Category: Interior Life

suffering

Your Suffering Makes You Fruitful

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Do you think of suffering as an opportunity to become more fruitful? If we do, then we can more easily embrace suffering. If we embrace suffering then we will “know Christ” better in this life (Phil. 3:10, NIV) and receive “praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed” (1 Pet. 1:6-7, NIV). If we resist or respond poorly to suffering, then those blessings will be lost. The Father wants to make us fruitful (Gen. 1:28; John 15:1-8) and Jesus promised: “every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful” (John 15:2, NIV). This painful pruning produces blessing for others just as Jesus’ suffering did. Our “death” produces life in others; it destroys the work of Satan. Paul viewed his suffering as something he accepted so that he could bless believers: Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my Continue Reading →

growth of new self

Living From Our New Self – Part 1

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When we first believe God does not patch up or remodel our old self; instead, he gives us a new self, made in his image, and that new self overcomes the old self as we abide in Christ. Yet, he does not wipe out our core personality and gifts, rather they are all redesigned within the image of our new self. It is a mystery as to how God preserves these parts of us yet also creates a new self in which these parts will develop. Our new self desires what is good and desires to participate in what is good. When our new self sees good it recognizes it as beautiful and so is drawn to it. Our new self is good because it reflects God and has the same human nature that Jesus has: Jesus’ human nature and our new human nature are both created in the image Continue Reading →

anxiety

Anxiety Awareness Helps Us Develop Faith

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Anxiety is epidemic in many societies; faith is the antidote to anxiety. When we connect to God’s reality all other circumstances lose their control over us and peace guards our hearts. Our faith grows as we become aware of our fears, face them, and disarm them by letting God be in control and trusting him to help us deal with the results. Even when we feel fear we need to choose faith. The recipe for peace is to “cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Pet. 5:7, NIV). Since anxiety is an excellent indicator of weak faith it is helpful to develop the habit of becoming aware of our anxieties then learning to defeat the unbelief behind them. Below is an exercise to develop this habit. Guide to Anxiety Awareness For one week make a written note every time you feel anxious about something. Some Continue Reading →

smartphone cellphone addiction

Smartphone Overuse & Addiction

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One of the marks of Christian maturity is an awareness of one’s destructive habits and the commitment to overcoming them. In this age we have many opportunities to develop bad habits, some of which don’t seem so bad because they just consume time. But in everything we do it is important to ask ourselves if we are abiding in Christ and walking in the Spirit. In other words, is this habit compatible with following Jesus? Is it healthy for our souls? Smartphone overuse has become a very common habit that harms our spiritual growth and interferes with our participation in the goodness of God. Addiction is a word that is probably overused so I do not know if constantly using one’s smartphone is always an addiction or just a harmful habit. But the general idea of an addiction is that it interferes with a normal healthy life. It is certainly Continue Reading →

fulfillment satisfaction

Are You Lacking Fulfillment?

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God gave humans healthy desires that he intends to fulfill, although he does not promise to fulfill all of them in this age. If our overall level of fulfillment is low then it is safe to say that we are in a time of suffering. The following fulfillment assessment helps us to see our overall level of fulfillment and to know which areas are most lacking. This will help us to focus on the areas of need and to embrace the recovery process for those areas. One of the important principles of fulfillment is that if we are severely lacking in fulfillment, then it will be very difficult to pursue new transformation. Instead, we have to apply our energy to enduring the deprivation and wait until we find some healing and fulfillment before we can embark on additional transformation. This assessment is also helpful when helping others through times of Continue Reading →