Category: Level: Intermediate

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How To Live In Harmony With Our Brothers And Sisters

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If we want to live in full harmony with our brothers and sisters in the Lord then it is essential that we learn to die to self in every way. It is not easy to live in oneness with others and to steer away from complaining and grudges. We will be blessed if we learn to live in peace until we die, for Jesus said “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” Matt. 5:8 (ESV) Even when we have to work through a disagreement we can learn to do it peacefully and “speak the truth in love” (Eph. 4:15). In order to be faithful in this area we should think of ourselves as pilgrims on this earth. We are just traveling through this place so we don’t have to grasp for coming out on top. Honors and status in this life are not important; instead, Continue Reading →

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Accepting The Faults Of Others

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We should be patient with the faults of others as well as our own faults. We can pray that God will give us strength to be patient and kind. We can remind ourselves that others have to bear with our faults. We can remember that we usually cannot correct our own faults without great effort; why should we be impatient with the habitual faults of others? Besides, human faults are an opportunity for us to allow our character to be refined. If it is our place to say something about someone’s fault, and we have mentioned it more than once then we should not nag someone so that we get into a dispute over it. We can just fulfill our proper role without becoming angry or aggressive. We should not take the situation out of God’s hands and into our own, but rather seek to honor God with our meekness Continue Reading →

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The Benefits of Unjust Treatment – Imitation Of Christ Chapter 12

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Sorrows and adversities help us realize that we are just pilgrims in this world. We should not become attached to this life. We can not trust in this world. Slander and false accusations against us help us to be humble. When our good deeds are judged as bad we have the opportunity to imitate Christ. When these things come we see our pride rising up and then we can let go of pride, and respond calmly only if it is appropriate. Then we learn look to God’s approval and find satisfaction in that. When we rely completely on God then we aren’t crushed by wrongful words against us. When we lack human encouragement we take comfort in God’s pleasure with us. Thus, whether evil comes from without or within us we learn that God is more necessary than we knew before. Our heart may be heavy and groaning and crying out Continue Reading →

christlike creed

The Christlike Creed

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When the church wanted to clarify its doctrines in the early centuries it developed the Apostle’s Creed. It would also be helpful to have a creed that summarizes the practice of the faith. That is why I wrote the Christlike Creed. It contains 9 stanzas of 3 lines each and summarizes the important attitudes and practices of the Christian life, including identity and destiny. It describes what a Christlike person looks like. In other words, it describes spiritual growth and discipleship. Consider how important it is to have a description of what a disciple of Jesus looks like. How can a church or ministry make disciples if the leaders or the people don’t know what a disciple looks like? Don’t we need to know what we are aiming for? This creed describes what a disciple of Christ looks like so we know what is important and what is less important. Continue Reading →

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Overcoming Destructive Desires – Imitation Of Christ Chapter 11

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How did the great Christians of the past become so godly? They committed themselves to “putting off the old self” (Eph. 4:22) and crucifying destructive desires. This enabled them to completely dwell on God. We naturally pursue our own desires and worldly things that will soon pass away. We struggle to completely defeat even one fault. It is a battle for us to pursue God’s grace every day. This is why many Christians never mature. Our own desires keep us from becoming complete Christians. Our ungodly affections keep us from loving God with our whole self. When troubles surround us we naturally look for worldly pleasures to comfort us. Therefore, we need to be very intentional about conquering our old self. If we think of ourselves as warriors or athletes (I Cor. 9:24-27) and train ourselves to “lay aside every encumbrance that entangles us” (Heb 12:1) then we would make Continue Reading →