Wholesome Books for the Whole Family
To become more like Jesus, we must allow God to chisel away anything that isn’t Christlike. The superfluous, the negative, the misbeliefs, the self-doubt. Whatever is harmful to our spiritual growth.
The process may be painful; it might include areas of our lives to which we’ve grown attached, but how much more painful would it be to resist His Spirit and remain an unfinished work?
We live in a society that tends to put people in boxes according to gender, age, race, skills, and education… Sadly, many of us do the same with God. We diminish God to a size our finite minds can handle. We set limits on His ability to work wonders in the world, our country, our neighbor, our homes, and our lives. Those miracles He worked for the Israelites were pretty awesome, but He doesn’t do stuff like that nowadays, right? Nothing is further from the truth. God still works miracles today.
Though many have had their lives altered by war, we are thankful to God for our servicemen and women. We honor their patriotism and self-sacrifice to make this a better place to live.
Guest Post by Author Lauri Lemke Thompson “The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.”Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV). I arrived early on my first day at a new job and sat …
All too often, we do the same with God. Our prayer life is more of a monologue than a conversation. We pour out our requests and petitions yet forget to stop and listen to what God wants to tell us.
When do we think, “Good to me” when we suffer? Affliction is not pleasant. It hurts, it goes against the grain, and it runs contrary to the philosophy of health, wealth, and happiness. That’s where our thoughts, our understanding, and sometimes our will struggle. Because, while God is focusing on eternity, we’re still stuck on the here and now.
Simon Peter understood that I-feel-like-a-failure sentiment – as a fisherman, but mostly as a disciple. Though he’d professed he would follow Jesus, even unto death, he didn’t keep his word. Not only did he deny Christ, but he did so three times! Yet Jesus sought him out and gently drew him back to Himself. God never stopped loving Peter. That would directly oppose His character. He never stops loving us, even when we feel like we’ve failed. His love does not depend on our merit but on His grace.
You are never too old or too big for God to carry you. He is a personal God, your Abba, your gentle Father. He sees your frailty, your need, your infirmity. Instead of sending someone to tend to your needs, He gives you Himself. From the time you surrender your life to Christ to the day you reach the Promised Land, God will carry you as a loving father carries the child he loves. Gently, tenderly, lovingly.
Restoration is not an easy process. It requires time. It is often painful. It involves surrender and submission. We have to be willing. To be honest, I’d grown comfortable with the old. But ‘comfortable’ can be a dangerous place to be. God wants more for my life than ‘comfortable.’ He wants to stretch me, refine me, restore me, so I can be useful.
Guest Post by Author C.A. Simonson “He makes me to lie down in green pastures, and he leads me beside still waters.” Psalm 23:2 Feeling buried beneath responsibilities, I wanted things to ease. Flippantly, I prayed, “Lord, slow me down.” Then one day, He did. Everything pulled to a fast stop. Rushing to get ready …