Obeying God in itself is not complicated.
What complicates it is our will, desires, and plans.
When God's word conquers self, and the Spirit has full control, we will find out that obedience isn't that complicated.
God's will isn't the problem
Our spiritual growth is!
Whenever we face temptation, God will always have a moment of grace, a time where you have the strength and the ability to resist and walk away. But that moment of grace doesn’t last hour after hour. Right at the start, you have to be disciplined and do the right thing.
To decide to let nothing but the word of God proceed from our lips for extended periods of time while praying is to observe a true fast
It is an activity that requires more discipline than mere abstinence from food and other pleasures!
When you are facing a difficult time, know that the challenges before you are not sent to destroy you. But to promote, strengthen, increase and raise you to the next level.
Every temptation starts with a thought. When those tempting thoughts come, get them out of your mind. That’s the battlefield. If you let it stay, it’s going to draw you in and lead you to compromise. It’s going to affect your destiny.
The writer of Proverbs says, "As a man thinks in his heart, so is he." That tells us that our life is going to go in the direction of our most dominant thoughts, which is why he also warns us: "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it" (Prov 4:23).
An awesome responsibility rests on the pastor. There’s a saying that a river never rises higher than its source; and, normally, the pastor forms the spiritual culture of the church. If he’s a praying man, you’ll have a praying church.
Leonard Ravenhill
Life is full of peace stealers. There will always be people and circumstances trying to pull you out of peace. If you’re going to live in peace, you have to put some boundaries up and be careful about what you feed your inner person.
Let me encourage you today, if your life is not going in the direction you want, push your thoughts in the direction you want. A transformation will take place as soon as you choose the right thoughts that align with God's Word.
How do we rise to new levels? By discipline and self-control. It requires inner strength to bring out "the fruit of the Spirit" in our life: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
“Without commitment you’ll never start. More importantly, without consistency you’ll never finish. Keep working. Keep striving. Never give up. Fall down seven times get up eight.” - Denzel Washington