"I LONG FOR YOUR SALVATION, O LORD, AND YOUR LAW IS MY DELIGHT."
Blog
Christians are probably all different sized and shaped “mustard trees” of faith, with many branches still in process, and with many branches that need pruning. We bear that fruit of the Spirit over here abundantly, but not so much that fruit over here. But that doesn’t make us better or us worse. We are all in the middle of our journeys, traveling to heaven, still growing our little mustard trees of faith.
Learn much of the Lord Jesus. For every look at yourself, take ten looks at Christ. He is altogether lovely. Such infinite majesty, and yet such meekness and grace, and all for sinners, even the chief! Live much in the smiles of God. Bask in His beams. Feel His all-seeing eye settled on you in love, and repose in His almighty arms.
Those who are self-deceived are dangerous to themselves and to others, because they claim they walk the path to heaven, when in reality they are walking the road to hell. If they continue in their self-deception, their false faith will be unmasked when it’s too late. …You cannot build your true assurance upon your experiences alone. It has to be more.
Can I ask you a scary question? What about you? If you call yourself a Christian, are you sure your faith is real? Is your Christianity a faith that will last until Jesus takes you home, or is it just a passing phase, a temporary trend, a fleeting fancy to be replaced by something else when you move cities or get a new job or have a big life event?
The painter who uses the deepest of blacks is not guilty because he brings the darkness. Shadow and light, hard and soft, are only known when thrown in sharp contrast and sweet relief to one another. The same colors that make the rainbow compose the colors of blood, fire, and the clouds of the storm.
God alone satisfies the ache for meaning and purpose. You were made to delight in Him. God alone is worth living for. Everything and everyone else leads to death. You were made to be happy in Him.
Being a Christian is so much more than just going to church, learning right theology, and going through the motions of being a “good Christian.” I want all that you are—your heart, soul, mind, strength; your affections, desires, wants; your hopes, dreams, ambitions; your love, your joy, your peace—to be for our Savior. That is the good life. That is the abundant life that Christ promised, when we are enraptured with His love and fully happy in Him.
Instead of wandering in the desert, mists here today and gone tomorrow, a spiritual vagabond and vagrant with no home, no peace, no love, would you not rather be a child of the living God, home with the Heavenly Father, safe in His care? Dear Christian, know who you are. You belong to God!
Identity is crucial.1 Identity not only defines how we introduce ourselves, but also dictates how and why we live. Through our identity, we interpret the world, understand relationships, choose our actions, have stability, and worship. …Our problem is that there are a billion voices clamoring to define who and what we are.
“Abide with me; fast falls the eventide / The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide.”[1] So begins the comforting hymn by Henry F. Lyte. But, to brusquely push past the sweetness of the lyrics, what does Lyte mean by ‘abide’? Is he asking Christ to tolerate him, wait for him, accept him, remain with him, continue with him, or dwell with him?[2]
John claims that Jesus, the Son of God, came through water and blood…not by this water only, but by this water and by this blood (1 John 5:6). This is the very testimony of God (5:9). Yet, how do water and blood speak? What is their message, and why is it so important that Christ by both the water and the blood?
How well do you know the Bible’s teaching on assurance of faith?