Wisdom Of Life

" If we walk in the light, as he is in the light."  1 John 1:7 As he is in the light! Can we ever attain to this? Shall we ever be able to walk as clearly in the light as he is whom we call “Our Father,” of whom it is written, “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all?” Certainly, this is the model which is set before us, for the Saviour himself said, “ Be ye perfect, even as your Father who is in heaven is perfect;”   (Matthew 5:48)  and although we may feel that we can never rival the perfection of God, yet we are to seek after it, and never to be satisfied until we attain to it.  The youthful artist, as he grasps his early pencil, can hardly hope to equal Raphael or Michael Angelo, but still, if he did not have a noble beau ideal before his mind, he would only attain to something very mean and ordinary. But what is meant by the expression that the Christian is to walk in light as God is in the light? We conceive it to import likeness, but not degree. We are as truly

"My righteousness is near; my salvation is gone forth, and mine arms shall judge the people; the isles shall wait upon me, and on mine arm shall they trust. "   Isaiah 51:5 In seasons of severe trial, the Christian has nothing on earth that he can trust to, and is therefore compelled to cast himself on his God alone. When his vessel is on its beam-ends, and no human deliverance can avail, he must simply and entirely trust himself to the providence and care of God. Happy storm that wrecks a man on such a rock as this! O blessed hurricane that drives the soul to God and God alone! There is no getting at our God sometimes because of the multitude of our friends; but when a man is so poor, so friendless, so helpless that he has nowhere else to turn, he flies into his Father’s arms, and is blessedly clasped therein! When he is burdened with troubles so pressing and so peculiar, that he cannot tell them to any but his God, he may be thankful for them; for he will learn more of hi

"He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters." (Psalm 18:16 NIV) There are times when we all think, “I’m going under for the last time! I’m about to sink!” No matter how deep we are, God’s love is there. He can pull us out of the deepest waters.  No matter what problem we have, God’s love is deeper than our problem. We may be in deep despair, deep trouble, or under deep stress. And we may have deep problems, emotional problems, physical problems, or financial problems.  Yet God’s love is deeper still.  “There is no pit so deep that God’s love is not deeper.”  In the last few months, we may have hit bottom. Perhaps we’re at the bottom financially and we think, “I’m going broke!” Or, we’ve hit bottom emotionally, or our marriage has hit bottom, or we’re having health problems. We’re frustrated, and we think, “I’m going under.”  Where is God when we hit bottom? He’s right there underneath us. He is “our refuge, and his everlasting arms are u

“Sing to the Lord with grateful praise; make music to our God on the harp.” (Psalm 147:7 NIV) You’ve probably noticed that music and love go together, because music comes from the heart. It’s not something you do intellectually. It’s something that comes out of your soul, your emotions.  There are many love songs in the world. In fact there are radio stations that are dedicated entirely to the love song format. But did you know that more songs have been written about Jesus Christ than any other topic in the world? Christianity is a singing faith. Why? Because it’s not about religion. It’s about a love affair. It’s about a relationship with God, who loves you so much that he sent his Son to die for you and who wants you to love him back.  Nothing will make you more aware of God’s love and presence in your life than singing and praise.  You may be thinking, “But you don’t understand. I can’t sing.” The Bible says to make a joyful noise.   I know you can do that because probably when you

"And now may the God of peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, equip you with all you need for doing his will. May he who became the great Shepherd of the sheep by an everlasting agreement between God and you, signed with his blood, produce in you through the power of Christ all that is pleasing to him. To him be glory forever and ever. Amen." (Hebrews 13:21 TLB) This principle of “use it or lose it” is universal. If you don’t exercise, your muscles get smaller. If you don’t invest your money, you’re going to lose it. If you don’t learn to use your mind, it will get duller and duller as you get older. If you have a talent and you refuse to practice, you’ll lose that talent.  The opposite is also true. If you do use it, you get even more of it. So if you use your muscles, they get bigger. If you take a little bit of money and invest it, it gets bigger. It multiplies!  Hebrews 13:21 says,  “ May the God of peace … equip you with all you need for doing his wil

