Many times in my walk as a believer I have heard and read the term "abide in Christ" and didn't have a full understanding of what that meant. I know abide means to remain in, and I pictured it as a state of resting in Christ. Studying through John 15 has been a help to me in grasping fully what our Lord meant as he walked and talked with His disciples on the way to the Garden of Gethsemane.Picture this; our Lord had just left the Upper Room in John 13 & 14 where He and the disciples ... continue reading...
Getting to the Heart of Our Idolatry with X-Ray Questions
I have been slowly working through a book by a favorite author of mine, David Powlison called Seeing with New Eyes. One chapter in particular that has held my attention is chapter 7 called X-Ray Questions.In the second section of his book, he defines chapter 7 as exploring what God says he sees when he looks at why we do what we do. Mr. Powlison is asking us the question, "Why? Why do we do what we do, think what we think, feel what we feel, say what we say?"The purpose of these ... continue reading...
What is Spiritual Maturity?
As believers, we all desire to be spiritually mature in our walk with the Lord. We want to be more like Christ in our hearts, speech, thoughts, lives and our relationships with others. We start our Christian walk as children and gradually grow up into adulthood and it is a process that differs with each of us.Many times we can equate spiritual maturity with our knowledge of the Scriptures, how many verses we have memorized, where we attend church, or how many bible studies we've ... continue reading...
God’s Blessing Does Not Depend on Our Performance
Let me throw two scenarios by you: Good Day: You wake up, get your coffee, have your time in the Word and prayer with the Lord. Get your family breakfast, start school with the kids. The whole day falls into place beautifully, and at the end of the day a neighbor stops by, and you have an opportunity to share the gospel with her. As you start to talk, you pray silently and ask the Lord to help you share with her and work in her heart. Bad Day: Today is opposite the first. You wake up late, ... continue reading...
Elisabeth Elliot on Hints for a Quiet Time
As Christians, we all desire to grow more and more into the image of Jesus. We want to "keep killing sin", we want to "love others as we love ourselves" and mostly we want to know and love Jesus more because all those other good things will follow if that is our first pursuit. God's Word is clear that He wants me to love Him with all my heart, soul, mind and strength."I don’t know what you’ve been taught, I don’t know what you’ve been told about sanctification. But I will tell you this: the ... continue reading...
