Bill and Will, have a problem. Bill borrowed Will’s commentary on Acts. However, Bill then set it down on his desk at home and soon forgot that he had it because his desk was covered with stacks of mail, papers, other books, McDonald’s bags, a bowling ball bag, an old T-shirt and several shopping lists. After several weeks had passed, Will began to fume—and fumed some more. Where was his commentary? He waited in vain. Day after day, Will began to think, “Why can’t Bill buy his own commentary? Why keep mine?” Will began to withdraw from Bill. He avoided him at church. Will reasoned that Bill would eventually get the message and return the commentary. On the other hand, […]
Sanctification
159 posts
Conformed or Transformed There should be a level of apprehension when you go to church. Why? Because God’s intention is that meeting him in corporate worship should do something radical in your life. Worship is not meant to be a comfortable experience. Worship, whether corporate or individual, should leave you a changed person. This is what Paul is getting at in Romans 12:2. Conformity with the world, with regard to worship, means that you go to church for the benefit you will receive. Transformation means that you engage in worship anticipating that the way you think and the things that you value will be changed. This is challenging, but not necessarily comfortable. Take some time to ask God to continue […]
Self-control is not about changing behavior. Self-control is the good yield of the Holy Spirit’s work producing his fruit. Self-control is the ability to say no to my wrong desires and yes to what God wants me to do. Prayer for Self-Control: Father, please help me to say no to sin and yes to obedience and pleasing you. I really want to do whatever you want me to do, but it’s too hard by myself. I need your help all the time to say “yes” to you. Please help me. In Jesus’ name, Amen. from Get Wisdom! by Ruth Younts Notice that biblically, self-control is not a behavior issue, as in “get control of yourself.” Rather, it is an issue […]
God, thank you for making repentance possible by sending Jesus to live and die in my place. Thank you that my sin doesn’t separate me from your love. But still, sometimes it is hard to repent, especially when I am stubborn and angry and I just want my own way. Please give me a repentant heart and help me to love you more. In Jesus name, Amen. Ruth Younts in Get Wisdom! Beautiful prayer for children. I find that it fits my own heart more than I would like to admit. The prayer strips away my clever defenses for my sin. Something to be said for child-like faith!
1. True sexuality is intimate, directed only towards your spouse. Lust is impersonal, directed towards anyone or anything that titillates your greedy desire. 2. True sexuality cares for the satisfaction of your spouse. Lust cares only that you are satisfied. 3. True sexuality results in gratitude to God and earnest prayer for his blessing in your sexual union. Lust knows nothing of gratitude or prayer. 4. True sexuality requires sensitivity. Lust craves sensual desires. 5. True sexuality is motivated by personal inner beauty. Lust is motivated physical outward appearance. 6. True sexuality results in a deepening relational closeness. Lust results in increasing demands for self-fulfillment, with little regard for the well-being of the object of its desires. 7. True sexuality […]
Self-control is the ability to say no to my wrong desires and yes to what God wants me to do. Encourage your child to pray this prayer for self-control: Father, please help me to say no to sin and yes to obedience and pleasing you. I really want to do whatever you want me to do, but it’s too hard by myself. I need your help all the time to say “yes” to you. Please help me. In Jesus’ name, Amen. Ruth Younts from Get Wisdom! Jesus taught his disciples how to pray the Lord’s prayer word for word. One way to teach your children to pray is to follow his example and teach them how […]
Our youth are falling prey to sexual sin and sensuality. However, the reason for these sins started much earlier in their life. Following is a lightly edited revison of a recent post on self-pity. Driven by self-pity, Amnon became a sexual predator. He was a disgusting, pathetic, miserable young man. He is someone you need to understand. The Holy Spirit has something for you to learn regarding Amnon. The core information about Amnon is written in 2 Samuel 13:2. All of the other events in this sad narrative flow from this one observation: “Amnon became so obsessed with his sister Tamar that he made himself ill. She was a virgin, and it seemed impossible for him to […]
A toddler sulks because she can’t play when it is time for a nap. A nine-year-old feels deprived because he has to share the video game console with his little brother. A young teenager thinks he is an outcast because no one who is “cool” ever talks to him. All three of these children are candidates for sexual immorality and perversion. You might think, how did you make that connection? Good question. Here is the why behind this thinking. Sexual immorality is rooted in selfishness. The lusts of the flesh say that a person should be able have what they want or desire. There is cultural outrage that anyone, especially God, would set boundaries on sexual conduct. The core issue […]
Meekness Meekness is being willing to give up my rights in order to put others first. Meekness waits for God to bring about justice. Ruth Younts Get Wisdom!
Here is the latest entry of Dr. Charles Hodges’s blog. Dr. Hodges is the author of Good Mood, Bad Mood: Help and Hope for Depression and Bipolar Disorder. In this blog post, he cites a leading British Professor, Peter Kinderman, who comments about new findings in the psychological community regarding grief and anxiety. Since these issues touch so many, these are important matters to consider. Dr. Hodges has done a tremendous service in bringing the light of Scripture to bear on a problem where the secular medical community is finding more problems than solutions. [hr] Grief and Anxiety: Diseases or Not? by Dr. Charles Hodges A little more than two months ago, Peter Kinderman wrote an editorial for BBC News Health […]