"They say they are wise, but they are fools;  instead of worshiping the immortal God, they worship images made to look like mortals or birds or animals or reptiles." (Romans 1:22-23 GNT) It would be a great folly and a great tragedy if a man loved his wedding band more than he loved his bride. But that is what this passage says has happened.  Human beings have fallen in love with the echo of God’s excellency in creation and lost the ability to hear  the incomparable, original shout of love.  There is a great God of glory and power and generosity behind all this awesome universe; we belong to him; he is patient with us in sustaining our rebellious life; turn and bank our hope on him and delight ourself in him, not his handiwork.  Day pours forth the “speech” of that message to all who will listen in the day, speaking with blindingly bright sun and blue sky and clouds and untold shapes and colors of all things visible. Night pours forth the “knowledge” of the same message to

"I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall.   I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me.   Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:   Because of the Lord ’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.   They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.   I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”  (Lamentations 3:19-24. NIV) When our world is falling apart , it’s so easy to focus on the pain, the problems, the pressure, and the difficulties. It’s the natural response. But the biblical response is to turn our focus to God’s love .  Even though we’re mad at God, we need to remind ourself how much he loves us. Focus on his unconditional love. Remember that we can’t make God stop loving us. We can complain, yell at him, and scream at him, but he will still love us forever.  We can see this biblical approach in Jeremiah’s life in Lamentations 3:19-24. Jeremiah starts out focus

"Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself." (Galatians 6:1 NLT) Everybody in your life is going to disappoint you at some point. Why? Because nobody’s perfect!  So how do you deal with disappointing people? How does love respond when people disappoint you?  The Bible says in Galatians 6:1, “ "Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself." (NLT). The loving response to people who disappoint you is to be gentle, not judgmental.  How do you have tough conversations with people in a gentle way? How do you confront people you love when you see they’re doing something they shouldn’t be doing? The Bible tells us to do it gentl

"A wise, mature person is known for his understanding. The more pleasant his words, the more persuasive he is."   (Proverbs 16:21 GNT) Have you noticed how many difficult people there are in the world? Do you feel like you have to deal with most of them some days?  You know what rude acts bug me the most? People who call me and then say, “Who is this?” People who honk their horns in traffic jams. People who cheat in the 10-items-or-less grocery line. People who steal your parking spot. The list goes on, and I’m sure you can relate. So, how should we respond in love to difficult people?  The more pleasant you are, the more persuasive you are. And, you’re never persuasive when you’re abrasive. Nagging doesn’t work.  The way you say something determines the way it’s received. If you say something offensively, it’s going to be received defensively. That’s why love is all about your words. Love is truthful, but it is also tactful.  Tact and tone always go together. It matters the

"Hate stirs up trouble, but love forgives all offenses." (Proverbs 10:12 GNT) Maybe as a child you were hurt by an adult — a teacher, a family member, maybe even your parents. The Bible says that there will be severe judgment for child abuse, neglect, and abandonment; one day God is going to settle the score on that. When God says, “Honor your father and mother,” he’s not saying honor their sins or their selfishness or their poor decisions. He’s not saying ignore the pain in your life and put on a happy face and pretend everything’s great.  So what does God expect? How does he expect you to love the destructive people who’ve hurt you?  He doesn’t expect you to ignore it. He’s not asking you to gloss over it or deny it or repress it or make excuses for the people who’ve hurt you.  God doesn’t want you to fake it; he wants you to face it, because you can’t forgive until you face your hurt. You’ve got to stop running, and you’ve got to stop blaming.  If you’re going to become t

"Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor." (1 Peter 2:17 NIV) I’ve mentioned before that the Church is a Body, not a building, and an organism, not an organization.  For the organs of our body to fulfill their purpose, they must be connected to our body. The same is true for Us as a part of Christ’s Body. We were created for a specific role, but we will miss out on it if we’re not attached to a living, local church. We discover our role in life though our relationships with others.  The Bible tells us, “Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around. The body we’re talking about is Christ’s body of chosen people. Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body. But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn’t amount to much, would we?” (see Romans 12:4-5 ; 1 Corinthians 12:12)   If an organ is somehow severed from its body, it will shrivel and die. It cannot exist on its

"Be very careful, then, how you live not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is."   (Ephesians 5:15-17 NIV) If we want to make an impact with our life, we've got to do one thing: we’ve got to get control of our time. Our time is our life. If we don’t learn to manage our time, we won’t go very far in life.  We all have the same amount of time every week: 168 hours. It’s what we do with it that counts! You only have a certain number of days you’ve been allotted in this world, and if we blow them, we’ve blown it! If we waste our time, we’re wasting our life. If we kill time, we’re committing suicide. Our time is our life. We have to stop and begin to ask, “ Is this the best use of my time ? or Is this the best use of my life?”   We don’t have time for everything. The good news is, that God doesn’t expect you to do everything, and don’t feel guilty about it!

