Category: Interior Life

glorious person

Motivated By Our Future Perfection

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What motivates you to holy living? When you are tempted by something that others think is okay but you know it is unholy, what do you think about in order to strengthen your will and resist temptation? Scripture mentions several different motivations but one of them is the promise of being thoroughly holy and perfect one day. This might not seem logical at first. If God is going to perfect us anyway, why should we make a lot of sacrifice now in order to be holy? Why would the promise of future holiness motivate me to be more holy now? We can learn about this from John: “But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.” I Jn. 3:3 (NIV) Here God is motivating us to Continue Reading →

sun, heaven, luminous light

The Trap Of Seeking The Presence Of God

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The greatest blessing in the New Creation will be to see God and be close to Him. Nothing will be better than being in His presence. We long for this and endure sacrifice now so we can present ourselves as pure when Jesus returns and we see God. So shouldn’t we also seek God’s presence in this mortal life? Shouldn’t we desire as much of God as He is willing to give now? Of course we should. But there is a question as to priority. How high should we prioritize the presence of God? First we need to ask what we mean when we say the “presence of God.” If someone asks us directly what this means we might say we just want whatever He wills. But the reality is that we want the spiritual sweetness of being in the presence of God. Even just beholding the majesty of God Continue Reading →

spiritual pride

Freedom From The Prison Of Spiritual Pride

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Have you noticed that as you grow you run into new kinds of sins that are more subtle and hidden? As we mature we don’t wrestle as much with obvious sins like lying and ungodly speech. This can trick us into thinking that we have conquered the major sins in our life. Yet growth brings with it a whole new set of vices. The 16th century Christian teacher John of the Cross called these spiritual vices. They are spiritual versions of the seven deadly sins. These vices block our spiritual growth and oneness with God. Thus, they are spiritual enemy number one! The first spiritual vice John describes is spiritual pride. We develop pride in our spiritual accomplishments and spiritual growth. This can especially apply to our spiritual disciplines. We find ourselves being critical with others for not having enough devotion. We may also dislike praising others for their maturity because Continue Reading →

pouring filled up

How Can I Be Filled With God?

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We want to be full of God’s goodness and be one with Him, but we find that we are distracted by the demands and values of the world. So how do we overcome these pressures? One of the biggest themes in the New Testament is that having a view of God’s tremendous love and future blessings for us will empower us to let go of worldliness and participate in God’s fullness. We see this in one of the most famous prayers of the New Testament – the Apostle Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3:14-19: 14For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15from whom every familyc in heaven and on earth is named, 16that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being Continue Reading →

spiritual marriage

What Is It Like To Live In Full Intimacy With God?

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We often hear about being intimate with God. We all want to be closer to God although it may be unclear to us what that really means. Today we will taste some of that life, and I suspect that this taste will fire our hearts and bring us closer to complete loving surrender to God. And if you are wondering how to motivate people to pursue Jesus then consider beginning with this kind of material. Once people see the treasure then they will be more willing to “sell all they have” in order to get the treasure. When people understand what God wants to do for them then they are much more willing to embrace your leading. John of the Cross was a 16th century Spaniard who pursued and loved God as much as anyone ever did. We are blessed that he was also a great writer and could express Continue Reading →