Category: Interior Life

Weekly words of encouragement

God Will Honor Us! – Weekly Words Of Encouragement

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‘My Father will honor the one who serves me.” John 12:26, ESV. Jesus promises that when we become the servant of Jesus then the Father will honor us one day. God originally made humans with honor and he wanted this honor to grow. He made us in his image and though it is broken he gave us a new self with a restored image of God. This is our true self and one day it will be fully developed. Scripture states in many places that God will honor us, usually by saying he will glorify us! (For example, Matt. 13:43; Rom. 8:17, 21; 2 Cor. 4:17; Col. 3:4; Phil. 3:21; 1 Pet. 5:10; 2 Pet. 1:3.) Originally, as image-bearers of God we were supposed to be fruitful and fill the earth. We would have been highly honored in this work. In the next age we will have responsibilities such as Continue Reading →

judge discern guilt freedom

Discernment Is The Guardian Of Our Soul

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Discernment is an extremely important skill for spiritual growth. God wants us to constantly discern our world so that we can keep pursuing him. Discernment means being able to distinguish between the influences of God, ourselves, the Enemy and others. Scripture also presents it as the ability to distinguish good and bad (Heb. 5:14). Discernment is our inner navigator on the path of growth. Paul prays for the Philippians: “It is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ” (Phil. 1:9-10, ESV). Thus, knowledge and discernment are needed if our love is to grow, which is the essence of maturity. Notice that Paul says “all” discernment. Furthermore, discernment allows us to approve and embrace what is good which leads to holiness. Why is that Continue Reading →

dark night

Dark Nights Are Opportunities For Deep Purification

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In dry times and dark nights when God seems distant, God wants to go progressively deeper in order to purge the corruption we can’t see. In a dark night God shines his light on our impurities so we can see them and let go of them. John of the Cross (b. 1542 – d. 1591) illustrates this with the image of sunlight on a window. If the window is clean then the sun can illuminate the glass and the window shines like the sunlight. If the window is dirty then the window can not shine. The sunlight is the same in both cases; the issue is the cleanliness of the window.[1] Likewise, God’s light can permeate and illuminate us only to the extent that we are “clean”. This echoes Jesus’ teaching: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (Matt. 5:8, NIV). Throughout our life, God continually Continue Reading →

suffering

How To Suffer – Part 3

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This week is the third in a series on how to suffer. The first post presented ten suggestions as well as the second post. This week we present the last twelve suggestions. Accept your unwanted feelings and attitudes. After you have done what you can about your inner life you may still have anger, fear, sadness, impatience, and many other undesirable traits that you did not have much of before the suffering. This can be devastating to those who truly want to mature in Christ. But do not give in to the temptation of beating yourself up about it. You need to accept your lack of maturity and treat God and others the best you can. In other words, learn to “sit with your weeds.” Meditate on Jesus’ sufferings especially his last days up to the Cross. Troubles are temptations to doubt God but “he will not let you be Continue Reading →

suffering

How To Suffer – Part 2

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Last week we looked at ten tips for walking through suffering with God. This week we present ten more. God uses suffering to reveal our hidden corruption. Notice the new insights about yourself that the pressure of suffering brings to the surface. Seek God for help with what suffering reveals. Develop a better understanding about the ways in which fear influences your life. Suffering often generates fears. Don’t dwell on the pain. Focus on other things. Continue doing your tasks. Do not indulge in sin! Do not go back to your former destructive habits! Fight them every way you know how. Find someone to hold you accountable. Many people ruin their Spiritual lives with these former sins and it takes them years to recover. Do not start believing lies. Do not let your thinking get scrambled or drift from Scripture. Do not believe that God does not love you or Continue Reading →