" A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other” (1 Corinthians 12:7 NLT). God has a unique role for us to play in his comunity of love, as our ministry, and God has gifted us for our assignment. " A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other” Our local fellowship is the place God designed for us to discover, develop, and use our gifts. So we may also have a wider ministry, but that is in addition to our service in a local community. Jesus has not promised to build your ministry; he has promised to build his community of love. You will share in Christ’s mission in the world. When Jesus walked the earth, God worked through the physical body of Christ; today he uses his spiritual Body. The Church is God’s instrument on Earth. We are not just to model God’s love by loving each other; we are to carry it together to the rest of the world. This is an incredible privilege we have been given together. As members of Christ’s Body, we are his

“So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.   Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister. ” (Romans 14:12-13 NIV) One of the biggest mistakes we make in life is forgetting how much our actions influence the people around us. Every day you are tempted to make decisions that may be the best thing for you but could have a devastating effect on the people around you. If you want to make wise decisions, you need to ask, “Will my choice harm other people?”  That’s the opposite of our culture. Our culture teaches us to think only of ourselves. But God expects you to think more of others than you do yourself. In fact, the Bible says that one day you’re going to be judged by God on how your decisions affected other people.  Romans 14:12 says,  “ So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God. ” NIV . You may not like hearing this, but whether you

Healthy, growing and full of love. "He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love." (Ephesians 4:16 NLT) A community of love helps us to develop spiritual muscle. We will never grow to maturity just by attending worship services and being a passive spectator. Only participation in the full life of a local fellowship builds spiritual muscle.  The Bible says, “As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love” (Ephesians 4:16b NLT, second edition). The phrase “one another” or “each other” is used more than 50 times in the New Testament. We are commanded to love each other, pray for each other, encourage each other, admonish each other, greet each other, serve each other, teach each other, accept each other, honor each other, bear each other’s burdens, forg

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16 (NIV) God loves you so much that he sent Jesus on a mission of love with a message of love. The Bible doesn’t say God has love; it says God is love. Love is his nature; God is love. God created the entire universe. He created this planet; he created the human race. Then, he created you because he loves you. It could be said the reason you’re alive is because God created you as an object of his love. God made you so he could love you and so you could love him. God’s love for you is the reason your heart’s beating right now; it’s the reason you’re breathing. God’s good news is that he loves you on your good days as much as he loves you on your bad days. He loves you when you can feel his love, and he loves you when you can’t seem to feel his love. He loves you regardless of whether or not you think you deserve his love. There is no

“Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out.” (Proverbs 10:9 NIV) The Bible says in Proverbs 10:9,  “Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out”  (NIV). You will be found out! So when making decisions, you have to have the integrity test.  The test of integrity is that your public life and your private life match, what’s in your heart and what’s in your life are the same thing. You ask yourself the question, “Would I want everyone to know about this decision that I’m making?” The truth is, when it comes to integrity, even if you can fool everyone else, you can’t fool yourself. And if you violate your own conscience, you have to pay for that.  Sometimes we know we’re about to do the wrong thing. We know we shouldn’t do it, but this thought comes to our mind: “I know I’m doing the wrong thing, but I’m going to go ahead and do it because I know God is a forgiving God.”  What kind of fool d

" Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” (Psalm 119:105 NIV) When we need to make a decision, the first and ideal test is this: “Is my decision in harmony with God’s Word?”  We have to decide what’s going to be our ultimate authority in life. It really boils down to two choices: God’s Word or the world. Are we going to base our decisions on what God says or what other people say?  If we base our life on popular opinion, we’re always going to be out of date, because it changes every day. What was “in” yesterday will not be “in” today and what’s “in” today will not be “in” tomorrow. If we base our life on popular culture, political correctness, or opinion polls, we do not have principles to live by. That’s called a shifting foundation!  On the other hand, if we base our life on God’s Word, the truth never changes. Truth is always true. So if God says something was wrong 10,000 years ago, it was also wrong 500 years ago, it’s wrong today, and it will be wrong 1,000 ye

