The Holy Spirit And Reality

The Christian life seemingly involves many outward matters and things, such as baptism, the breaking of bread, worship, praise, prayer, forgiveness, humility, and love for one another. As such, it is easy to focus on these things but miss the spiritual reality behind them. This reality is the Holy Spirit. Apart from the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of reality, all of these things, no matter how faithfully practiced, are merely outward conduct that is devoid of any real inward spiritual content.

Noted Chinese pastor/writer Watchman Nee presents his insights on the nature of spiritual reality in the interest of helping believers discriminate between mere appearance and the real.

Christ is revealed in a rich and marvelous way through types in the Old Testament. In Christ as the Reality Witness Lee provides exposition of some of the deepest and richest types of Christ as revealed in the five offerings in the book of Leviticus, including the burnt offering, the meal offering, the peace offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering.

In this little volume of collected messages, Watchman Nee attempts to show us the reality of the Body of Christ, proving that the body of Christ is founded on life and life consciousness, built on a living relationship between members and head.

Too often we think of prayer in only the human dimension: as a means of edification, or spiritual empowerment, but prayer in fact is a mostly spiritual thing where it impacts many different aspects of life and spirit. Bounds expounds on this brilliantly and uses both Christ and the Holy Spirit as examples of and the expositors or our prayers to the Father.

Is God missing from our worship? Obstacles to true worship are not about contemporary or traditional music, electronic gadgetry or seeker sensitivity. Rather it is the habits of mind and heart, conditioned by our surrounding culture, that hinder our faith in the real presence of the transcendent God among his people. Sensing a real need for renewal, John Jefferson Davis offers a theology of worship that uncovers the most fundamental barriers to our vital involvement in the worship of our holy God. His profound theological analysis leads to fresh and bracing recommendations that will be especially helpful to all those who lead worship or want to more fully and deeply encounter the glory and majesty of God.

This is a new release of the original 1948 edition.

When we mistake spiritual disciplines for to-dos, time slots on our schedule, or Instagram-able moments, we miss the benefits of Christ's continual and constant work for us. In Ragged, Gretchen Ronnevik aims to reclaim spiritual disciplines as good gifts given by our good Father instead of heavy burdens of performance carried by the Christian. Only when we recognize our failures to maintain God's commands do we also realize the benefit of our dependence on his promises. Gretchen uses this distinction on law and gospel, presented throughout Scripture, to guide readers through spiritual disciplines including prayer, meditation, Scripture reading, and discipleship among others. Despite our best efforts, the good news is that spiritual disciplines have less to do with what we bring before God and more about who Christ is for us, not only as the author but also as the perfector of our faith.