It is not the church building but the members of God’s spiritual family who make up His “house,” as made clear by the translation “household” in the ESV. This marvelous household is referred to elsewhere as “the household of faith” (Galatians 6:10).

The character of God is the key to the assurance of our salvation. God being who He is, we do not doubt that He desires for us to overcome every discouragement thrown at us by the enemy (1 Peter 5:8). God will give us the help we need — abundantly.

The new Christian needs to know that he has embarked on a process of spiritual growth. Many texts speak of this, but none more clearly than Ephesians 4:15,16 where Paul says that “we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ.”

There are some things about God’s plan for the church that to our modern “common sense” seem foolish or unworkable, but those things reflect the “manifold wisdom of God” just as much, if not more so, than the parts we happen to like.

In an age when people think there is nothing to the gospel except each person’s individual opinion, we need to keep the emphasis on the authoritative statement of the gospel by the apostles, men who were, in the truest sense, “ambassadors” of Christ.

Israel was fortunate to have such a stark reminder as the Day of Atonement. And today, we lose much of the depth that should characterize our godliness if we never think of sin except to say, “Sin? It’s no big deal. God’s grace has got me covered.”

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).

When we pray, we must seek more than some particular blessing from God; we must seek Him and whatever His will may be. True prayer is about learning to want what we should want. “Let not that happen which I wish, but that which is right.”

Let us not be deceived. That which passes for “religion” can delude us into thinking that we’re closer to God than we are. It may even be that we are dead, though we have a reputation for being alive. It happened at Sardis; it can happen to us.

Let us resist the temptation to take the pen out of God’s hand and write the story ourselves. Let us rather wait and see how it all comes out. “It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord” (Lamentations 3:26).

It helps to be reminded that growth, whether physical or spiritual, is an “incremental” process. An increment is a small change in something, so small as to be barely perceptible. And that’s how growth usually occurs: by small changes.

In one way or another, all have suffered. But those who have grown toward God are those who, when faced with suffering, have chosen the upward path rather than the downward. Transformation to greater glory is not automatic. It’s a choice.

Many of us may be happier than we think we are, based on the abundance in our lives of the little things that happiness is really made out of. Let’s not despise the little sources of happiness. Let’s not miss what is available to us.

Some of our tasks seem impossible. And so we do nothing. Fearing failure, we fail to act at all. But like the unfaithful servant who was rebuked for having done nothing with his master’s money, we may hear our Lord’s rebuke for what we didn’t do.

There is an irony here. The less time we have to think, the more we need to think! So I recommend to you my discovery: I’ve found that I need an hour each day just to think — except on extremely busy days, when I’ve found I need two.