Category: Level: Beginner

kingdom of God

Living In The Promise Of The Kingdom – Part 1

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It had been hundreds of years since the time of the prophets. They had prophesied that one day God would establish his holy and good rule in the land of God’s people. The Jews were quite aware that their ancestors had constantly strayed away from God’s goodness and that their society had became degenerate and destructive. But in spite of that God was going to establish the pure and joyful kingdom he originally intended in the Garden of Eden and for the Jewish people. The prophecies were in the dim past, but devout Jews still waited for God to fulfill his promise of a coming utopia. In summary, “The prophets looked forward to a day when God’s saving promises would be fulfilled, his kingdom would come, the new covenant would be inaugurated, a new exodus from Babylon would be realized, the Spirit would be poured out on Israel, and Israel Continue Reading →

looking for holiness

5 Mighty Motivations For Pursuing Holiness

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The path of holiness can be daunting but God empathizes and encourages us with powerful motivations. Here are five motivations for seeking holiness. The first and biggest reason is that our Christian life should be powered by love for God. If we think of purification as something we do only because God asks us to then our motives are out of order. God wants us to want him because he is our good Father who gives us true life and everything else pales in comparison. Paul told the Corinthians that “I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ” (2 Cor. 11:2, ESV). This is why we cooperate with his purifying fires: we are yearning for our wedding day.   The second reason is similar to the first. Since we are destined to live as perfected new Adams in an eternal community of love Continue Reading →

pure gold money

The Beauty Of Holiness

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The directive to actively pursue purification is one of the most prevalent themes in the New Testament. We can think of pursuing holiness as wiping the mud out of our eyes so we can see God clearly. It is the restoration of our original Adamic image of God which includes freedom from the dirt and grime that robbed us of the vital and peaceful Spiritual life that God desires for us. Holiness becomes increasingly sweeter as we mature because we feel more of the peace and joy that comes with participating in the nature of God. As we grow in holiness we will feel ourselves becoming more at one with our bridegroom. We experience a foretaste of our future marital bliss. So we pursue holiness out of love. We begin to understand that this purity produces beauty and beauty produces delight. When someone finds a gold nugget in the ground Continue Reading →

humility pride

The Challenge Of Humility

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Jesus described himself with the words: “I am gentle and humble in heart” (Matt. 11:29, NIV). Humility is a trait of citizens of the kingdom: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:3, NIV[). If we are becoming like Christ then we will be growing in gentleness and humility. Jesus is the ideal and by the Father’s grace we can relate to others with the same gentleness and humility that he had. This will be a huge challenge for us as we grow in Christ because we will be given positions of responsibility and we will be immediately tempted to think of ourselves or present ourselves as more mature and invulnerable than those around us. We will fear showing weakness because we might lose credibility. Specifically, we will begin to act less needy and become less teachable. We will become less willing to Continue Reading →

expectations unwanted thoughts

How Do I Deal With Unbelief?

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One of the most important keys to developing deep faith is learning to tolerate unbelief in us. This might sound strange but for many of us it is essential. If we have intentional unbelief then we need to attack it; in this post we are looking at unwanted unbelief. The problem is that when we commit ourselves to trusting God then we will find that we have thoughts of unbelief in spite of our desire. And the more perfectionistic we are about faith the more that unwanted unbelief will plague us. These unwanted thoughts just seem to be there whether we like it or not, and in spite of our best efforts to eradicate them. This is just part of being an imperfect human being. Such thoughts come from our old self, from the world around us and from the Enemy. The problem of unwanted thoughts is a major issue Continue Reading →