" And not only as we had hoped, but they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God. "  (2 Corinthians 8:5 NKJV) Whenever a child is born, he or she automatically becomes a part of the universal family of human beings. But that child also needs to become a member of a specific family to receive nurture and care and grow up healthy and strong. The same is true spiritually. When you were born again, you automatically became a part of God’s universal family. But you also need to become a member of a local expression of God’s family.  The difference between being a church attender and a church member is commitment. Attenders are spectators from the sidelines; members get involved in the ministry. Attenders are consumers; members are contributors. Attenders want the benefits of a church without sharing the responsibility. They are like couples that want to live together without committing to marriage. Why is it important to join a local church family? Be

“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” (Ephesians 4:29) Sometimes our words are like a sledgehammer. We swing away without thinking, and all of a sudden we look around, and all we’ve got is a pile of relational rubble. When you thoughtlessly sling your words around and tear people down, your relationships are going to suffer.  One of the reasons we’re not constructive with our words is we don’t realize how powerful this tool is, our mouth and we sometime say things without thinking. And people remember them. Certain things people said to you in a careless way, even as far back as grade school or college or when you first started working, you still remember today. That’s how powerful words are. So when it comes to your mouth, you’ve got to think of it as a power tool and be very careful with it. One time I went into my garage and grabbed a manual for a po

" Praise the Lord, my sou l, all , all my inmost being, praise his holy name!."  (Psalm 103:1) The psalm begins and ends with the psalmist preaching to his soul to praise the Lord, and preaching to the angels and the hosts of heaven and the works of God’s hands. The psalm is overwhelmingly focused on praising the Lord. What does it mean to praise the Lord? It means to speak well of his greatness and goodness. What David is doing in the first and last verses of this psalm, when he says, “Praise the Lord, O my soul,” is saying that speaking about God’s goodness and greatness must come from the soul. Praising God with the mouth without the soul would be hypocrisy. Jesus said, ‘These people honor me with their lips,  but their hearts are far from me.     They worship me in vain;  their teachings are merely human rules.’   (Matthew 15:8-9). Come soul, look at the greatness and goodness of God. Join my mouth, and let us praise the Lord with our whole being.  Bless the Lord, Go

“Be still in the presence of the lord , and wait patiently for him to act. Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes. ” (Psalm 37:7 NLT) What does God want us to do while we’re waiting on an answer to our prayer?,  God says, “ Be still .”   God wants us to wait patiently for him to answer our prayer.  Have we noticed that: We don’t mind waiting as long as we can grumble while we wait? We don’t mind waiting as long as we can gripe and complain about .  We get the spiritual wiggles while we’re waiting for God to answer a prayer. We get nervous and restless. We want to jump up and do something. But God says, “Wait patiently. Be still. Watch me act. Don’t get restless, don’t get nervous, and don’t try to take matters into your own hands.”  And, don’t ever make Abraham’s mistake in the Old Testament of trying to be the answer to your own prayer. It will cause all kinds of problems! One day God told Abraham that he was going to make him the father

“A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy person keeps a secret.” (Proverbs 11:13 NIV) We tend to think of gossip as one of those “little” sins. But when God talks about gossip, he puts it on the list with things like sexual immorality and murder. Why? Because it is so destructive to relationships. Gossip can tear apart friendships, families, and churches. Gossip is talking about a situation with somebody who is neither a part of the solution nor a part of the problem. If we’re honest with ourselves, what we’re doing is making ourselves feel a little more important at somebody else’s expense. We’re talking about their hurts and their problems to make us feel like we’re morally superior to them. That’s the danger and the hurt of gossip.  There’s a story in the Old Testament about a family that struggled with gossip. Moses had a sister name Miriam who one day got caught up in gossiping about Moses among the rest of the people. God called Moses and Miriam in and had a little talk

"Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me." (Psalm 51:8,12) Why isn’t he crying out for sexual restraint? Why isn’t he praying for men to hold him accountable? Why isn’t he praying for protected eyes and sex-free thoughts? In this psalm of confession and repentance after essentially raping Bathsheba, you would expect David to ask for something like that.  The reason is that he knows that sexual sin is a symptom, not the disease.  People give way to sexual sin because they don’t have the fullness of joy and gladness in Christ. Their spirits are not steadfast and firm and established. They waver. They are enticed, and they give way because God does not have the place in our feelings and thoughts that he should.  David knew this about himself. It’s true about us too. David is showing us, by the way he prays, what the real need is for those who sin sexually, joy in

