God will not be misled. He is not looking for verbiage but for hearts willing to be transformed. And if our hearts are not willing to be turned toward Him, then no amount of “image management” will get us where we want to go.
If we’re not comforted by the availability of God’s grace, we bog down in despair. But if we fail to be humbled by the necessity of God’s guidance and help, we bog down in something even worse: the illusion that we’re doing better than we really are.
Having a need for God, as every human being does, we need to admit that need and feel it. As the years go by, we should more truthfully understand, more lovingly feel, and more honestly acknowledge that we need our God.
We may be impressed with what Jesus’ miracles say about God’s existence, and we may even understand that they are evidence of His power and authority. However, we don’t always see what these signs say about God’s nature and His purposes.
In the end, it will be seen that our outward actions were the result of our knowledge of God — or the lack of that knowledge. This knowledge is the soil out of which our lives grow, and if the soil is barren, our harvest will not be bountiful.
God has given each of us our abilities because those are the resources needed to do the work that belongs to us — right where we are. It’s tempting to think we could do a better job if we occupied someone else’s place, but that is probably not true.
As “self-actualized” people it is hard for us to learn self-denial. Yet somehow we must learn it. We must recover the old-fashioned virtue of sacrifice — the willingness to let go of everything except that which most greatly glorifies God.
For every step we take toward something valuable, there will always be an easier step we could take toward something less valuable. In the spiritual life, we have a practical need for constant vigilance. Our focus needs to be rechecked frequently.
We may become so consumed with intellectual activity that we disconnect ourselves from the people around us and from the active responsibilities of daily living. Spiritually speaking, we can’t afford the luxury of living in an ivory tower.
There is a gap between where we are and where we want to be. Depending on whether we think of that gap as a problem to be worried about or as an opportunity to be embraced, there will be a corresponding impact on our spiritual growth.
Believing is not a simple one-time decision after which we drift through life automatically. It is a soul-deep dependence on the Father who has loved us and saved us. To ...
If we preserve our flattering self-image with denials of the truth, there is nothing but death in that cave. To be forgiven, we must come out of hiding. In Jesus ...
If commitment, confession, and repentance are not a part of our daily walk with God, we need to go back and remember the “death” we died when we were baptized. ...
What if you have not yet obeyed the gospel? You need to hear all of the truth that God has revealed about Himself. So study all of the Scriptures. You ...
Obedience requires discipline, which comes from deciding what is most important to us. Valuing our hope more highly than anything else, we’ll pursue that hope with passionate discipline. Turning back ...
God has a great goal: not merely to rescue us but to reform us. For all who will accept His plan, God intends to repair the damage sin has done ...
Have we been truly converted to Him, discarding our old life and clothing ourselves with the fresh, clean garments of our Lord’s heart, mind, and character? If not, perhaps our ...
By coming penitently to Jesus — seeking first the forgiveness of our sins and then committing ourselves to live by His example — we become an example that helps other ...
The Scriptures must be our guide. Our feelings may err on the high side or the low side, but the only reliable basis for our confidence is God’s promise. And ...
Given the problems that confront us (no less today than in the first century), it would be dangerous not to guard our faith carefully — there are none more vulnerable ...
In Christ, we live in great anticipation. And since we live in anticipation, we also live with focused concentration and resolute patience. Excited, enticed, and intrigued by the foretaste of ...
If we fail to use the opportunity which God’s grace has provided, the word “regret” will crush us with horrible force. There is no love more painful than the love ...