Can Anyone Be Good Enough? - by Greg Laurie - www.harvest.org
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.-Romans 3:23
Are people basically good? When I was a kid, I used to think so. But then my life experiences didn't confirm that belief, because I saw so many people doing bad things.
You might be surprised to know, however, that most Americans believe people are basically good. In his book What Americans Believe, researcher George Barna revealed that 84 percent of non-Christians agree with the statement that people are basically good.
That shouldn't be too surprising. But what is somewhat surprising is that 77 percent of self-described Christians think the same thing.
So, are people basically good? Here's what I think. (You might be surprised.) My answer is yes and no. There are good people. There are people who do good things. Some people are good neighbors and good citizens. They're kind and considerate.
There are people who have done good things, have made great sacrifices, or have done something heroic on behalf of others. In fact, I've met some nonbelievers who are nicer than some Christians. But being nice is not what gets us to Heaven, of course.
Maybe this is a better way to frame the question: Are we good enough to get to Heaven on our own merit? The answer is a resounding no. No one is good enough to reach God's very high standards. We all fall short of them.
In the Book of Romans, the apostle Paul systematically shows us that everyone falls short. In fact, if we learn nothing else from the first chapter of Romans, we discover that we're all sinful. The bad news is that we're sinners. The good news is there's a Savior.
Our salvation is not earned. Rather, it is given to us as a gift from God. The immoral person needs Jesus. And the moral person needs Jesus. Everyone needs Jesus.
God Came Nearby Max Lucado
It all happened in a moment, a most remarkable moment. God became a man! Heaven opened herself and placed her most precious one in a human womb. Jesus came, not as a flash of light or as an unapproachable conqueror, but as one whose first cries were heard by a peasant girl and a sleepy carpenter. The hands that first held him were un-manicured, calloused, and dirty. For thirty-three years he would feel everything you and I have ever felt. Weak and weary; and afraid of failure. His feelings got hurt.To think of Jesus in such a light seems almost irreverent. There’s something about keeping him divine that keeps him distant and predictable. But don’t do it! For heaven’s sake, don’t! Let him be as human as he intended to be. Let him into the mire and muck of our world. For only if we let him in can he pull us out!
An Introduction to Christ
Revelation 1:4-8
The first chapter of Revelation gives a compact description of the Lord. In verses 4 to 8, John condenses the wonder of Jesus Christ to the bare but beautiful essentials of who He is:
Jesus Christ is the faithful witness. Jesus came to earth to more fully reveal the character and ways of the Father (John 14:9). The miracles He performed validated His claim to be the Son of God.
Jesus Christ is the ruler of the kings of the earth. It is the Lord who raises men to power, just as it is He who removes them (John 19:11; Rom. 13:1). Meanwhile, believers have access to a higher authority. In God’s throne room, we can beseech Him on behalf of our nations and lay claim to His promises.
Jesus Christ loves us and released us from our sins by His blood. Note the change of tense in John’s writing. The Lord’s love is ever-present, but He has freed believers from their past. Both the penalty and power of sin have been broken.
When people ask you about Jesus, introduce Him by guiding them through this mini-biography. In just a few sentences, John describes Christ’s character, divinity, and authority. The disciple was not timid about proclaiming the Lord. We shouldn’t be shy, either, when we serve so great a Savior.
The Immortal Dies
“Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.” (1 Timothy 1:17)
The second verse of “And Can It Be That I Should Gain?” poses and solves a great mystery:
T’is mystery all! the immortal dies!
Who can explain this strange design?
In vain the first-born seraph tries,
To sound the depths of love divine;
T’is mercy all! Let earth adore!
Let angel minds inquire no more.
Who can explain this strange design?
In vain the first-born seraph tries,
To sound the depths of love divine;
T’is mercy all! Let earth adore!
Let angel minds inquire no more.
