Today, I’m developing new practices, courses, and podcasts for Practicing the Way and serving as a teacher in residence at Vintage Church LA with my wife Tammy and our three kids: Jude, Moses, and Sunday.

With every decision we make to complain, criticize, play the victim, focus on the negative, and so on, we become more and more the kind of person who is by nature negative, grouchy, unhappy, and unpleasant to be around, until eventually we lose the very capacity to live happily, gratefully, and full of wonder at our lives in God’s good world.” and demons. These days, however, even many Christians are skeptical. People treat the devil as a myth or ancient nonsense.

Yes! As I’ve already said, this is Comer at his best. It’s engaging, conversational, thoughtful, and spiritually formative. You can’t often say all of those things about a book. So, yes: please read it!

There’s a popular saying that sums up modern attitudes toward desire: “The heart wants what it wants.” But it’s worth keeping in mind the context in which this statement was popularized. For instance, the director Woody Allen used it to justify his notorious affair with his adopted daughter. Life is a process of spiritual formation. Every moment of every day, people change and gradually become their own unique person. For Christians, the question is: How can I become more like Jesus, and not like the devil? Unfortunately, these days we’re completely surrounded by lies. In secular society, false ideas have become accepted and normalized – and some have even found their way into the law. In context, Jesus had just told his followers that “if you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples,” and as a result, “you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”the key to spiritual formation is to change what we can control (our habits) to influence what we can’t control (our flesh).” Practicing the Way is a vision for the future that has been shaped by the wisdom of the past. As an introduction to spiritual formation, it’s an accessible invitation to beginners and lifelong followers of Jesus. Comer offers theological substance, astute cultural insight, and practical wisdom for creating a Rule of Life in the modern age.

Willpower is at its best when it does what it can (direct my body into spiritual practices) so the Spirit’s power can do what willpower can’t (overcome the three enemies of the soul).” (p. 175) LiveNoLies is brilliant, deep, scriptural, and will equip you to face the enemy and fight.”—Jennie Allen, New York Times bestselling author of Get Out of Your Head The key is to influence the things that are in your control. That means adopting the right practices and habits – and even curating your thoughts. This is especially important for Christians living in secular society; they need to be careful about the culture they consume. Everything a person allows into their mind has an effect on their soul, so maybe the gratuitous sex and violence of a TV show like Game of Thrones is best avoided. Again, like the desire problem, this issue is nothing new. There are plenty of warnings in the Bible about the dangers of the world. For Jesus, the world was a hostile place, full of temptation and ruled by the devil. The author defines the world as a culture corrupted by rebelling against God.When a person fasts, they train their body to not get what it wants. They stop giving into their desires, so they are no longer controlled by them. Of course, being deprived of food is a form of suffering, but it’s a lesson in suffering with joy. It can even be a path to freedom.