Category: Level: Beginner

eye

Transformed By Continuously Beholding Jesus

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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 consciously focus your heart on Jesus. 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 just gaze on, behold, or give attention to Jesus. Contemplation is just a fancy word for these simple activities. The most profound passage on contemplating Jesus is II Corinthians 3:18: “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.” Notice that it says “beholding” not “having beheld”. In other words, we are to continuously behold the glory of Jesus and the Father. But the fantastic promise is that Continue Reading →

rewards

Should We Be Motivated By Heavenly Rewards?

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When we think about our blessings in heaven we usually think about the immense pleasure of just being in God’s presence and enjoying his love. We may not think so much about the rewards God will give because that seems too self-focused. Moreover, how much good is a reward compared to being directly in God’s presence with Jesus? In Bernard of Clairvaux’s (b. 1090 – d. 1153) famous work On Loving God he says that “God is not loved without reward, although he should be loved without regard for one” (Sec. 6.17). Bernard rates loving God for the rewards as only the second of four levels of loving God. And yet scripture repeatedly uses rewards to motivate us to be Christlike. God assures us in Ephesians 6:7-8 that we should do “service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, knowing that whatever good anyone does, Continue Reading →

Spiritual learning, thinking

Spiritual Learning – Imitation Of Christ Chapter Five

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Spiritual Learning – Imitation Of Christ Chapter Five When we read scripture we should focus on the purpose of the passage, not on ideas for irrelevant debates. We should look for truth and edification. Pointless curiosity often blocks us from gaining from scripture. We stop and ruminate over something that doesn’t really matter instead of moving on to something that does matter. We should read books that are simple and godly as well as some that are deep and challenging. God speaks through many kinds of people; it shouldn’t matter if an author is educated or uneducated. We shouldn’t gravitate to an author’s reputation but rather to the truth that they write. We shouldn’t gravitate to an author’s reputation but rather to the truth that they write. Don’t read to build a reputation for yourself, rather read with humility. And when you find someone who is mature ask them many Continue Reading →

wisdom

On Becoming Wise – Imitation Of Christ Chapter Four

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Today’s post is an interpretation of the fourth chapter of the most popular devotional book in the history of Christianity, The Imitation of Christ. It was written by a monk (or possibly several monks) in the 15th century named Thomas a Kempis. You can view all the posts in this series by selecting “Imitation of Christ” in the categories listing. On Becoming Wise – Imitation of Christ – Chapter Four Find a counselor who is a better Christian than you. See that they are wise and full of integrity. Don’t just depend on your own wisdom for living your Christian life. You will deceive yourself by being too harsh and too lenient. You will overlook important truth and overemphasize less important truth. Many Christians stumble because they did not humble themselves and find a godly counselor. “If you’re not humble, you will stumble.” It is great wisdom to avoid hasty or Continue Reading →

relationships, couple

12 Keys To Tackling Relationship Difficulties – Part 2

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This is Part 2 of this post, Part 1 can be found here. KEY 7: Be courageous. One of the big reasons we don’t tackle relationship difficulties is that we are afraid. We are afraid of conflict, we are afraid of getting hurt, we are afraid of doing it wrong, etc. In order to combat this ask yourself if you are afraid. Then ask yourself if the fear is really as big as you think. Then ask yourself if that fear should really stop you from tackling a difficulty. Is it worth some discomfort to improve a relationship? The antidote to fear is faith. Trust God to help you and to help you learn. Trust the advice you have gathered. Trust the fact that your heart is in the right place and if you express true care then nearly everyone will respond reasonably. KEY 8: Grow your communication skills. When Continue Reading →