Tag: holiness

How Christmas Isn’t Just about a Savior

By Asher Witmer Spiritual Formation, Theology
aw_savior

Two thousand years ago, when shepherds came and bowed down to a newborn baby boy in Bethlehem, they weren’t bowing to merely a savior; they were bowing to a new way of life.

Christmas has become the time of year we celebrate Jesus, remembering His miraculous birth. But if we’re not careful, Jesus gets relegated to just a savior. He saves us from hell, from eternal damnation. Because of Jesus, we have hope beyond this life, right? We will live with God in Heaven, forever! And that is certainly something worth celebrating!

But it’s not the whole story.

Read More

Without Adam We Wouldn’t Have Eve

By Asher Witmer Current Events, Spiritual Formation
aw_adam_eve

If we didn’t have men like Adam, we might not have women like Eve. If Israel didn’t have a king like Ahab, they wouldn’t have had a queen like Jezebel. If America didn’t have a morally weak and selfish man like Clinton, it might not have a power hungry women like Clinton. In the same way, if we didn’t have Trump we might not have Hillary either.

Evil goes hand in hand, and if men want to be called the leaders than we should probably accept the fact that our sin comes first and sets the tone. We can be holy and set a tone of safety, security, and the pursuit of other people’s interests above our own. Or we can be lustful and set a tone of selfishness, pride, and putting ourselves before the rest.

Whatever we are as men we’ll get in return through the world around us.

Read More

What Does “Assimilating to Culture” Mean?

By Asher Witmer Spiritual Formation
aw_assimilating

What are we talking about when we say we shouldn’t be conformed to the world? What do we mean when we talk about being transformed, or “holy.”

Can I tell when you are being assimilated to an earthly culture? Can I tell when you are assimilating to a heavenly culture (or mindset)? Is holiness something we dissect from looking at each other? Is worldliness something that can be prevented by keeping the external in order?

Does what happens on the outside actually reveal what’s on the inside? Is the heart the only thing that matters?

Read More

Worn-Out Parents Like to Hear This Important Truth

By Asher Witmer Relationships, Spiritual Formation

I used to think that to develop holiness you need to develop good spiritual disciplines. But when I got married and started having children, I ran into trouble.

No matter how hard I tried and no matter how disciplined I had been before, my “good spiritual disciplines” kept getting interrupted by the responsibilities of marriage and parenting. It’s not uncommon for my wife and I to stay up late talking. Those times are good and needed. But then it’s harder to wake up in the morning.

Recently, this happened on a Friday evening and I thought we’d be able to sleep in the next day because it’s Saturday, right? Both our boys woke up at 6:30 the next morning. We had been up ‘till after midnight. It had been a busy week. All I wanted to do was sleep!

Read More

Love, Hate, and the Sacred Marriage

By Asher Witmer Resources & Reviews, Romance & Family

Marriage is intense! The overpowering sensations of finally marrying the lady you love is enough to make the most pragmatic guy lose his balance. But why don’t those feelings last forever? What causes the thrill of it all fade within a few months?

Yesterday, my wife and I celebrated our second anniversary. That’s not a long time, but there are days it feels like a miracle that we made it this far.

I remember within a few weeks after our wedding—after I ambitiously committed to gently loving my wife forever—getting so frustrated with her. It surprised me. Sure, I knew we’d bump into differences at some point, but what shocked me most was how soon I had evil thoughts about her.

Read More