed with the integrity of loving Jesus only and following Him wholly.

Be blessed in the name of Jesus who is worthy to receive power and wealth
and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise (Rev. 5:12).

Nurturing Audio & Video

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Reflections to Consider

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Nurturing Publications

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Publications

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Nurturing Music

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Music

  • Jesus be the centre

    Center is a song that speaks of the essence of our life in Christ, and echoes the words the Christ Read More
  • I Lift My Hands

    A powerful hymn of adoration and praise Arkansas Gospel Mass Choir. This succinctly captures the joy of knowing our savior. Read More
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Nurturing Reflection

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Audio & Video

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Favorites

  • Transforming this World: The Hope of Glory by NT Wright +

    Wright confronts the perspective that this world doesn’t matter, and that we live only to be in heaven. He shows Read More
  • What is Good in a World that Defies Hope: a talk by NT Wright +

    This is the second part of three talks by NT Wright at Harvard University in November, 2008 on the topic Read More
  • The Stream, the Lake and the River: NT Wright +

      Acts 2.1-21; John 7.37-39; a sermon at the Eucharist on the Feast of Pentecost, 11 May 2008, by the Read More
  • Jesus in the Perfect Storm by NT Wright +

    Zechariah 9.9-17; Luke 19.28-48; A sermon for Palm Sunday, April 17, 2011, In the University Chapel of St Salvator, St Read More
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Hidden Blessings

  • Christ is a Great Savior: a review of the movie Amazing Grace +

    Amazing Grace is a historical drama about William Wilberforce who was elected to British Parliament at the age of 21 Read More
  • Wilberforce, Hollywood's Amazing Grace, Charlotte Allen +

    William Wilberforce's relentless campaign eventually led the British Parliament to ban the slave trade, in 1807, and to pass a Read More
  • Making Beauty out of Ugly Things: Grace by U2 +

    Grace, she takes the blame She covers the shame Removes the stain It could be her name Grace, she carries Read More
  • The True Nature of Grace and Love: a movie review of the Soloist +

    The 2009 movie The Soloist is based on a book by the same name, written by Los Angeles Times columnist Read More
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