Our text reminds us that God is immortal. And yet, “Christ died for our sins” (1 Corinthians 15:3) to bring us salvation. If this astounds us (and it should), we can take solace in that we are not alone. “Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things . . . which things the angels desire to look into” (1 Peter 1:10-12).
Think of it! The Creator, the Author of life, has died to offer eternal life to His creation, for “all have sinned” (Romans 3:23), and the “wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). He died so that we don’t have to die! This grand plan remains beyond our full grasp, as it always was to the prophets and the angels.
The motive behind His plan is God’s mercy. “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us; . . . Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour” (Titus 3:5-6). “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out” (Romans 11:33). JDM
Discovering Our True Identity
1 Corinthians 1:1-9
Many Christians are experiencing an identity crisis. They know they’re saved, but they don’t really know what to think about themselves. Let’s take a little test. Do you consider yourself a sinner saved by grace or a saint who occasionally sins? Both statements are true, but the first one dwells on your past identity, whereas the second focuses on the Lord’s perception of you.
The solution to this identity crisis is to change the way we think about ourselves. If we don’t, we’ll rely on how we feel, and Satan will bombard us with reminders of our failures and sins. He wants to keep us focused on being a sinner, because he knows that the recognition of our sainthood will lead us to live like saints. We’ll be motivated and empowered to obey God, and the Devil will lose his foothold in our lives.
Jesus didn’t come just to save you from hell; He wants to live His life through you. In Christ, you have a new identity which has replaced your old one. If you will focus on who you are now, your actions will follow, and you’ll experience the enjoyment of a victorious Christian life.
Get Over Yourself Proverbs 16:5 says, “The Lord despises pride.” So, get over yourself!
An elementary boy came home from tryouts for the school play. “Mommy, mommy” he announced, “I got a part. I’ve been chosen to sit in the audience and clap and cheer.” When you have a chance to clap and cheer, do you take it? If you do, your head is starting to fit your hat size.
Demanding respect is like chasing a butterfly. Chase it, and you’ll never catch it. Sit still, and it may light on your shoulder. The Bible says in Proverbs 27:2, “Don’t praise yourself. Let someone else do it.” Does your self-esteem need attention? You need only pause at the base of the cross and be reminded of this: The maker of the stars would rather die for you than live without you. And that’s a fact!
Can It Be?
Christ also suffered for us. . . . Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.” (1 Peter 2:21-24)
Those who love good church music have come to love Charles Wesley’s commitment to and knowledge of his Savior and the Scriptures, for he wove into his music and poetry deep insights that challenge and thrill us even today. One of his hymns, “And Can It Be That I Should Gain?,” has unfortunately been abridged in modern hymnals. The first verse is expressed:
And can it be that I should gain,
An interest in the Savior’s blood?
Died He for me, who caused His pain?
For me, who Him, to death pursued?
Amazing love! How can it be,
That thou, my God, should’st die for me?
An interest in the Savior’s blood?
Died He for me, who caused His pain?
For me, who Him, to death pursued?
Amazing love! How can it be,
That thou, my God, should’st die for me?
Even the Old Testament saints wondered why God loves man so. “What is man, that thou shouldest magnify him? and that thou shouldest set thine heart upon him?” (Job 7:17). The New Testament contains many similar expressions of wonder. “Behold, what manner of love [literally ‘what a different kind of love’] the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God” (1 John 3:1). “God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. . . . And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement” (Romans 5:8-11).
The point is we were desperate sinners deserving His wrath. “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love [i.e., ‘amazing love’] wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved)” (Ephesians 2:4-5). JDM
Let God Define Goodby Max Lucado
Nothing in the Bible would cause us to call a famine good or a heart attack good or a terrorist attack good. These are terrible calamities, born out of a fallen earth. Yet every message in the Bible compels us to believe that God will mix them with other ingredients, and bring good out of them. But we must let God define good. Our definition includes health, comfort, and recognition. His definition? In the case of His Son, Jesus Christ, the good life consisted of struggles, storms, and death. But God worked it all together for the greatest of good: His glory and our salvation.
