One of the challenges within our Western version of Christ-following, is the fixation on external forms. The focus tends to be on doing, methods, systems, quantity and the like. As a result, we have often taken what the Bible defines as “fruit” and turned it into “methods”.

What is Spiritual Growth?

Not an easy concept, but one with lots of opinion; many of which are strange. Not only are they strange, but in many cases, one group sees spirituality in a way that results in them seeing other views as un-spiritual or even heretical.

Shouldn't that tell us there is a lack of spiritual maturity?

So, take a minute to try and answer this question: What does it mean to grow spiritually?

In my mind, the ascension is one of the weirdest events recorded in the Bible. It is right up there with 2 Kings 13:20-21. Check this out.

"Elisha died and was buried.

Now Moabite raiders used to enter the country every spring. Once while some Israelites were burying a man, suddenly they saw a band of raiders; so they threw the man’s body into Elisha’s tomb. When the body touched Elisha’s bones, the man came to life and stood up on his feet."

Now that is weird! And then there's the ascension.

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, we are in a period weirdly known as “Easter-tide”, which is really just the 7 weeks (50 days) between resurrection Sunday and Pentecost Sunday (Passover and Pentecost). In my own mind I am just calling it 7 weeks.

One of the few sources we have for what Jesus taught the disciples during this 7 week period comes from the book of Acts. In just a few short lines, we are left to wonder just how much of what the Gospel writers wrote about the kingdom of God came during this 40 day period.

Our good friend and leader, Heidi Price, takes us on a journey in celebration of women and mothers.

7 Weeks. 50 Days. That's the time between the resurrection and the day of Pentecost. It's probably the time that most influenced the gospel writers, yet it is also the time that we know the least about.

We have this precious treasure in vessels of ordinary life. No matter the outside, we have the inside that lives through the cracks of our brokenness.

Aaron Walters, Pastor of The Table Bellingham, brings the good news of Easter and the answer to the question that rocked the leaders of Jesus' day and continues to change the world today.

Have any of you ever dove deep enough under water that when you started to feel the need to go up for air, you start to realize you were deeper than you thought? If you have, you know the feeling of not being sure you have enough air in your lungs to make it to the top and when you get there, you instinctively suck in a huge breath.

That feeling is what Easter is supposed to feel like. After the long season of Lent, culminating in a week of meditation on the sufferings of Jesus, Easter should feel like a breath of fresh air when you weren’t sure you were going to make it to the surface.

In my mind, this may be the most difficult direct answer to a question in all of the recorded answers that Jesus gave. As someone who has prayed for hundreds if not thousands of people, the times that nothing visible happened are too numerous to count. I really don't know what I would say if I asked Jesus why and his answer was, "you lack faith".