"I will declare that your love stands firm forever, that you have established your faithfulness in heaven itself." (Psalm 89:2 NIV). Human love wears out; that’s why we have so many divorces. I know a lot of people who are not divorced, but they don’t love their spouses anymore. There’s a limit to human love. It dries up!  That’s why you have to have God’s love in your marriage — in all your relationships — if they are going to last. God’s love never wears out. God’s love is patient, persistent, and persevering.  Isn’t it good news that God never gives up on you? No matter what you do, his love never gives up. It’s wide enough to include everybody, and it’s long enough to last forever. God will never love you any more than he does right now. But he also will never love you any less than he does right now.  He loves you on your good days; he loves you on your bad days. His love is not conditioned by your response. God is love, and his love is given freely. It cannot be earne

"For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit." (1 Peter 3:18) The gospel is the enjoyment of fellowship with God himself. This is made explicit here in 1 Peter 3:18 in the phrase “ to bring you to God .”  All the other gifts of the gospel exist to make this one possible. We are forgiven so that our guilt does not keep us away from God. We are justified so that our condemnation does not keep us away from God. We are given eternal life now, with new bodies in the resurrection, so that we have the capacities for enjoying God to the fullest. Test your heart. Why do you want forgiveness ? Why do you want to be justified ? Why do you want eternal life ? Is the decisive answer: " because I want to enjoy God "? The gospel-love God gives is ultimately the gift of himself. This is what we were made for. This is what we lost in our sin. This is what C

"May have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." (Ephesians 3:18-19 NIV) The width of God’s love extends across the entire world and includes all people, God loves the whole world : “The LORD is righteous in all his ways and faithful in all he does” (Psalm 145:17 NIV). "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."  (John 3:16 NIV). God never made a person that he didn’t love. He made us; he loves us. And God doesn’t make junk! He loves us unconditionally. He loves you and me very, very, very, very, very much. Everybody matters to God. In fact, we see in the life of Jesus that he even loves the unlovely and those who may feel unlovable. Do we want to know the secret of self-esteem? Here it

“For the Holy Spirit, God’s gift, does not want you to be afraid of people, but to be wise and strong, and to love them and enjoy being with them.” (2 Timothy 1:7 TLB ) If you want to connect with someone, you’ve got to be willing to take the first step. This often takes courage. Why? Because it’s fear that disconnects human beings. When we’re full of fear and anxiety, we don’t get close to each other. In fact, we back off. We’re afraid of being rejected, manipulated, vulnerable, hurt, used. All of these fears cause us to be disconnected in life.  This fear is as old as mankind. When Adam and Eve sinned and God came looking for Adam, Adam said, “I was afraid, and I hid.” People have been doing that ever since. We’re afraid, so we hide. We hide our true selves. We don’t let people know what we’re really like, because if we do and they don’t like us, we face rejection. And so we pretend. Fear does three terrible things to relationships: Fear makes us defensive. When people point out

“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. "   ( Ephesians 6:18 ) Why should you be persistent in your prayers, even when you don’t get an answer? There are four reasons. 1. Persistent prayer focuses your attention. When you pray a prayer request over and over, it’s not to remind God. He doesn’t need to be reminded! It’s to remind yourself who the source of your answer and all your needs is. If every prayer you ever prayed were instantly answered, two things would be true. First, prayer would become a weapon of destruction in your life. And, you’d never think about God, because he would become a vending machine. If every time you prayed you instantly got results, all you’d think about is the blessing. God wants you to think about the Blesser. 2. Persistent prayer clarifies your request. A delayed answer gives you time to clarify exactly what you want and to

" For thou, LORD, hast made me glad through thy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands. "  ( Psalm 92:4 ) Do you believe that your sins are forgiven, and that Christ has made a full atonement for them? Then what a joyful Christian you ought to be! How you should live above the common trials and troubles of the world! Since sin is forgiven, can it matter what happens to you now? Luther said, “Smite, Lord, smite, for my sin is forgiven; if thou hast but forgiven me, smite as hard as thou wilt;” and in a similar spirit you may say, “Send sickness, poverty, losses, crosses, persecution, what thou wilt, thou hast forgiven me, and my soul is glad.” Christian, if thou art thus saved, whilst thou art glad, be grateful and loving. Cling to that cross which took thy sin away; serve thou him who served thee. “ I beseech you therefore, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” (Romans 12:1

