GOSPEL :: FAMILY :: MISSION
Think about your commitment to the community of the gospel for a minute. We begin in the community of the gospel as consumers in need of the community of the gospel. Then we are transformed by the gospel into a community of contributors who continue to receive benefits in gospel community but also begin to give generously to one another as we mature in the gospel.
Unbelief in God’s character leads to unbelief in my identity, which leads to ungodly desires inside of me, which leads to ungodly behaviors outside me.
Where is Jesus right now and what is he saying to you? I was sitting in a 10×10 office on a cream colored chair with a small green pillow in my hands across from a small middle-aged woman sitting in a rocking chair. She asked me this question after I’d explained some of the events of my childhood and some of the events of the last few years of my life.
Where is Jesus right now and what is he saying to you? This question gets to the bottom of what’s happening in our hearts. It helps us stop and evaluate our lives. It helps us examine the health of our relationship with Jesus. It helps us assess whether or not Christ has settled down in our hearts through faith. Our hearts are like fields full of soil and our lives are like trees growing in those fields.
God generously loves you and he generously saves you therefore we should be motivated to give generously because of the message of the gospel. When we give generously it is a tangible expression or a genuine extension of our love for others in the gospel, which proves the authenticity of our love for the Lord.
How confident are you when you approach God in prayer? I struggle with believing that God is gracious and merciful. So sometimes I feel afraid to approach him in prayer.
I love my wife. I love her a lot. We would have massive issues if I didn’t. But think about this. If you came over to our home and you experienced our relationship in a more up-close and personal way and what you experienced was not, me actively loving my wife but instead you could see that there were some major issues in our marriage, what would you think?
Every relationship, has seasons of relational dysfunction that need to be dealt with. Key phrase, dealt with, not ignored. And the same is true of my relationship with God. There are seasons where the fruit (behavior, affections and thoughts) of my life prove that my love for the Lord is lacking. When my behavior doesn’t match my words there’s something unsettled inside of me.
Think about the crazy acts of generosity you’ve witnessed in other Christians. How often have you been the recipient of someone else’s sacrificial generosity? How have you been blessed or even challenged by someone else’s generosity? I believe that God wants us to be examples of generosity because he has been so generous to us through the cross of Christ.
How do you pray at all times and on every occasion? How do you stay alert and be persistent in your prayer life? How do you pray for believers everywhere? The key to having this kind of prayer life is the Holy Spirit.
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