Author: Phil Rehberg

look in mirror honesty

Are You Honest With Yourself?

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If humans can avoid what is obviously true, consider how easy it is to avoid what is less obviously true. We can easily deny a truth that is lurking behind our actions or the actions of those around us. Even more, we can deny truths about our heart. It is easy to avoid the truth about our motives and attitudes just by not gazing on our heart. Worse still is the problem of hidden corruption that we can’t find even with constant self-reflection. Our corruption is so deep and immense that if God showed it all to us at one time I suspect we would immediately plunge into depression and despair. “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (Jer. 17:9, NIV). God wants us to see the truth about ourselves because the truth will set us free. He doesn’t require us to see Continue Reading →

Weekly words of encouragement

We Are His Sheep – Weekly Words Of Encouragement

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For he is our Godand we are the people of his pasture,the flock under his care. Psalms 95:7 (ESV) A shepherd’s goal is to protect and support the sheep. A good shepherd has the tools and skills to accomplish this. The shepherd knows when the sheep are in danger even if the sheep do not know. The shepherd acts to protect them from the danger. Likewise, God is our shepherd who watches us. Jesus is the Good Shepherd. We journey in his pasture. He sees what we are doing and guides us along the good path. He does not prevent all suffering; he allows it to transform us. But he does offer protection and support for our soul in all circumstances. He will teach our soul how to grow and flourish in every situation. He is available if we seek him, abide in him, and keep our gaze on him. Continue Reading →

obey God's will

5 Movements Toward Pursuing God’s Will

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Last week we looked at committing ourselves to God’s will. Now consider an area of your life in which you wonder if you are doing God’s will. We will go through five steps for examining our hearts and choosing God’s will. This is not so much an exercise in finding God’s will as it is an exercise in guiding our hearts to abiding in God. Five Steps Toward Pursuing in God’s Will We remind ourselves to consider God’s will. We examine ourselves to determine if we are really open to pursuing God’s will. We try to discern God’s will. We ask ourselves if we are now willing to do God’s will. We do God’s will. The first movement is to get in the habit of reminding ourselves to consider God’s will for the decisions we make or attitudes we embrace. This is simply looking to him for his will. Common Continue Reading →

Weekly words of encouragement

God’s Love Consoles Us – Weekly Words Of Encouragement

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When I said, “My foot is slipping, ”your unfailing love, LORD, supported me.When anxiety was great within me,your consolation brought me joy. Psalms 94:18-19 (NIV) We will have times when our foot is slipping and anxiety wells up within us. Whether it is health, finances, relationships, loneliness, or grief we cannot avoid the distress in this world. What makes us different is how we walk through these times. What makes us different is the fact that the Lord is with us and wants to console us. He has many ways of consoling us and they are all signs of his care for us. He may remove the distress, he may reduce it or he may allow it to run its course. He may touch our hearts with his presence; he may bring words from a friend or he may speak through a verse of Scripture. Sometimes we can’t perceive his Continue Reading →

obey

Are You Committed To God’s Will?

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When someone mentions that we should do God’s will it can conjure up images of gritting our teeth and forcing ourselves to do something very disagreeable. There is some truth in this but the supreme reason we do God’s will is that we love him and know that his principles for living will produce more life and happiness than anything else. Learning to do God’s will when we don’t feel like it and when we don’t feel God is one of the greatest and most freeing lessons in the Christian life. Remember that the purpose of all of God’s commands is that we would have more life, bear fruit, abide in the kingdom of God and keep us moving in the direction of the future perfect community of love with God and his followers. The directives in Scripture are ideals that we move toward as we are gradually “attaining to Continue Reading →