Spiritual Experience Archives - Page 4 of 8

Approaching worship through worshipful activity

September 6, 2019December 21, 2018 by Jeff

Here’s an experiment that you might want to try to move you into true worship. Step one: Familiarize yourself with worshipful activities . . . .

Your daily praise phrase

September 6, 2019December 15, 2018 by Jeff

A praise phrase for each day of the week reminds you to align with the new way of living: worshipful, scientific, philosophical, sensitive to beauty in nature, artistic, morally active, and righteous.

God is within you

September 6, 2019November 17, 2018 by Jeff

God is within you. Here are four thoughts designed to help you realize this truth more fully.

Light on the ramparts

September 6, 2019September 26, 2018 by Jeff

How can someone who used to avoid social service start to become a server of all? Here’s an example of how the light of divinity gently transforms us.

The Transformation Blues

September 6, 2019September 15, 2018 by Jeff

To gain most from Dante’s Divine Comedy to 12-Step programs and the Enneagram, seek first transformation through the Spirit of Truth.

Love and cosmic truth

September 6, 2019August 31, 2018 by Jeff

Here are examples that show how to join love and cosmic truth–the truths of science, philosophy, and spiritual experience.

The kingdom of God–a moving target

September 6, 2019August 24, 2018 by Jeff

We enter the kingdom of God by the faith of a child, but to stay in–as challenges grow and we find ourselves needing to re-connect–we need the faith of an adult.

Werner Herzog: Is God in Control?

September 6, 2019July 24, 2018 by Jeff

In Werner Herzog’s film Huie’s Sermon, the affirmation that God is in control is contradicted by images of a trashed out slum. A reflection on the meaning of divine control accounts for the success of the sermon in its hearers.

Coffeehouse Contemplative

September 6, 2019July 13, 2018 by Jeff

A spirituality that grows to discover God in everything and everyone is what unfolds in Coffeehouse Contemplative, the 2016 book by Jeffrey A. Nelson, portrays the way of spiritual direction based on the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola.

Revisit Galilee (revised)

A dozen years ago I went with about twenty-five believers on a pilgrimage to Israel and beyond. I was greatly moved to discover how seeing places of Jesus’ ministry enabled me to remember, ponder, interpret, and commune. One thing that I brought back home was a placemat which I have on the dinner table. It […]

Jesus’ Scientific Knowledge: Scientific Living and Spiritual Living in the Teaching of Jesus

Jesus was not only an idealist. He was also a realist. He had his feet on the ground, and his knowledge of facts was excellent. And excellent knowledge includes some scientific knowledge. I believe that as the human Jesus grew up, he learned to be Watch the 3:50 video or listen to the podcast episode. […]

The Treasure in your Field

The kingdom of God is like treasure hidden in a field that a man found. He covered it up again, and in his joy he went out and sold everything he had and bought that field. What was this treasure in the field? I think it’s what Jesus was talking about when he said, “The […]

A man with a funnel in his head

A few years ago, on several occasions, when I looked out from the window in my study, I would see, across the street, my tall neighbor standing in the middle of his front yard. His little girl, about two years old, was running around in the yard, staying fairly close to him. Every few minutes, […]

A workshop, a reflection on truth and love, and a correction

There is some business that I want to mention at the end of this post, and it connects directly with some of the most important teachings of Jesus. Here is the question that I want to answer today. Jesus taught that we should love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength—and our neighbor […]

With all our strength

I’ve been on a quest to live–and write about–loving God with all my heart, mind, soul, and strength. Yesterday I sent to my editor friend a revised section on strength. She discovered weaknesses in it. It didn’t take long for me to realize (this is a pattern) that she had uncovered a fresh, hungry need […]

Faith child

The faith of a little child not only enables us to join the kingdom family of God, it also continues to guide us as we progress. Jesus’s teachings and interactions on this theme are marked by a wonderful simplicity. And the variety of these teachings touches on several concepts that are part of the whole […]

Sean finds God

A 21-year-old computer whiz embraced the concept of the wonderfulness within, but rejected the idea of the spirit of God within–until two weeks ago. How did philosophy help? Watch the 9-minute video or listen to the podcast episode. For the video, I simplified the philosophy so much it’s hardly recognizable. I have organized some ideas […]

Falling across the Pentecost finish line

After acknowledging the failure of an experiment in the last class meeting (falling across the finish line), I summarize a five-week class, "The Journey from Easter to Pentecost." Then I distinguish garden-variety spiritual experience from the taste-and-see variety. The post Falling across the Pentecost finish line appeared first on UNIVERSAL FAMILY.

The Journey from Easter to Pentecost

"Lazarus, come forth!" Imagine Jesus saying this to you, and you saying this to others. Here's class that has embarked on that venture. The post The Journey from Easter to Pentecost appeared first on UNIVERSAL FAMILY.