"So that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. ." (1 Corinthians 12:25-27 ) We are not the Body of Christ on our own. We need others to express that. Together, not separated, we are his Body. A church family moves us out of self-centered isolation. The local church is the classroom for learning how to get along in God’s family. It is a lab for practicing unselfish, sympathetic love. As a participating member, we learn to care about others and share the experiences of others: “ If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it (1 Corinthians 12:25-27 ) Only in regular contact with ordinary, imperfect believers can we learn real fellowship and experience the New Testament truth of being connect

" So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." John 8:36 The world defines freedom as a life without any restraint — “I can do anything I want to do and say anything I want to say, without anybody telling me what to do.” You may burn everybody else, but you get to do it your own way. You can have your freedom, but only by being totally selfish.  Yet the Bible says the only way to true freedom is through Jesus: “If the Son sets you free, then you will be free indeed” (John 8:36). Real freedom is freedom from fear, where you’re truly free from guilt, from worry, from bitterness, and from death. You’re free to quit pretending because you’re free to be yourself. How do you get rid of those kinds of fears? By letting God love you! The apostle John teaches that “ There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” (1 John 4:18) . When you realize how much God loves you, y

"With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith. We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ." (2 Thessalonians 1:11–12) Grace is not only God’s disposition to do good for us when we don’t deserve it — undeserved favor. It is also a power from God that acts in our lives and makes good things happen in us and for us.  Paul said that we fulfill our resolves for good “by his power” (verse 11). And then he adds at the end of (verse 12), “according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” The power that actually works in our lives to make Christ-exalting obedience possible is an extension of the grace of God. You can see this also in 1 Corinthians 15:10:  "But by the grace of God I am what I am

"So in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others." Romans 12:5 1. You are called to belong, not just believe. We are created for community, fashioned for fellowship, and formed for a family, and none of us can fulfill God’s purposes by ourselves. The Bible knows nothing of solitary saints or spiritual hermits isolated from other believers and deprived of fellowship. 2. You’re not on your own anymore! While your relationship to Christ is personal, God never intended for it to be private. In God’s family you are connected to every other believer, and we will belong to each other for eternity. The Bible says, “ So in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. ” (Romans 12:5). C. S. Lewis noted that the word “membership ” is of Christian origin, but the world has emptied it of its original meaning. Stores offer discounts to members, and advertisers use member names to create mailing lists. In chu

"Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions." (Psalm 51:1) Three times of the mystery of this redemption than David did:  “Have mercy,”  “according to your unfailing love,” and  “according to your great compassion.” This is what God had promised in Exodus 34:6–7: "And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord , the Lord , the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.” David knew that there were guilty who would not be forgiven. And there were guilty who by some mysterious work of redemption would not be counted as guilty, but would be forgiven. Psalm 51 is his way of laying hold on that mystery of mercy.  We know mor

" But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ” (Romans 5:8 ).   Everything that Jesus did for you he did out of love. The Bible says that God made you to love you. The only reason you’re alive is because you were made to be loved by God. God didn’t just say he loved you; he showed it. The Bible says, “ But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ” (Romans 5:8 ).   It says while we were still sinners. Before you even knew God, before you even knew you needed God in your life, Jesus died for you. There’s a myth that says you’ve got to clean up your act before you can come to God: “I’ve got to get it all together. There are a few things I’ve got to get right in my life first, and then I’ll go to God.”   It’s like when we brush our teeth before we go to the dentist to have a teeth cleaning or when we wash the dishes before we put them in the dishwasher or when we pick up the

" Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!    Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation."  Romans 5:9-11 What do we need to be saved from?  Verse 9   states it clearly: " the wrath of God. "  But is that the highest, best, fullest, most satisfying prize of the gospel?   Verse 10  says "much more . . . shall we be saved by his life."  Then  verse 11  takes it to the end when it says, “ Not only is this so, but we also boast in God ”   That is the final and highest good of the good news. There is not another “more than that” after that. There is only Paul’s saying how we got there, “through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now

"The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord."   (Proverbs 16:33) In modern language we would say, “ The dice are rolled on the table and every play is decided by God.”   There are no events so small that he does not rule for his purposes. “ Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?” Jesus said, “And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered” (Matthew 10:29–30). In the book of Jonah God commands a fish to swallow (1:17), God commands a plant to grow (4:6) , and commands a worm to kill it (4:7).   And far above the life of worms, the stars take their place and hold their place at God’s command.  Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name, by the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power not one is missing. (Isaiah 40:26) How much more, then, the natural events of this world — from weather