The Spirit as the Agent of Formation
Hello leaders,
Thank you all for your thoughtful posts last week, I enjoyed reading each of them.
This week we will discuss the section of our handout entitled “What We Have: The Spirit as the Agent of Formation.”
Block states”…such formation takes place in the natural flow of life.” He goes on to say Formation is simply drawing on the resources that Spirit provides….”
He goes on to note that some of these resources include spiritual disciplines, Scripture, the gospel, community and healthy relationships.
Considering the resources Block mentions, which one (s) has the Spirit provided within the natural flow of your life that you have neglected or not drawn from in full measure? (please include how the resources is present in the natural flow of your life).
What portion of our reading stood out to you the most?
Block four components are the fine tuning of Spiritual Formation. The fine tuning does an autopsy on me. It doesn’t allow me to live off excuses. I find myself in a rush and I know I missed something because when I get to where I am going I do not have everything. The definition block exposes the things I need to concentrate on to continue my growth which is required for my relationship with God.
The fourth components to me stands out the most because your talk can mess you up. What comes out of my mouth comes from my heart. I am not perfect but I do my best to speak worthy. The scripture teaches “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34).
I feel that Spiritual formation is being done as we walk obediently in the light of God’s word.you must keep in step with the leading and guiding of the Holy Spirit.Only the Holy Spirit can aid us in looking at Jesus and see His glory, listen to Him , hear His word, have His life, get to know Him and taste His gifts of joy and peace, that we can truly be formed in His image, these are only possible by the aid of the Holy Spirit.My resources is what the Holy Spirit provide my going in my community providing my neighbors who are sick and disable by taking card’s and fruits and other item they requires that I can afford.I feel that I have a healthy relationship with others, I treat them like I feel I would want to be treated.I can truly say I love all God’s people I tell them about my Savior Jesus and how I feel about Him give my testimony
The Spirit provided within the natural flow of my life that I have neglected or not drawn from in full measure has been Scriptures. I found myself reading too much but not retaining what I was reading or not remembering what I was reading. A resent bible study that Pastor Matisha taught, A Method of Studying the Word was helpful to me. I read a chapter or a verse and study that a chapter or verse instead of an entire book. Also I’m allowing the Holy Spirit to flow within me to guide through the Word by prayer and mediation prior to reading the scripture.
I believe one area of my life that I have drawn from in the natural flow of life has been in spiritual discipline. The way I carry myself while serving God in church, public, at home or at work.
What stood out to me was the Holy Spirit is what enables righteousness, obedience, and love. The Spirit is given and enables us in our relationships. ” By This everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” John 13:35 NIV.
I am not a great studier, so I find that the most neglected Spirit-provided resource are the Scriptures. I will read everyday but if you asked me an hour later what I read I probably will have forgotten. I am working on trying to make more time to allow for more study and in turn better retention, but that is still a work in progress. I enjoy the other resources the Spirit provides. The spiritual disciplines help me to have a go to for when a certain situation comes about. It helps me to have something to fall back on when nothing else seems to work. My community is backbone! They keep me accountable and humble. Without them, I would be somewhere thinking I was holier than thou probably. It is helpful to also be able to help someone else be accountable because it helps you see the humanity in others and remember that I am not the only flawed one here. This strong community encourages healthy interactions and relationships that spill into other areas of my life. I do not allow the toxic qualities of others to interfere in my already healthy relationships and neither so the people I am in relationship with. It is healthy to be buffered against others and to have others to keep you in line.
I enjoyed the entire reading, but the part that stood out to me the most was calling the Spirit an enabler. Bock states that the Spirit gives us the ability to be and live righteous. Bock says, “…the Spirit of God empowers us, not for miracles, but for a righteous, God-honoring life…” I love this because it takes the pressure off. We aren’t here to always here to do a miracle, we have to first live a life worthy of the Spirit within. It’s amazing that what allows us to live up to what’s in us, is what’s in us. God gave us a helper to be like Him, and that helper is Him! Thank you God!
The resources I neglect in my natural flow of life would have to be community and healthy relationships. I natural stay to myself. That’s mainly because I felt pulled on only for my gift and nothing else. Because of that I shied away from reaping the benefits that community affords us in spiritual formation. As well, it caused me not to want to pursue healthy relationships. I believe that these resources are vital for spiritual development and as I’ve gotten older I see that and see that I need to take those opportunities.
What stood out for me in the reading was Bock’s take on the Romans 1:16-17 and how Paul emphasizes the power of the gospel and how that power…”enables us to live a life that honors God”.
I neglected meditation on the verses in the bible and making use of all the spiritual disciplines. I focused more on the spiritual discipline solitude. When practicing solitude the covers are pulled off and I am openly exposed by God. I do not shrink back to the chastising because if I want to walk completely obeying God the exposure is very necessary for my spiritual growth and to sharpen my character. I will read a scripture out of a particular book to get through a tough time. This has been my routine since being saved buy a book that can relate to my tough situation with scriptures. The truth is I need all of the spiritual disciplines and all of the word of God for the natural flow for my life. My life has changed and I find myself pulling out my journals and studies I have done on love, faith, and forgiveness. God loves me and he knows how to get my attention back to the resources that I have neglected too long.
The one thing that stood out to me is how Block wrote about the agent the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit lives inside me and I have the same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead dwelling in me. I have no excuse not to be an overcomer. That was an eye opener for me.