We should set ourselves the goal of improving our thinking about God a little bit each day. There is no question that our lives will be governed by some sort of thinking about God. The only question is what the quality of that thinking will be.
Consider the concept of “laziness” in regard to spiritual growth. Numerous texts in Proverbs speak of the general undesirability of being a sluggard (6:6-11). But sluggishness is more than a minor character flaw. It can kill us spiritually.
We do not know how to pray as we ought, even to know what to ask for. Here, then, is an opportunity for us to learn humility. We can defer to the Lord and pray for help in our praying. We can pray for Him to do whatever, in His wisdom, He sees best.
God’s goodness is indeed a treasury of wonderful riches. But it was not set up to fund the removal of every little inconvenience from our lives in this world. We need to be careful what we ask for and why. God’s grace is not to be taken lightly.
As the God of truth, God requires that our actions truthfully reflect our desire and that our desire be nothing less than conformity — body, soul, and spirit — to the realities of His truth. We must desire God as sincerely as children often do.
Answers to our questions about God can’t always be found by philosophical inquiry. We have to weave our inquiries into our dealings with other human beings. It is in the giving and receiving of love that truth has its best chance to occur to us.
Christ’s love has a “compelling” effect on us, even before we receive the forgiveness of our sins. It is our recognition of His love and our joyous anticipation of gratitude to Him that move us to respond to the gospel in the first place.
As painful as it is to admit our total bankruptcy before God, there is no other way to be receptive to Him. It is only when our vessel has been drained of its last dregs that it is ready to be filled anew. “Blessed are the poor in spirit.”
In God’s providence, each of us is confronted each day with facts that ought to move us. The whole issue of spiritual growth hangs in the balance as we make the daily decisions that determine our responsiveness, the sensitivity of our hearts.
God gave us hearts with several dimensions, and we were designed to seek Him in all of these. To some extent, is this not wholeheartedness? To give God less than all three — our intellect, emotions, and will — is to be less than a whole person.
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Psalm 110 is a powerful prophecy of the Messiah — every part of it meshes seamlessly with Jesus Christ. No wonder the New Testament writers saw in David’s words clear ...
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If it is our pride that is the root of our sin, there can be no deliverance for us if we won’t humble ourselves before our King. But are we ...