Weekly Word of Encouragement – Our New Self Is Our True Self

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“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” I Cor. 5:17 (ESV) In I Corinthians 5 Paul has been explaining how our inner self has been transformed even though our outer self, our body, has not. In verse 2  he says that “in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling.” (ESV) We groan because our body drags us down, not only with physical weakness and disease but also with it fleshly lusts. We don’t want to be influenced by our old corruption but we are. All who long for holiness and love and communion with God wish that they did not have to contend with their weak body. But scripture comforts us by teaching that this is normal. We do not have to be discouraged about our weaknesses; it is just part of 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 →

Weekly Word Of Encouragement – Our Weight Of Glory

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“For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” II Cor. 4:17 (ESV) Sometimes it is hard to think of our suffering as “light momentary affliction” but the point is that our suffering is light compared to the blessings and glory God has for us. Paul, who wrote this, wasn’t try to minimize the pain of suffering, for he experienced more than his share of suffering. Suffering hurts and makes us miserable. But the worse your suffering is the more you understand the magnitude of your glory. If your suffering that hurts terribly now is nothing compared to your future blessing and glory then your future blessing and glory must be amazing. See The Salvation Of God In Your Life – Weekly Words Of EncouragementOctober 26, 2026God Will Deliver You – Weekly Words Of EncouragementOctober 19, 2026Are You Walking With The Spirit?October Continue Reading →

battle warrior

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 →

Weekly Word Of Encouragement – Presented To God One Day

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“we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself. All this is for your benefit…” II Cor. 4:14-15a (NIV) This passage repeats two important promises the Paul mentioned earlier. In I Cor. 13:12 Paul promises that we will see Jesus “face to face” and in I Cor. 15:49 Paul explains that we will have a new body in the image of “the heavenly man.” Now Paul repeats this by saying that God will raise us and bring us into His presence. Paul repeats these promises because it is essential to our happiness that we believe and dwell on them. God will present us to Himself – like a bride presented to the wedding guests on her wedding day (Eph 5:22-32). We can’t let our daily tasks cloud our vision of our future with Him. See Continue Reading →