Here are 7 exercises that strengthen your heart and spiritual muscles:
1. Regular study of the Bible
2. Consistent godly fellowship
3. Looking for God's glory in creation every day
4. Sitting under preaching and teaching of Scripture
5. Spending quiet moments reflecting on the goodness of God
6. Reading solid Christian books
7. Spending ample time in prayer
"The Holy Spirit will never contradict what the Word of God says. Not ever, ever, ever. You can count on it. You won't read something in the Bible and the next day get some vision from God that contradicts what the Bible says."
.
The Illumination of the Spirit | Dr. David Jeremiah
I have counseled and pastored for many years, and one of the things that has impressed me over and over again is how self-deluded people can be. Including me.
It's amazingly difficult to see ourselves with accuracy. We see other people with a fairly high degree of accuracy, but we don't seem to see ourselves with the same precision.
Serving God by needing his help.
“As the eyes of a maidservant
to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the Lord our God,
till he has mercy upon us.” Psalm 123:2
Think of a master potter. They take a lump of clay, gradually reworking and refining it into a masterpiece. The same thing happens when we give our lives to God. He refines us, molding us into the purpose He has for our lives. Read more at the link.
https://t.co/b81WhZ2eBH
It is strange how easily men will surrender comfort, sleep, money, friendships, and even family time to chase earthly dreams, yet hesitate when Christ calls them to deny themselves for the gospel.
For success, people will sacrifice almost anything. For ambition, they will endure pain, rejection, discipline, and long seasons of labour. But when the call is to follow Christ, bear the cross, speak the truth, serve the church, and lose reputation for His name, suddenly the cost feels too much.
“If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me” (Luke 9:23).
This exposes the heart. We are often more willing to suffer for what will perish than for what will last forever. We treat earthly goals as worth the cost, while acting as though the gospel must never disturb our comfort.
“For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it” (Mark 8:35).
Christ did not call us to a life where He receives the leftovers after our dreams have taken the best of us. He is not an addition to our plans. He is Lord over the whole life.
Paul saw this clearly. Everything that once gave him status became loss compared to Christ. “I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Philippians 3:8).
So let us be honest. The issue is not that the gospel asks too much. The issue is that we often value too little. We will spend ourselves for fading crowns, but drag our feet when eternal glory is before us.
Seek first the kingdom. Everything else is passing.
God has "given us everything we need for a godly life," so when we feel like we're at the end of our rope, we can carry on. We can face life once more, with new courage and new hope, not because we're able, but because our God has provided mercies that are form-fit for each experience in a fallen world.
Today, in some capacity, you will fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Chances are, you already did! We need to be forgiven, and God provides his most significant mercy on the Cross of Christ (Romans 3:24-25).
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9
The great paradox of the Christian life.
Like bounty perfected in blight. Wisdom perfected in folly. Joy perfected in sorrow.
It's true that God never misses a sin, nor does he ignore, nor does he minimize. But instead of responding with life-ending wrath against the transgressor, he looks down and sees the blood of his Son blotting out the sinful deed.
If the eyes of your heart are filled with a vision for earthly, temporary, material God-replacements, your life will be lived in pursuit of those treasures that don’t satisfy. But if the eyes of your heart are filled with a vision for God, it will change everything.
What a gorgeous thing to pray for, and to sing aloud, that no one else but God would be the only One who fills the vision of the eyes of my heart, from morning to evening.
and pray for those who hurt us. (Luke 6:27-28). He wants us to extend mercy to people who don't deserve it. He wants us to realize that we, ourselves are also undeserving of His mercy yet He extended it to us. Let us learn from Him. He is a God of mercy and forgiveness.
Loving our neighbours is hard especially if we don't get along well with them. To love our enemies is even harder as they have caused us anger and pain for what they did to us. But Jesus said we have to love our enemies; do good to those who hate us, bless those who curse us