Author Archives: denisvernon24

Exploring promises as a tool of growth Part 7: Make your soul the space in which God is honoured As we expand the arena in which God is honoured, we will come up against the will of other people and organisations, some friendly to God and some hostile. We will have to recognise when weContinue reading “Exploring promises as a tool of growth. Part 7”

Exploring promises as a tool of growth Part 6: A promise creates an arena in which God is honoured The promise concentrates our mind wonderfully. We have already acknowledged that it’s not the be all and end all of our spiritual lives, but it is the thing that we are concentrating on at the momentContinue reading “Exploring promises as a tool of growth. Part 6”

Exploring promises as a tool of growth Part 5: Fashion your promise carefully Yes, our promise might be only addressing one area of our lives, but we are making a start. And one promise can lead to another – especially if we actually achieve success on one point. Rather than aiming for perfection overnight –Continue reading “Exploring promises as a tool of growth. Part 5”

Exploring promises as a tool of growth Part 4: A promise is a practical programme of spiritual growth Nevertheless, having just given dire health warnings against promises, I am going to suggest the promise as a powerful tool for spiritual growth. The first benefit of making a promise is that you have to compose whatContinue reading “Exploring promises as a tool of growth. Part 4”

Exploring promises as a tool of growth Part 3: Some pitfalls to avoid! One answer to this problem is to not make promises! If you don’t make any promises, you can’t feel guilty when you break them! But this, of course, is to surrender the spiritual life altogether. So, painful as it is, it isContinue reading “Exploring promises as a tool of growth. Part 3”

Exploring promises as a tool of growth Part 2: In a fight, we need a weapon, so make a promise The inner battle is not completely dependent on a conflict between our conscious mind and more instinctive impulses. There will also be battles within the conscious reasoning part of our minds. This is often theContinue reading “Exploring promises as a tool of growth. Part 2”

Exploring promises as a tool of growth (A theological reflection in 8 parts) Exploring promises as a tool of growth Part 1: Face up to reality: this is a severe struggle One of the greatest difficulties in living a spiritual life is the problem of the divided mind. That is, the inner struggle between yourContinue reading “Exploring promises as a tool of growth. Part 1”

What is faith? Part 3: Medicine for the modern world In the modern world, this faith is totally misunderstood by many who don’t have it. They think of it as a mistake, a delusion, perhaps like an infection that some people catch, but really you need to be healed of it. They think of itContinue reading “What is faith? Part 3”

What is faith? Part 2: A relationship, trusting, loving, fulfilling Faith is faith in someone, in God. It is a commitment to honour him. It is a self-giving – and a self-receiving: receiving a new, transformed version of yourself, and receiving the self that is the person of God. Faith is a promise to beContinue reading “What is faith? Part 2”

What is faith? (An exploration in 3 parts) What is faith? Part 1: A verb, not a noun, active and purposeful It is a way of looking at the world, of understanding reality, of understanding yourself and all your relationships – with other people, but also your inner relationship with yourself. It is a setContinue reading “What is faith? Part 1”