At some point we all stand at this intersection. Is God good when the outcome is not? Do you want to know heaven’s clearest answer to the question of suffering? Take a look at Jesus!
Our Righteousness
Ephesians 2:1-10
Anyone who thinks of himself as a pretty good person ought to take a look at God’s assessment of humanity. He says we all come into the world spiritually dead and are ruled by Satan, his world system, and our own sin nature, or flesh. In the Lord’s eyes, we are children of wrath who deserve only punishment.
Those of us who have placed faith in Jesus Christ have been made spiritually alive in Him, and all our sins have been forgiven. There’s a striking contrast between what we were and who we now are in the Lord. But this change has nothing to do with how good we’ve been. Even the faith with which we respond to the Savior comes from God. We can never make ourselves righteous; it’s all a gift from Him. And once He declares us justified, we will never be pronounced guilty again.
God has said that in the ages to come, He wants to show the “surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us” (Eph. 2:7). For all eternity, we will be showered with this awesome demonstration of His love. As great as our blessings are now, they’ll pale in comparison to what awaits us in heaven.
Giving and Receiving
“Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only.” (Philippians 4:15)
As Paul went on his missionary journeys, he never asked for money for himself from the people to whom he preached. He later wrote to the Thessalonians, “Because we would not be chargeable unto any of you, we preached unto you the gospel of God” (1 Thessalonians 2:9). He did stress the teaching of Christ that “the labourer is worthy of his reward” (1 Timothy 5:18; Luke 10:7) and that “even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel” (1 Corinthians 9:14). But he himself said: “I have used none of these things: neither have I written these things, that it should be so done unto me” (1 Corinthians 9:15).
Thus, he was especially moved when the impoverished Christians at Philippi, without being asked, “sent once and again unto my necessity” (Philippians 4:16), and they were the only ones who did! This act of generous concern came about, Paul recognized, because they “first gave their own selves to the Lord” (2 Corinthians 8:5). As a result, Paul could assure them: “My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). Not only their material need, but every need.
They had learned a wonderful truth that every Christian needs to learn. As Paul told the Ephesian elders: “Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). Therefore, let each of us give in His name, “not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:7-8). HMM
Unresolved Guilt
What kind of person does unresolved guilt create? An anxious one, forever hiding, running, denying, or pretending. As one man admitted, “I was always living a lie for fear someone might see me for who I really was and think less of me. I hid behind my super spirituality but this lie was exhausting and anxiety producing.”
Unresolved guilt will turn you into a miserable, weary, angry, fretful mess. In a psalm David probably wrote after his affair with Bathsheba, the king said, “When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long. Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat” (Psalms 32:3-4 NLT).
As the apostle Paul told Titus, God’s grace is the fertile soil out of which courage sprouts! “God’s readiness to give and forgive is now public. Salvation is available for everyone!” (Titus 2:11,15 MSG).
White as Snow
“I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire.” (Daniel 7:9)
In this amazing vision of the everlasting God on His fiery judgment throne, we find one of the six occurrences in the Bible of the fascinating phrase “white as snow.” As the symbol of holiness, pure white finds its clearest natural expression in the beautiful snow when it has freshly covered the ground.
Twice the phrase is used to describe the cleansing of a guilty sinner by the grace of God. David, after confessing his own sin, prayed: “Have mercy upon me, O God. . . . Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. . . . wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow” (Psalm 51:1-2, 7). Then, God promises through His prophet: “Come now, and let us reason together, . . . though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow” (Isaiah 1:18). The cleansing blood of Christ, the Lamb of God, is the only substance that can turn blood-red scarlet into snowy white.
When Christ ascended the Mount of Transfiguration, “his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow” (Mark 9:3), which confirmed to the three disciples that He was the Son of God, even as the voice from heaven had said (Matthew 17:5). At the empty tomb following His resurrection, “the angel of the Lord” also had “raiment white as snow” (Matthew 28:3). Finally, when John saw Christ in His glorified body, he testified that “his head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow” (Revelation 1:14).
