Pressing Toward The Mark

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.  Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil. - Proverbs 3:5-7 Before you were born again, you trusted in your own understanding of this natural life before, but when  you were born again you "should have" started trusting  - in Jesus - and in Jehovah God. I have been taking with someone who does not believe in God. And so. our conversations about religious topics are short. They have no interest and, I think, they feel sorry for me because I am so naive in my beliefs and have devoted my life to that which they believe is patently false - fiction - made up. Are you familiar with the discipline called Apologetics.  Apologetics is the practice of defending a belief—most commonly a religion or worldview—by giving reasons, arguments, and answers to objections. People who do this are trying to show that th...

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. - 1 John 1:8-10 It is a simple thing to confess that we have done something wrong - sinned against God. It can be just words - "Father forgive me for I have sinned" and then we press on with our lives.  I am certain you remember the story of the prodigal son.  You never really know at what point he realized that he had indeed sinned against his father. In fact if you read the story - the reason he went back home was that he was tired of dealing with the consequences of his sin. He had abandoned his family to go his own way, but it didn't work out - and I think that is most often the case. So he could have said "I messed up, maybe I can go home and pretend that everything is well" When in fact there...

May your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless … —1 Thessalonians 5:23 Do we believe that God can fortify and protect our thought processes far beyond where we can go? “…the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). If this verse means cleansing only on our conscious level, may God have mercy on us. The man who has been dulled by sin will say that he is not even conscious of it. But the cleansing from sin we experience will reach to the heights and depths of our spirit if we will “walk in the light as He is in the light” (1 John 1:7). The same Spirit that fed the life of Jesus Christ will feed the life of our spirit. It is only when we are protected by God with the miraculous sacredness of the Holy Spirit that our spirit, soul, and body can be preserved in pure uprightness until the coming of Jesus-no longer condemned in God’s sight.”  Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest  As I write these devotions, I can see a thread that runs ...

See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. - Ephesians 5:15-17 In 2 Samuel 23 there were 37 men singled out as the Mighty Men of David. They were called “mighty men” because they were elite warriors in David’s army—men known for extraordinary courage and fighting ability and for performing remarkable acts of bravery for David, especially in battles. The “sons of Issachar” are described most clearly in 1 Chronicles 12 Among David's mighty men who were especially valuable to David because of their understanding and strategy, not just their strength. They are said to have “understanding of the times”—they knew when to act and how to make good decisions in Israel’s situation—so they came to David with help that was both wise and effective in battle. I had an interesting conversation the other day. I was asked if I believed a certain statement as ...

“For those whom He [God the Father] foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He [Jesus] might be the firstborn among many brothers [and sisters]. ”  - Romans 8:29 “Jesus doesn’t take us aside and explain things to us all the time; He explains things to us as we are able to understand them. The lives of others are examples for us, but God requires us to examine our own souls. It is slow work— so slow that it takes God all of time and eternity to make a man or woman conform to His purpose. We can only be used by God after we allow Him to show us the deep, hidden areas of our own character. Jesus will reveal to us everything we have held within ourselves before His grace began to work. We have to get rid of the idea that we understand ourselves. That is always the last bit of pride to go. The only One who understands us is God. The greatest curse in our spiritual life is pride. He will allow us to experience heartbreak or the disappointment w...

If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. —2 Corinthians 5:17 “Our Lord never tolerates our prejudices— He is directly opposed to them and puts them to death. We must learn that God accepts nothing of the old life! God pays no respect to anything we bring to Him. There is only one thing God wants of us, and that is our unconditional surrender. Our old gloomy outlook disappears, as does our old attitude toward things, and “all things are of God” (2 Corinthians 5:18). How are we going to get a life that has no lust, no self-interest, and is not sensitive to the ridicule of others? How will we have the type of love that “is kind…is not provoked, [and] thinks no evil”? (1 Corinthians 13:4-5). The only way is by allowing nothing of the old life to remain, and by having only simple, perfect trust in God— such a trust that we no longer want God’s blessings, but only want God Himself. Have we come to the point where God can w...