Category: Interior Life

viewing television

What Environments Are You Choosing?

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An important element of holiness is being careful about what we expose ourselves to. This includes what we view, hear, and read. This post takes a closer look at the environments to which we subject ourselves. Viewing and Listening. In the modern world we are constantly bombarded by ungodly images and words. Sex, violence, and materialism seem to be the most popular topics. Images are especially intrusive as they often linger in our memory. It is easy to become complacent or negligent about what we allow our eyes to see, but when we voluntarily and unnecessarily expose ourselves to ungodly images we are affecting our Spiritual life. They make an impression on our soul that conflicts with the indwelling Holy Spirit. The voluntary presence of the image produces a place in our soul that is temporarily out of harmony with God; we have allowed something unclean into the temple of Continue Reading →

humility

Want More Humility? Try These Questions

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This week’s post is a very practical exercise in humility. Below are reflection questions designed to produce reflection on our pride and humility. Take a few seconds on each one and if it seems to apply then ask God to help you see yourself more clearly. If you discover something out of order then express your desire and commitment to change to God. How willing am I to recognize when I could use the help of others? How willing am I to seek help once I recognize that I could use it? How willing am I to admit weaknesses or faults? Do I honestly seek greater awareness of my sinfulness from God? When I see my faults do I beat myself up or humbly and thankfully accept who I am before God? Do I get angry with my faults because I want to think of myself as more mature than Continue Reading →

shame and self-rejection

How Shame & Self-Rejection Sabotage Our Lives

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It is inevitable that we will do or experience things that contradict what we believe to be good or valuable, whether these beliefs come from our conscience or somewhere else. When this happens we have a sense of guilt, although this sense can be dim or even completely buried. This guilt – from the contradiction or violation – then produces an inner sense of dishonor, disgrace or inadequacy. This is shame. In a sense, most shame is a sense of sinfulness, since it is awareness of a lack of what is good. We all have shame because we all have standards that we violate. We also commonly violate the standards of those whom our specific culture respects as people of character. We also have shame thrust upon us by people who harm us in degrading ways; corruption is inflicted on us. Much of our shame is left over from childhood. Continue Reading →

possible faith

Try The Possible Faith Exercise

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God is always challenging us to deeper faith. One way to expand our faith is by a fairly simple exercise I call the “possible faith” exercise. It is simple but surprisingly effective. In addition to binding us closer to God in Christ, this exercise should help reduce anxiety and other distresses. Possible Faith Exercise Recall something in your life that is distressing or causing anxiety or fear. If you can’t think of anything then you can just focus on the general state of your soul, or consider unbelief, pride, finances, relationships, loneliness, occupation, disappointments, personal tragedy, health, perfectionism, bad attitudes, bad habits, etc. Recall any promises from Scripture that might relate to your situation. These can be general or specific passages. Imagine having unqualified faith in God, especially full faith in his Scripture. Ask yourself “How would I feel, how would I think and what would I do if I Continue Reading →

expectations unwanted thoughts

What Should We Expect From God?

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One type of faith is faith in God’s promises for all believers at all times. We are always justified in expecting God to fulfill such promises. But there is another type of faith that causes many problems. It consists of expecting something from God that he has not promised for all believers, something which he is justified in giving or withholding. Of course, when we ask for something from God that he has not promised for all believers we should still ask with faith that he will give it. But you might ask: “Sometimes our requests are not his will so how we can have faith that he will give something when we don’t know if it is his will?” The answer is that we can have faith like a child. When a trusting child asks their father for something that they think their father will think is good, then Continue Reading →