It is marvelous that the raiment of the angel of God, the transfigured Christ, and the Ancient of days, as well as the head of Christ in His glory, are all described with the same phrase as the soul of one whose sins are forgiven! HMM
Rejoice in the Lord's Sovereigntyby Max Lucado
The next time you fear the future, rejoice in the Lord’s sovereignty. Rejoice in what he has accomplished. Rejoice that he is able to do what you cannot do. Fill your mind with thoughts of God.
“He is the Creator, who is blessed forever” (Romans 1:25).
“He is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).
“His years will never end” (Psalm 102:27 NIV).
He is king, supreme ruler, absolute monarch, and overlord of all history. An arch of his eyebrow and a million angels will pivot and salute! Every throne is a footstool to his. Every crown is papier-mache next to his. He consults no advisers. He needs no congress. He reports to no one. He is in charge.
Sovereignty gives the saint the inside track to peace. Others see the problems of the world and wring their hands. We see the problems of the world and bend our knees!
Justice and Mercy
Romans 3:21-26
The sinful condition of mankind presents us with a dilemma: How can a holy, righteous God forgive our sins? If He deals with us only on the basis of His justice, every human being would suffer the eternal punishment of His wrath, which their sins deserve. But if He extends mercy instead of justice, no one would pay the penalty for sin, and God would then cease to be just.
There was only one way the Lord could stay true to His nature and at the same time forgive our sins. The solution was to satisfy His justice by pouring out His wrath on a substitute. Then the penalty for sin would be paid, and He would be free to extend mercy to sinners. This is the only plan that accommodates both aspects of His divine nature. So Christ came as our substitute; He took the punishment for our sin, enabling us to experience the Father’s mercy. Now, by placing faith in Jesus, anyone can be justified—that is, declared legally righteous.
Can you even imagine the cost of your salvation? The magnificent plan of the Father and the willing cooperation of the Son prove your tremendous value in God’s eyes. From His perspective, you are worth all the pain and suffering that was necessary to secure your eternal presence with Him in heaven.
Faith over Feelings - by Greg Laurie -
No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.-Micah 6:8
I've been married to Cathe for 45 years now. When I first met her, I was a little nervous around her. I had butterflies in my stomach.
But I don't feel that way when I'm around her now. In fact, if I were to say to her one day, "Cathe, I'm feeling kind of nervous talking to you," she would think I was having a heart attack or something. I cannot expect to have that emotional experience every moment of every day of our marriage.
It's the same with our relationship with God. The Bible says the just will live by faith (see Romans 1:17). It does not say the just shall live by feelings. In fact, our feelings can mislead us. We can have all kinds of emotional reactions to all kinds of things.
I think sometimes we come to church and want to have a breakthrough moment. We think we need an emotional touch. No, we don't. We just need to worship God whether we feel like it or not. We need to understand that the Christian life is a walk of faith.
I have a watch that gives me constant feedback, telling me how many steps I've taken and whether I've reached my fitness goal. Wouldn't it be great to have a watch that tells us to read the Bible and pray, that keeps us on track in our spiritual lives?
I think one of the best definitions of being a Christian is, to borrow Nietzsche's phrase, a "long obedience in the same direction." It's just putting one foot in front of the other and walking with the Lord every day. Some days you feel it. And some days you don't.
That's because our objective as Christians is to walk with God and live by faith. Are you walking with God today?
My Chains Fell Off�But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.� (1 Peter 2:9)
The fourth verse of Charles Wesley�s great hymn �And Can It Be That I Should Gain?� compares Peter�s miraculous deliverance from prison with a sinner�s deliverance from bondage to sin. �Peter was sleeping, . . . bound with two chains. . . . And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: . . . And his chains fell off from his hands. And the angel said unto him . . . follow me� (Acts 12:6-8).
