Faulty Thinking

Many people have faulty thinking. As a result, the ideas that result from that thinking are also flawed. Faulty thinking is thinking that is not grounded in truth. It is the product of ignorance of God's Word. Said differently, if you don't read your Bible and you don't know what it says, you are ignorant and your thinking will be flawed. This is true no matter how intelligent the world thinks you are.

Obedience Struggle

If I'm struggling with my obedience to God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, I need to consider whether or not I have a correct understanding of who God is. An accurate understanding of who God is yields obedience on my part.

Right Response?

Jesus is the Son of God, the Messiah. When we understand this profound truth, the only adequate response is worship. When we have a correct understanding of Christ, our great desire will be to obey Him. (It's what we are wired for!)

Submission

Submission in God's perspective is not strength that is conquered against its will. Rather it is strength that is deliberately controlled for a purpose.

Humility

Humility is not self degradation. It is realistic, self assessment and commitment to serve.

Unconfessed Sin

If you have unconfessed sin in your life, confess it to God and to someone who is trustworthy and will pray with you about it. Turn away from that sin then and continue the process of repentance. Confession releases God's mercy. If you refuse however, to repent and confess - you are deliberately inviting God's judgment. Is that really what you want to do?

Lead With Forgiveness

The Bible has always been clear about the matter of forgiveness. God forgives our sins - under certain conditions (i.e., we profess Christ). And God expects us to forgive each other. In fact, He says if you don't forgive then you yourself won't be forgiven. And it is this forgiveness of God that we pass on to those around us.

How does God's particular brand of forgiveness work? Well, it's a forgiveness that isn't dependent on how sorry the offender is. It doesn't matter who is right or who is wrong. It makes no difference whether the offense was intentional or truly accidental. Why? Because God decided to forgive us before we had committed any sin at all. He decided to lead with forgiveness in His relationship with us. And so Christ-followers are called to do the same.

We don't need all the facts in order to dispense our forgiveness. We don't need to know how much it'll cost to fix my car that you wrecked. We lead with forgiveness. And in turn we are forgiven.

Spiritual Beings

In the beginning, God created mankind in His own image. We would do well to remember what image that was. It was a spiritual image. God had not yet taken a human form, so he had no human image at that time. No matter what you believe about the creation story, you must remember that you've been a spiritual being whom God knew and loved even before you were formed in your mother's womb here on earth. So it is that you are this spiritual being, simply having a human experience. You are not a human trying to be spiritual.

Modern Religion

In an age where religion seems to be making little or no difference in people's lives, God still expects His people to do what is right - show mercy to others and walk humbly with Him.

Sin Gets Easier

Any sin seems more natural the second time we commit it. This is because we become hardened to it and each repetition gets easier. Ignoring or refusing God's ways hardens our heart teach time you don wrong.

Unbelief

Unbelief blinds people to truth and robs them of hope. So if someone doesn't believe that they are lovable, they won't be able to see that someone loves them. They won't ever have real hope that anyone will love them in the future.

Love Yourself

There is a book called "Blue Like Jazz." It's written by Donald Miller. In it, Miller says that any person who think of himself or herself as unlovable cannot be in a true relationship with God. This is because they can't accept who God is --- a being that is love.

We learn that we are lovable or unlovable from other people - usually before we even meet God or become cognizant of who he is. So when others love us and teach us that we are lovable, we can better interact with God. Our relationship with Him is based on love.

Victory's Secret

Victory does not depend on my own strength, wit, or resourcefulness. Rather the secret to victory lies in my obedience and commitment to God. Live obediently and live victoriously.

Hebrews Learning

Hebrews 5:12-14 tells me that I must:

1. Learn discernment. I must train my conscience, my senses, my mind, and my body to distinguish good from evil in every way.
2. Learn to recognize temptation before it traps me.
3. Learn to recognize the difference between a correct use of Scripture and a mistaken use of Scripture.

Ineffective Learning

It is possible to be a perpetual student, and never graduate to putting theory into practice. But honest seekers of God's truth and authentic students of Jesus' teachings look for answers that they can make practical application with.

Doing Right

Jesus gives us the power to do what is right, and the Holy Spirit provides the wisdom to discern what right is. Lord, let me have the willingness to live a righteous life that is no only worthy of your name, but that glorifies you.

Christian Problems

As we live for Christ, we will experience troubles because we are trying to be Gods people in a perverse world. If we aren't experiencing any troubles, then perhaps we fit just a little too well into this perverse world (and may be perverse ourselves).

Believer's Hope

A believer's hope is really just in the return of Christ. Without that hope, our whole perspective on life is incomplete. And if we hope for anything else, we're holding onto a false hope, at best.

Conscience Ignored

Each time you deliberately ignore your conscience, you are hardening your heart. Over time, such a habit will actually diminish your ability to tell right from wrong.

Debating Scripture

Arguing about details of the Bible can send us off on interesting ... but irrelevant tangents and cause us to miss the intent of God's message.

Bible Scholars

Bible scholars may know the Bible, but it is possible that they also miss the message God has for them if they focus only on the material. In fact, one could memorize the whole Bible and still miss its message.

Dependable Help

Dependable assistance can only come from an ally whose power is from God. When I seek "wise counsel" I must go to Christ followers who get their wisdom from God Himself. No one else will ever be as wise as I think they are.

Sure Failure

To fail to learn from our failures and mistakes assures us of future failures. It is that simple.

Sound Mind

The farther away from God we are, the more confused our thinking becomes. A close relationship with God is the surest way to a sound mind, clear thinking and good choices in our lives.

Count the Cost

It is easy to lose the joy of serving God when we take our eyes off of Him. The more we look away from God's purposes toward our own sacrifices or suffering, the more frustrated we will become. When serving God, I must beware of focusing on what I am giving up or going through. The cost is to be measured before I serve Him --- and now while I serve Him.

His Provision

God promises His obedient servants that He will be with us and provide whatever we need to endure, whatever we need to succeed in whatever we are confronted with. As we minister to others, we must recognize that our service is for God and not just for human approval. God rewards our faithfulness, even if not always during our lifetime here on earth.

Jesus the Leader

We are all encouraged by a leader who stirs us to move ahead, someone who believes we can do the task he (or she) has given and someone who will be with us all the way. God is that kind of leader. Additionally, He knows the future and His plans for us are good and full of hope. Jesus on leadership!

On Repentance

Repentance is a true measure of spiritual sensitivity. Repentance means being grieved by our own sin, asking for forgiveness, making whatever amends are possible and abandoning our sinful ways - turning toward righteousness. Without all of these elements - repentance is incomplete at best.

Strong Willed People

Our society admires assertiveness, independence, and defiance of authority (breaking rules or finding "loopholes"). In a relationship with God, these so-called "qualities" become stubbornness, self-importance, and refusal to listen or change. Left unchecked, this stubbornness becomes a way of life that is hostile to God.

Love Gives

1 Corinthians 13 gives us a wonderful definition of love. Ironically, it is all about what love gives --- and never about what love gets. In fact, you can search the Bible through and through, and you'll never find examples of love getting anything. It only gives. And sometimes love's giving is painful, sacrificial and extraordinary. Are you ready to love?

Life Expectations

Our expectations about life will be extremely limited if this human life on earth is all that we can see. Life is always much bigger than any human perspective.