Discipleship and Spiritual Growth

I believe the single most effective weapon against our joy in Christ and becoming who we are made to be is the lie that God is not who He says He is and you can’t trust Him.

As time-bound creatures, we struggle all the more with the notion of eternity. We cannot imagine any kind of experience or reality that is not defined by time. The very concept almost overwhelms our rational capacity.

Pride causes us to carry more than we are supposed to, and a crash is coming. Christians believe that pride is at the root of Satan’s sin.

This book looks at 10 sins that seem to consistently trip us up and the Scriptures that show us how to respond in God-honoring ways to these vices.

Whatever shame or guilt you carry, however deep the regrets in your life, no matter what you have done, there is a mercy that is deeper yet. “With you there is forgiveness,” said the psalmist.

By remaining faithful to Scripture’s commands and patterns, Jesus demonstrated courage. In providing a miraculous meal, he followed his Father’s example. Again and again in the Old Testament, God had produced food for those who were hungry, first in the form of manna and quail for the Israelites in the wilderness (Exodus 16) and then for Elijah (1 Kings 17:2–16).

Ultimately, we approach God with complete humility because he is God and we are not. He is the Creator; we are the creation. Indeed, we approach him with a posture of total humility and lack of pride because “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6).

We should assume that we are more resentful and less forgiving and more controlled by what people have done to us than we think we are.