Weekly words of encouragement

The Spirit Teaches Us Truth – Weekly Words Of Encouragement

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“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth” John 16:13 (ESV). Jesus spoke these words to the twelve before he was crucified. When the Holy Spirit came he truly did guide the Apostles into all the truth and we have this truth in their writings. And everyone who believes also has the Spirit of truth indwelling them. He also leads us into truth. He takes the words of Scripture and teaches them to our hearts. Our responsibility is to “walk in the Spirit” (Gal. 5:16) while we absorb Scripture so that we can be “rightly handling the word of truth” 2 Tim. 2:15 (ESV). But how do we walk in the Spirit, especially when we don’t feel him? We do so by making the choice to depend on the Spirit instead of just ourselves, and then to have faith that he will guide us. Continue Reading →

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More Guidelines For Discernment (Discernment Part 4)

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Last week we gave some guidelines for discernment. This week we present some more specific guidelines for making a discernment decision. The greater the impact on our lives the more we should seek multiple confirmations. At the least there should be deep confidence or a big undeniable confirmation. Impressions from God are generally “gentle, light, and sweet, as a drop of water entering a sponge.” Impressions from evil spirits are “sharp, noisy and disturbing, like a drop of water falling upon a rock.” However, an impression from God can make us anxious, hurt, sad or afraid because of the content of the impression and our normal reaction to it. Thus, it may not bring peace at first and it may take us a while to surrender and accept the message. We should reflect on where the impression would eventually lead us. Is it a good end? Does it please God Continue Reading →

Weekly words of encouragement

Our Deep Desire To Be Fruitful – Weekly Words Of Encouragement

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“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit.” John 15:5 (NIV) Humans don’t do well if they think their life is pointless. We don’t do well if we can’t be productive. We want something good to come from our lives. This is how God made us. When he put Adam and Eve in the Garden he told them to “be fruitful” (Gen. 1:28). We were made to produce good things and our soul will feel empty if we can’t do so. Moreover, we have a desire for deep fruitfulness. We don’t just want to build buildings, farm for food, or invent new medicines, although these are all good pursuits for fruitfulness. We also want to be fruitful in the hearts of others. We want to help satisfy the deeper desires for joy and peace in human Continue Reading →

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Some Guidelines For Discernment (Discernment Part 3)

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We have looked at some importance of discernment in two of our recent posts. Part 1 and part 2. Today we provide a list of some important guidelines for actually doing discernment. In order to improve our discernment we need to be open to impressions from God and step out in faith on the ones that pass the discernment process. In other words, we need to take some risks with ourselves (but be careful with others). Do not use one simple formula for doing discernment. Discernment is not simple and if we reduce it to a simple formula then the Enemy has a great opportunity to deceive us. Some people teach that if it sounds like a voice in your head separate from your voice then it is from God. This doesn’t work because your mind can create voices inside itself that sound like someone else is conversing with you. Continue Reading →

Weekly words of encouragement

God Loves His Lovers – Weekly Words Of Encouragement

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“The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them” John 14:21 (NIV). It is interesting how much humans can endure when they know they are loved. When a lover knows they are loved in return, will they not voluntarily submit themself to all kinds of hardships for the sake of the one they love? The inner experience of love outweighs the value of external circumstances. Likewise, God’s love attracts us to him and if we love him in return; then God’s love for us can bloom. Even more, Jesus, our divine-human-king loves us and reveals himself to us. We can see him with the eyes of our heart now and in the next age we will see him with physical eyes. This verse encourages us to remember that God does love us and because of that we Continue Reading →