{"id":1246,"date":"2021-04-05T11:22:08","date_gmt":"2021-04-05T16:22:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cru.org\/createdfor\/?p=1246"},"modified":"2022-04-06T14:44:31","modified_gmt":"2022-04-06T19:44:31","slug":"rich-villodas-loving-one-another-and-a-life-of-discernment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cru.org\/createdfor\/2021\/rich-villodas-loving-one-another-and-a-life-of-discernment\/","title":{"rendered":"Rich Villodas: Loving One Another and a Life of Discernment"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-spotify wp-block-embed-spotify wp-embed-aspect-21-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Spotify Embed: Ep. 6: Loving One Another and a Life of Discernment with Rich Villodas\" style=\"border-radius: 12px\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/episode\/4KBiN0wQbFPJbGfF7jG07w?si=0lCTDhQFQWu0Ra4BKirFiQ&#038;utm_source=oembed\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Episode Reflection<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Invitation to Explore<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Rich Villodas makes the point that if Christians believe the good news that God the Father resurrected Jesus the Son from the dead as the beginning of a new creation, and that Christians will also be raised from the dead through faith in Christ, then the gospel must be good news for the material world and our embodied existence. Imagine the kind of beauty, goodness, and justice that will exist in this material world after God raises Christians from the dead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Scripture to Study<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. (James 1:22\u201325)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Wise Words to Consider<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI believe that the gospel is good news for this material world, not just for our spiritual lives and our souls \u2026&#8230; The gospel reveals a God who becomes flesh. The gospel reveals a God who, when this Christ is resurrected, He doesn\u2019t resurrect as some soul; He resurrects in a body, that the gospel gives this message that when everything is summed up in Christ, the Bible doesn\u2019t end with souls ascending to a disembodied heaven but a fully embodied heaven descending down to earth. So if that is my theological starting point for what the gospel is, then it needs to have practical implications for my day-to-day existence. So whether we are talking about embodiment as it pertains to race and how we understand racism and diversity and justice and reconciliation or whether we are talking about embodiment as it pertains to our sexuality, the gospel is good news for the material world, for our embodied lives.&#8221;\u2014Rich Villodas<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A Prayer to Lead You<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Loving Father, our souls are restless until they find rest in you. Help us to pay attention to the longings that you have placed in our hearts. Draw us by the subtle work of your Spirit and lead us by our deepest desires into places where we are empowered to be a blessing to the world around us. Help us to trust that in your leading, that you lead us by the desires of our heart to places of blessing and love. Though sometimes you may lead us through trials and tribulations let us not embrace needless suffering and pain because we think that is the path to blessing. We ask, in the holy name of your beloved Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A Practice to Begin<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Rich explains the value of incorporating the Christian disciplines of solitude and silence can help us to slow down and deal with the busyness of our 21st-century lifestyle. If this is new to you, try spending twenty minutes in God\u2019s presence without an agenda or plan. Let the eyes of your heart sense the goodness of God\u2019s merciful and loving presence. Silence and solitude can be both terrifying and healing. As you quiet your mind you may feel anxiety and strain from the pace of life that you have tried to sustain. But as you spend this time with God you are giving God the time and attention to bring deep healing that can lead to a clearer mind and a restful attitude.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Questions to Answer<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Rich invites us into a life of discernment, a life of paying attention to our internal longings that draw us away from God and the Holy Spirit\u2019s subtle work of drawing to God. Through the Holy Spirit, God is always speaking to us through our desires, dreams, and longings. God has placed certain desires in our hearts so that we might pursue them. What is God calling you into that resonates deep within your soul? What gives you deep satisfaction and joy? How can you step into that for the sake of blessing the world around you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Resources to Help<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Rich Villodas, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Deeply-Formed-Life-Transformative-Values\/dp\/0525654380\"><em>The Deeply Formed Life: Five Transformative Values to Root Us in the Way of Jesus<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cru.org\/us\/en\/train-and-grow\/help-others-grow\/collaborative-discipleship\/lessons\/2a-gods-heart-for-the-poor-vulnerable.html\"><em>God\u2019s Heart for the Poor &amp; Vulnerable<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Henri J.M. Nowen, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.penguinrandomhouse.com\/books\/122876\/reaching-out-by-henri-jm-nouwen\/\"><em>Reaching Out: The Three Movements of the Spiritual Life<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/fullerstudio.fuller.edu\/prayer-of-examen\/\"><em>The Prayer of Examen<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pastor of New Life Church in Brooklyn and author of The Deeply Formed Life, Rich Villodas invites us into a life of discerning God&#8217;s presence. This episode explores staying present with one another despite our differences, embodiment as an outworking of the gospel and redemptive uses of technology to draw us to God and to each other.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24420,"featured_media":549,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2007,2015],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1246","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-podcast","category-season-1"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Rich Villodas: Loving One Another and a Life of Discernment - Created For<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cru.org\/createdfor\/2021\/rich-villodas-loving-one-another-and-a-life-of-discernment\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rich Villodas: Loving One Another and a Life of Discernment - Created For\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Pastor of New Life Church in Brooklyn and author of The Deeply Formed Life, Rich Villodas invites us into a life of discerning God&#039;s presence. 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