From our vantage point in the here and now, the life of radical faith may seem to involve more sacrifice than serenity. But in the end, the hearts that will have found peace will be those that have come to rest in the purposes of God.
Thomas Cranmer wrote, “Love God with your whole heart. Do everything for his sake. And above all, obey God. For if we merely revere, love, and trust — but do not obey — God, we are making God into what we want; we are making him into a false god.”
Good judgment is more than a quick technique. It comes from good character. And where does good character come from? It comes from godliness and spiritual maturity, which in turn come from seeking God and knowing Him more fully.
Knowing God is the greatest adventure, the ultimate undertaking in this otherwise disappointing world. How bracing to climb a little way up the slope and feel the air freshen, to climb even further and catch a thrilling glimpse of the distant summit!
Coming to a greater knowledge of God is a thing we would have no right to do if it weren’t for God’s grace. But because of grace, knowing God is a goal that deserves the very best of our courage, our diligence, and above all, our love.
In our study of God, it’s easy to get lost in the details, but it is important for us to keep our heads and our hearts in the right place. Christianity is not a dogma. Jesus Christ is not a doctrine. It is a real kingdom, and He is its real King.
As God reveals Himself in His word and restores the knowledge of His character and will, it is His intention to lead us back to His immediate presence. “No one ever graduates from Bible study until he meets the author face to face” (E. T. Harris).
Nowhere, except in the very person of His Son, has God shown His glory any more than in His word. But we study the Scriptures drowsily and much of the wonder of God’s word is lost on us. We need to wake up and pay attention.
There is so much more of God than any of us have ever experienced, even in our moments of greatest maturity. His bounty is beyond what any of us have ever sought from Him. Let us have a grander vision of what there is yet to know about our great God.
We must be humbly willing to be used at God’s discretion. Can we not see that this is the only path toward peace for our souls? We can’t have peace without our God, and we can’t have God without His will. “In his will is our peace” (Dante Alighieri).
If we resist the idea of “church,” that is probably an indication of how much we need it. Yes, it would be easier not to have to adjust ourselves to ...
There is no better example of faith than Abraham. “Under utterly hopeless circumstances he hopefully believed . . . being absolutely certain that whatever promise [God] is bound by He ...
The apostles, when threatened, never backed down: the gospel is true and “there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Others may ...
There is one thing we can always do: we can determine that we will be faithful. We can keep ourselves in the love of God. That is the decision we ...
It is not just our behavior that needs improving. We ourselves (our deepest thoughts and motives) need fixing. So Christ came to bring us an entirely new kind of life. ...
Having demanded to do as we please, we’ve sold ourselves into slavery. And as painful as it is, there is no better day than when we cry out, with Paul, ...
God’s plan is an amazing plan. In Christ, we can make better DECISIONS because our FEELINGS are more appropriate, and we can do that because our THOUGHTS are more truthful. ...
Sin has broken apart everything that was meant to be together, but through Christ all is being brought back into harmony. Our disintegration — our broken-to-pieces-hood — is being healed. ...
If Jesus truly was the Son of God, we would not expect that truth to be obvious to us if our “eyes” can only see things that this world considers ...
In the biblical account, we are dual creatures who straddle the physical and spiritual worlds. We have a brain, but we also have a mind — a reasoning faculty that ...
While there is a need for patience, we also need to be diligent. Our transformation will not take place automatically, by divine decree. We have to embrace the process actively ...
If faith without works is insufficient (James 2:14-26), so is baptism without conversion. If we do not make the decision to walk in “newness of life” (Romans 6:4), it is ...