Don't Be A Goldilocks!
When you hear someone speak or teach, do you consider who they are or just what they say? There can be merit in both approaches. Sometimes it is good to receive a message or an understanding from anyone – the content is critical. At other times it is important to consider the source … Are You Like Goldilocks? Do they know what they are talking about? Do they know how to do what they are teaching? Do they have experience in this area, or is their understanding based solely upon what they have read or heard?
When you really want to make changes or take new steps in life, you usually want to hear from those who have made the change and have walked in the direction you want to go. Their words carry weight.
But, what if their words seem difficult or require more change than you want to make – will you still listen?
Most people I know are like “Goldilocks;” they continue to search for insight until they find instruction that seems to feel just right. In...
What Is Taking Root In You?
What is presently growing in the garden of your soul? Are there weeds that need to be removed – that are choking you deep within? Are there sprouts of life and truth that need to be nurtured inside you?
The Word of God is an incredible and indispensable resource for Kingdom growth. It is a foundational source of spiritual life. God miraculously led the Israelites through the desert for forty years to challenge and teach them that “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.” (Deuteronomy 8:3)
Jesus made it clear in the parable of the sower that the word of God is like seed that grows within our souls. (Luke 8:11) It convicts, corrects and transforms us as we intentionally prioritize understanding it and applying it in our lives over time. It sinks deeply into our conscious and subconscious perception of life.
This is not just an intellectual exercise, it is spiritual. It involves turning from things and...
Are You Sending Down Deep Roots?
Most of us tend to do whatever we can to get out of the path of adversity. We will try to think our way out of a mess, look for help from others, or pray that God will just make it stop. Additionally, we all experience the constant inundation of advertisers that offers products to relieve and remove our troubles. They promise to give us access to the good life to which we are all “entitled.” If your difficulty is weight, muscle tone, sickness, finance, loneliness, depression, or erectile dysfunction – “We have a product that will take care of that for you.”
God’s ways are often very different from ours. He uses the hurdles and stubborn obstacles of life to deepen us and produce lasting fruit in our lives. Wisdom and character are grown through adversity, not through escape. There is no product that you can buy that will give you the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22) or understanding of the ways of God. These are only forged...
Are You Holding Back?
Is there anyone who really knows you, who has experienced the big events of your life with you, who knows your feelings and perspectives? You may have a few people who have shared in some (or even most) of the significant happenings of your life, but no one has really been there with you through them all. Even the people who have been with you haven’t really seen and experienced what you have. They have seen things from their own unique perspective. They may have experienced many things with you, but not inside you. Only God knows you like that! Every memory that you have can be shared with God. He was there, not just with you but WITH you. He is the only One with whom you will ever really, really, really be able to share your life. He knows you inside out (literally and figuratively), and He wants to share your life with you.
So, why do we so often keep God at a distance, only sharing “our religious lives” with Him? Is it because we think that if...
Can We Talk?
Many people in our country believe that faith is a personal thing – that it’s not something to talk about or share with others. To believe this, however, is to believe that there is no real, solid, true faith that we must all consider.
The Bible uses the expression “the faith” to describe a solid belief in Jesus Christ that impacts and informs all aspects of life. People are to be strengthened in the faith, encouraged to stand strong in the faith, to examine themselves to make sure they are in the faith, to grow in the unity of the faith and to experience joy in the faith together. Faith is personal. Faith is also corporate. We need to be discuss it so we can grow and progress in our understanding, application and practice of “the faith.”
In Ephesians 4:15 we are instructed to “speak the truth in love” to each other. This is what we all need spiritually and relationally. We need to receive both...