Long my imprisoned spirit lay,
Fast bound in sin and nature�s night;
Thine eye diffused a quick�ning ray,
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light:
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed thee.
Fast bound in sin and nature�s night;
Thine eye diffused a quick�ning ray,
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light:
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed thee.
The Bible teaches that before being delivered, �ye were the servants of sin [i.e., in bondage to sin], but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness� (Romans 6:17-18). We were powerless to gain freedom on our own.
But �God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ� (2 Corinthians 4:6), bringing freedom and life. �For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened [made alive] by the Spirit� (1 Peter 3:18). �And you, being dead in your sins . . . hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses� (Colossians 2:13). If He has done all this for us, how can we do less than follow Him? JDM
God is in the Crisisby Max Lucado
Do you recite your woes more naturally than you do heaven�s strength? No wonder life�s tough. You�re assuming God isn�t in this crisis.
Isabel spent her first three and a half years in a Nicaraguan orphanage. As with all orphans, her odds of adoption diminished with time. And then the door slammed on her finger! Why would God permit this innocent girl to feel even more pain? Might He be calling the attention of Ryan Schnoke sitting in the playroom nearby? He and his wife had been trying to adopt a child for months! Ryan walked over, picked her up, and comforted her. Several months later, Ryan and Christina were close to giving up, and Ryan remembered Isabel. Little Isabel is now growing up in a happy, healthy home.
A finger in the door? God doesn�t manufacture pain, but He certainly puts it to use! Your crisis? You�ll get through this!
The Power Within
Acts 1:8
God's Spirit works in every believer. He does not limit Himself to pastors and missionaries. If you've received Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, then residing within you is the same great power that raised Christ from the dead (Rom 8:11) The Holy Spirit pours His energy into creating godly character in all who follow the Lord.
What the world most needs to see in this modern culture is godly families loving one another, business people working with integrity and frugality, and young men and women who choose moral purity. In a word, the world needs to be exposed to believers who are obedient.
By showing peace instead of anxiety or practicing patience rather than speaking a sharp word, a Christian bears witness to the beauty of the gospel. We attract unbelievers to Christ through our words and deeds. They may turn down a doctrine, but they cannot ignore a righteous life.
The strongest gospel message does not come from a pulpit. The most powerful witness for Jesus Christ where you work, where you live, and where you relax is you. Submit to the Holy Spirit's work, and He will produce a great harvest of spiritual fruit in your life.
His Mercy Found Me
�For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.� (Ephesians 2:8)
The third verse of the hymn �And Can It Be That I Should Gain?� sets the stage for the implementation of His majestic plan.
He left His father�s throne above,
So free, so infinite His grace!
Emptied Himself of all but love,
And bled for Adam�s helpless race;
T�is mercy all! Immense and free,
For, O my God, it found out me!
So free, so infinite His grace!
Emptied Himself of all but love,
And bled for Adam�s helpless race;
T�is mercy all! Immense and free,
For, O my God, it found out me!
The plan involved the death of God the Son. The Creator dying for the creation. The righteous Judge taking on Himself the penalty of the condemned. The rejected Holy One becoming sin on behalf of the true sinner. The convicted ones, powerless to alter the situation, simply receiving the offered grace through faith (see our text).
First, God had to take on Himself the nature of the condemned, live a guiltless life so that He could die as a substitutionary sacrifice. To do so, God the Son had to leave His Father�s throne. And, although �being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God [i.e., was willing to give up his kingly status]: But made himself of no reputation [literally, �emptied himself�], and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: . . . and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross� (Philippians 2:6-8).
