Category: Level: Beginner

honest talk with friend

Being A Friend By Being Honest With Others

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With respect to honesty with others, Scripture teaches that we are to “put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor” (Eph. 4:25, NIV). At deacon-level maturity (1 Timothy 3; Titus 1) we should be able to avoid speaking anything that is plainly false. But we should also avoid all forms of deception, including misleading people by omitting information, and misleading people through silence. Honesty is a greater challenge when it comes to pointing out an uncomfortable truth that others are ignoring, which is important for moving towards elder-level maturity. For example, if someone we are close to or have responsibility for is harming others or themselves with attitudes, words or actions then do we not have a duty before God to say something? “Faithful are the wounds of a friend” (Prov. 27:6, ESV). If someone is turning away from God then we follow the wisdom in James 5:19-20: “If Continue Reading →

expectations unwanted thoughts

What Should We Expect From God?

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One type of faith is faith in God’s promises for all believers at all times. We are always justified in expecting God to fulfill such promises. But there is another type of faith that causes many problems. It consists of expecting something from God that he has not promised for all believers, something which he is justified in giving or withholding. Of course, when we ask for something from God that he has not promised for all believers we should still ask with faith that he will give it. But you might ask: “Sometimes our requests are not his will so how we can have faith that he will give something when we don’t know if it is his will?” The answer is that we can have faith like a child. When a trusting child asks their father for something that they think their father will think is good, then Continue Reading →

heart love

An Exercise For Believing God’s Love For Us

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The foundation idea of our faith is that God loves us and wants to bless us. This conviction is something that expands throughout our lifetime, but it can also fade. This exercise helps us to keep ourselves abiding in God’s love and to highlight any areas where we might doubt his love. Read through this once as a prayer by replacing references to God with “You”. Then start over and read one line at a time without replacing references to God, as a declaration and acceptance of God’s love. After each line take at least 20 seconds for agreeing with and absorbing it. Choose to believe and be guided by it. This exercise should help you determine how much your heart truly believes in God’s love for you. If you notice resistance or lack of agreement as you read through this, then take some time to reflect on why that Continue Reading →

god's love

The Power Of Loving God

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Loving God is the supreme mark of maturity. When we love him we will desire to be like him. We will desire to see him someday. We will desire to please him. We will find ourselves just thinking about him. We will desire to study his words in Scripture. We will desire to talk to him. We will desire to purify everything ungodly from our life. We will desire to be with others who love him. All of these naturally flow from loving God, even if they might start small in our early Christian life. As we follow these desires they will grow and so will our Christformation. When we love God then this love will naturally manifest through us in many ways. It lifts our hearts, blooms into joy and gives us strength. In the words of the author of the Imitation of Christ: Love flies, runs and jumps Continue Reading →

holy spirit

What Does The Holy Spirit Feel Like?

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It is important to understand what it feels like for us to host the Spirit of God. This helps us avoid discouragement as well as presumption. Jesus gave us some description of the experience of the Spirit when he said: “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ Now this he said about the Spirit” (John 7:38-39, ESV). The Spirit wants to be a river of life flowing out of us! Some people feel a strong sense of the Spirit when they first believe. They may feel a powerful love from God invading their hearts. They may feel a peaceful presence from outside them filling them up inside. They may feel strong joy or holiness. Later, their strong sense of his Spirit often becomes moderate or light. A few are blessed with a strong sense of the Spirit for Continue Reading →