Category: Level: Beginner

temptation

How To Resist Temptation – Part 2

Posted on by

This is the second of two posts on how to resist temptation; the first one can be found here. All temptations stem from our unstable passions and from lack of trust in God. When we do not stick to our convictions we are like a ship without a rudder tossed around by a storm. Instead, temptations should refine us like a fire refines gold. Temptations should be resisted as soon as they knock on our door. We must not let them into the home of our heart, but rather go outside door and prevent them from entering at all. This is the first key to resist temptation. Once they enter they start to grow. A poet has said: In the beginning You might have won It’s past your skill now No more can be done Temptation progresses from a suggestion and moves into our imagination. Then we have thoughts of its Continue Reading →

Christ formation Christformation podcast

New Podcast: Christ Formation

Posted on by

Announcing my new podcast, “Christ Formation: Practical Discipleship,” which is available on all the major podcast apps. If you have a desire to go deeper with Jesus, I think this podcast will satisfy you. The focus is on spiritual growth, overcoming barriers and finding the peace, joy and fulfillment that comes from following Jesus. It should help if you have been feeling blocked, frustrated or discouraged, or if you just want to be a better person in relationships. How to Find It In your podcast app, search for ” Christ Formation” or my name, “ Phil Rehberg ” to follow the podcast. If you still have trouble, search for “Christ Formation: Practical Discipleship”. Look for the same image as the one for this post. I would be very grateful if you subscribed or followed! If you are on the same device as your podcast app, try these links to the Continue Reading →

eye

Transformation Through Abiding in Jesus

Posted on by

Do you want your daily words and actions to be more Christlike, but you find that you can’t seem to get the right attitude throughout the day? You may want to consider learning to briefly focus your heart on Jesus several times a day. We call this “contemplating Jesus” because it is not meditation (i.e., mulling over, reflecting, gaining understanding), which is important for devotional times, but rather we are gazing on, beholding, giving attention to or abiding in Jesus. Contemplation is just a fancy word for these simple activities. In John 15:5 Jesus says, “Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (NIV). Abiding in Jesus is a continuous practice, which is very similar to contemplation. The most profound passage on contemplating Jesus is II Corinthians 3:18: “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding Continue Reading →

weekly words of encouragement

Seek And You Will Find – Weekly Words Of Encouragement

Posted on by

“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” Luke 11:9 (NIV). In this passage Jesus is trying to tell us that the Father wants to give us good things. But he also wants us to ask, seek and knock. Why does he want us to pursue our requests like this if he already knows what we need? One reason is that he is waiting for us to acknowledge our need and our dependence on him. If he just gave us our desires without us asking we would not learn this dependence. Also, there are spiritual barriers in the spiritual realm that we do not understand, and our prayers have the power to break through barriers. Breaking these barriers is part of the dignity and authority God has given to humans, so Continue Reading →

activational reading book knowledge

The Problem With Knowledge

Posted on by

Imitation of Christ – Chapter Two – The Problem With Knowledge It is natural to want knowledge, but what good is knowledge if we aren’t surrendered to God? Someone who humbly serves God but lacks any education is higher in God’s eyes than a world-renowned scientist who doesn’t know that their own heart needs God. This is the problem with knowledge. When we know our own heart we know how lowly we are. We don’t let compliments puff us up. If we have all the knowledge in the world but don’t truly love others then is God impressed by our knowledge? He will judge our lives by our deeds not by our knowledge. Restrain your hunger for excessive knowledge because that only distracts and misleads us. Learned people are tempted to keep up an appearance of wisdom and hope they are recognized for it. Yet great knowledge is actually not Continue Reading →