Adam had rebelled against his Creator�s authority, and all of mankind suffered. �By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned� (Romans 5:12), yet Christ�s work on the cross changed all that. �For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many� (v. 15). Amazing love! JDM
Alive in Him
�I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.� (Galatians 2:20)
The final verse of Charles Wesley�s �And Can It Be That I Should Gain?� provides a fitting climax to what�s gone before:
No condemnation now I dread,
Jesus, with all in Him, is mine;
Alive in Him, my living Head,
And clothed in righteousness divine,
Bold I approach th�eternal throne,
And claim the crown, thru Christ, my own.
Jesus, with all in Him, is mine;
Alive in Him, my living Head,
And clothed in righteousness divine,
Bold I approach th�eternal throne,
And claim the crown, thru Christ, my own.
�There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit� (Romans 8:1). �Who is he that condemneth?� Not Christ! �It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us� (v. 34).
We�re now alive through Christ�s work on the cross, with a standing beyond our comprehension. �For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him� (Colossians 2:9-10). The song calls Him our �living Head.� Peter calls Him a �living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious. . . . The same is made the head of the corner� (1 Peter 2:4-7).
In response to His love, we �put off concerning the former conversation [way of living] of the old man . . . [and] put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness� (Ephesians 4:22-24). Dressed in His righteousness, �let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need� (Hebrews 4:16). �Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day� (2 Timothy 4:8). JDM
Changing Our Nature by Max Lucado
My dog Molly and I aren�t getting along. The problem is not her personality. A sweeter mutt you will not find. She sees every person as a friend and every day as a holiday. I have no problem with Molly�s attitude. I have a problem with her habits.
Eating scraps out of the trash. Licking dirty plates in the dishwasher. Dropping dead birds on our sidewalk and stealing bones from the neighbor�s dog. Shameful! Molly rolls in the grass, chews on her paw, does her business in the wrong places, and, I�m embarrassed to admit, quenches her thirst in the toilet.
Now what kind of behavior is that?
Dog behavior, you reply.
You are right. So right. Molly�s problem is not a Molly problem. Molly has a dog problem. It is a dog�s nature to do such things. And it is her nature that I wish to change. Not just her behavior, mind you. A canine obedience school can change what she does; I want to go deeper. I want to change who she is.
Here is my idea: a me-to-her transfusion. The deposit of a Max seed in Molly. I want to give her a kernel of human character. As it grew, would she not change? Her human nature would develop, and her dog nature would diminish. We would witness, not just a change of habits, but a change of essence. In time Molly would be less like Molly and more like me, sharing my disgust for trash snacking, potty slurping, and dish licking. She would have a new nature. Why, Denalyn might even let her eat at the table.
You think the plan is crazy? Then take it up with God. The idea is his.
What I would like to do with Molly, God does with us. He changes our nature from the inside out! �I will put a new way of thinking inside you. I will take out the stubborn hearts of stone from your bodies, and I will give you obedient hearts of flesh. I will put my Spirit inside you and help you live by my rules and carefully obey my laws� (Ezek. 36:26�27 NCV.).
Our Partnership with God
1 Corinthians 12:4-11
I don't know how some in today's church got the false idea that the preacher is a servant and the folks in the pews are just members. No one is a bystander in God's kingdom! All believers are in partnership with the Lord (2 Cor. 6:1). He chose to work through mankind to accomplish the gospel mission on earth. To borrow a biblical metaphor, we are the workers cultivating and harvesting His fields (Matt. 9:37-38).
Believers are the Lord's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for the purpose of good works (Eph. 2:10). Spiritual gifts are not our own abilities. The Holy Spirit manifests them through us. Remember, it is the sap running from the vine into the branches that produces fruit (John 15:5). In the same way, the Spirit lives and works through God's followers to bring forth acts of service. The Lord's power is behind it all. Think of that when you are tempted to shy away from God-given opportunities.
God's awesome power is present in and available to every believer. The Holy Spirit equips us to obey the Lord in whatever He calls us to do. Don't waste your life sitting in a pew! Get busy using that spiritual gift. The fields of this world are ripe for harvest (John 4:35).
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