spiritual growth Archives - Brian Harris https://brianharrisauthor.com/tag/spiritual-growth/ Sat, 04 Jul 2026 15:18:19 +0000 en-AU hourly 1 https://i0.wp.com/brianharrisauthor.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/cropped-brianharrisauthor-favicon-1.png?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 spiritual growth Archives - Brian Harris https://brianharrisauthor.com/tag/spiritual-growth/ 32 32 93416650 On Searching Your Heart: Reflections on Psalm 4:4 https://brianharrisauthor.com/on-searching-your-heart-reflections-on-psalm-44/ https://brianharrisauthor.com/on-searching-your-heart-reflections-on-psalm-44/#comments Sat, 04 Jul 2026 22:00:00 +0000 https://brianharrisauthor.com/?p=6518 Recently I have been taking time to reflect more deeply on a few verses of scripture that have spoken to me. The latest is Psalm 4:4 “when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent”. I love the “and be silent” at the end. In other words, search your hearts, but don’t […]

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]]> https://brianharrisauthor.com/on-searching-your-heart-reflections-on-psalm-44/feed/ 4 6518 Refresh: And Every Step an Arrival – The Gift of the Present Moment https://brianharrisauthor.com/refresh-and-every-step-an-arrival-the-gift-of-the-present-moment/ https://brianharrisauthor.com/refresh-and-every-step-an-arrival-the-gift-of-the-present-moment/#respond Tue, 27 May 2025 22:00:00 +0000 https://brianharrisauthor.com/?p=5615 Today’s Refresh post, originally published on 12 Jan 2016, explores the thought provoking Rilke line, “and every step an arrival” which serves as an important reminder to note the present moment and embrace it as a God inhabited space. Refresh: And Every Step an Arrival – The Gift of the Present Moment I am presently […]

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]]> https://brianharrisauthor.com/refresh-and-every-step-an-arrival-the-gift-of-the-present-moment/feed/ 0 5615 Little victories… https://brianharrisauthor.com/little-victories/ https://brianharrisauthor.com/little-victories/#comments Sat, 16 Dec 2023 22:00:00 +0000 https://brianharrisauthor.com/?p=4600 We sometimes think everything would change if we managed to get a major breakthrough in some troubling area of our life. We long for a slam dunk moment after which success is assured and all will be well. Perhaps its an investment that turns out to be a goldmine, or a new breathing technique that […]

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]]> https://brianharrisauthor.com/little-victories/feed/ 1 4600 Because every yes is also a no… https://brianharrisauthor.com/because-every-yes-is-also-a-no/ https://brianharrisauthor.com/because-every-yes-is-also-a-no/#comments Sat, 16 Sep 2023 22:00:00 +0000 https://brianharrisauthor.com/?p=4465 Some throw away lines stick. I was listening to an interview with Richard Foster of Celebration of Discipline fame and when asked why he declined most speaking invitations he said,”Because every yes is also a no,” and then elaborated that each engagement he said yes to was a no to his wife and family, a […]

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]]> https://brianharrisauthor.com/because-every-yes-is-also-a-no/feed/ 6 4465 Where our best prayers take us… https://brianharrisauthor.com/where-our-best-prayers-take-us/ https://brianharrisauthor.com/where-our-best-prayers-take-us/#respond Sat, 27 Aug 2022 22:00:00 +0000 https://brianharrisauthor.com/?p=3920 My previous post noted the passing of Frederick Buechner and tapped into some of his wisdom. In this one I’d like to explore a passing comment which appears in a series of rapid fire advice in his memoir Telling Secrets. It’s:”Go where your best prayers take you.” Why do I love this? First, it’s refreshing […]

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]]> https://brianharrisauthor.com/where-our-best-prayers-take-us/feed/ 0 3920 Conscious incompetence: On knowing what we don’t know… https://brianharrisauthor.com/conscious-incompetence-on-knowing-what-we-dont-know/ https://brianharrisauthor.com/conscious-incompetence-on-knowing-what-we-dont-know/#comments Sat, 09 Apr 2022 22:00:00 +0000 https://brianharrisauthor.com/?p=3702 It was only a few sentences in a podcast I recently listened to, but it set me thinking. The speaker suggested there are four stages in the journey towards competence: Unconscious incompetence Conscious incompetence Conscious competence Unconscious competence An example may help to ground this. Let’s say you don’t know how to drive a car. […]

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]]> https://brianharrisauthor.com/conscious-incompetence-on-knowing-what-we-dont-know/feed/ 6 3702 Assuming Spiritual Responsibility https://brianharrisauthor.com/assuming-spiritual-responsibility/ https://brianharrisauthor.com/assuming-spiritual-responsibility/#comments Sat, 12 Mar 2022 22:00:00 +0000 https://brianharrisauthor.com/?p=3654 One of my more bizarre conversations as a pastor was when a man informed me I was the reason he cheated on his wife. As he said in a voice increasing in volume with each word, “It’s your fault! If you were a better preacher, and inspired me more, it would never have happened.” Hmmm. […]

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]]> https://brianharrisauthor.com/assuming-spiritual-responsibility/feed/ 7 3654 Questions for the New Year: Two Prompts from Genesis 16 https://brianharrisauthor.com/questions-for-the-new-year-two-prompts-from-genesis-16/ https://brianharrisauthor.com/questions-for-the-new-year-two-prompts-from-genesis-16/#comments Tue, 28 Dec 2021 22:00:49 +0000 https://brianharrisauthor.com/?p=3547 Genesis 16 is one of the more troubling passages in the Hebrew Bible, dealing as it does with Abram and Sarai’s initial attempt to deal with their childlessness by having a child through Sarai’s servant, Hagar. Though the plan originates with Sarai, when she sees that Hagar is pregnant she feels very differently about it, […]

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]]> https://brianharrisauthor.com/questions-for-the-new-year-two-prompts-from-genesis-16/feed/ 2 3547 Transformation Down Under: Dallas Willard’s views on Spiritual Growth https://brianharrisauthor.com/transformation-down-under-exploring-dallas-willards-golden-triangle-of-spiritual-growth/ https://brianharrisauthor.com/transformation-down-under-exploring-dallas-willards-golden-triangle-of-spiritual-growth/#comments Mon, 20 Jun 2016 22:00:40 +0000 http://brianharrisauthor.com/?p=1928 I’m delighted to post a piece written by Jules Birt, on Dallas Willard’s golden triangle of spiritual growth. It is well worth reading. Jules teaches Beliefs and Values at Carey Baptist College, Perth, where he also oversees a number of voluntary pod groups helping to disciple well over a hundred students from the school. Just […]

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]]> https://brianharrisauthor.com/transformation-down-under-exploring-dallas-willards-golden-triangle-of-spiritual-growth/feed/ 1 1928 Can good come from conflict? Listening for the Spirit’s voice… https://brianharrisauthor.com/can-good-ever-come-from-conflict-listening-for-the-spirits-voice/ https://brianharrisauthor.com/can-good-ever-come-from-conflict-listening-for-the-spirits-voice/#respond Thu, 10 Dec 2015 22:00:49 +0000 http://brianharrisauthor.com/?p=1311 Most of my sermons only get preached once. They serve a particular purpose, and while I file them away, hopeful that they will prove useful on another day, most of them never resurface. Not so with this message. In some ways it is a little sad… a sermon about conflict needing to be preached over […]

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