No Secrets
Victory in the Christian life is no secret at all, yet many believe living as a victorious Christian is something mysterious or for the elite few.
Victory in the Christian life is no secret at all, yet many believe living as a victorious Christian is something mysterious or for the elite few.
What do you see when you look in the mirror? How do you perceive yourself? Someone has said, “Perceptions are reality.” Someone else said, “Whatever you think you are—you are!”
Here is a bold statement: If you see yourself as a sinner, saved by grace, you will sin and your Christian life will be mediocre at best. You will be riddled with guilt and open to Satan’s attack along that line. In other words, what we believe about ourselves determines our behaviour. One of Satan’s most successful schemes is that of keeping Christians ignorant of their true identity in Christ.
One of the mixed blessings of public speaking is listening to the way folks introduce you. It's sometimes best to cover your ears. You wonder if they've got the wrong guy.
My defence mechanism of not trusting others completely backfired when it came to God. When I follow His call to trust, I discover that His character is fortified with honesty, fairness, faithfulness, truthfulness, and justice.
If most people are broken, needing God’s help and healing, why do we tend to value feeling good when most of the time we don't? Why do we act like we’re fine even when we’re not?
Every Christian has experienced times when trials seem overwhelming. We naturally wonder: Where is God? Is God letting us down? Does He care? If God is good, then why is He allowing evil to triumph?
The Bible says, “give thanks in all circumstances…” (1 Thessalonians 5:18 NIV). But being thankful for trials doesn’t seem right and we wonder if that is what God really wants of us.
Love is the greatest thing in the world because it is the ultimate motivation. Scripture reveals this truth in John 3:16.
Does this mean that since a Christian who commits suicide won’t go to hell we can relax and not worry so much about it? No. We need to understand the factors, especially depression, which can lead to suicide even for Christians.
This year, it’s this careful balance of guilt and relief I’m pondering. I’m contemplating the injustice of being saved from my sin without deserving it in the slightest.