John is a 38 year old Christian man. He ends most days physically and mentally exhausted having spent almost no time before God in prayer, Bible reading, or quiet reflection. Most nights he feels guilty about being lazy. The thought occurs to him that, if – after tucking in the kids to bed – he could just muster a final ounce of effort, he could read a chapter of the Bible before collapsing on the couch.
Read moreOne of the events that contributed to the Union army winning the Civil War occurred when a Yankee soldier found a detailed copy of Robert E. Lee’s orders for the Antietam campaign on a cigar wrapper. The wrapper quickly passed through the ranks until Northern officers found themselves holding a cheat–sheet to victory. A subtle and cunning enemy is far easier to counter when you know with precision what his next move will be.
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Too many of us hit a low–ceiling of spiritual growth. We desire to grow, but feel stuck and frustrated as if our maturity is stunted. To make matters worse, many of us are confused about the source of the problem. Preachers, like me, can be too slick in our diagnoses. We fire off indictments of laziness and apathy without carefully looking into underlying symptoms. Such slipshod treatment is dangerous. Any physician worth his wages knows that an effective remedy begins with an accurate diagnosis. T
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