Growing in Grace

This article was posted on the blog Desiring God by Jon Bloom on August 29, 2014. It is titled "Lay Aside the Weight of Self-Indulgence". I have shared the article in its entirety below; but you can find it here on the blog along with other related articles. I found this to be very thought-provoking. It made me stop and ask myself, "Are there things I turn to instead of God for my happiness?" How I pray I will forever find my true joy in the Lord. We are all self-indulgers. The whole lot of us. Let’s just admit it upfront and help each other fight. Biblical self-indulgence is feeding the “passions of the flesh” ( 1 Peter 2:11 ). It’s indulging ourselves in any pleasure that is harmful to our souls, that does not spring from faith ( Romans 14:23 ). Recognize the Danger Self-indulgence is spiritually dangerous to us because it’s a form of idolatry. It’s something we turn to instead of God for happiness. It dulls our spiritual tastes and curbs our spiritu

Birthday #44 was five months ago; but I'm still going to write my birthday post. . . because I can! My heart and mind have been focused on what I've learned about God, how what I know about Him affects my life, and ultimately, what I want my life to be characterized by. Here are the top ten things I have found myself thinking on as I begin another year on this earth. 1. I have learned to trust God with my life. Everything He allows to enter my life has a purpose. I may not understand what that purpose is, but I believe Romans 8:28 that all things work for my good and His glory. 2. When those hard things come into my life I know God will give me everything I need to get through them. However, I must choose to seek Him and not try to get by on my own strength. 3. I accept God's provision for my life. I focus on what I do have and give thanks for them instead of what I don't have. Gratitude truly is the key to contentment. Complaining about what I don't have

The story of Joseph in the book of Genesis is one of my favorites. In his story, we see the promise of Romans 8:28 "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. Photo Credit My kids and I are finishing up our study of Genesis with Kay Arthur's inductive Bible study book "Joseph, God's Superhero". In this study the kids learned (and I was reminded) of the character traits of God Himself. I loved how she simply summarized each trait so that the kids could easily understand these important truths about who God is. God is SOVEREIGN. In Isaiah 46:9-11 we read the following: " Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please. From the east I summon a bird of prey; fr

I've continued to make my way through Beth Moore's book Breaking Free . Following her discussion of the benefits and obstacles of being a child of God; she moved on to talk about how to look back at the difficult things in our lives. In our fallen world, bad things happen to people. We can look back on those things and allow them to keep us captive, or we can look back on them to help better equip us to move forward. Sometimes there are areas of devastation or defeat that have occurred in our family. It's important that we identify these. We are not to use these as excuses to continue on in the same manner; we must chose to break the cycle so that we can be free from their hold on us. Bethe Moore reminds us that "even Christ had a blend of the negative and positive in His lineage. . . He broke the chains of all kinds of bondage when He gave His life for us. . . We need to recognize any generational bonds and ask God to remove them" (p. 86). Second, she writes

Photo Credit I finished reading Franklin Graham's book "Living Beyond the Limits". I wrote about the introduction and first chapter here . I truly felt like I was reading a spy novel. Franklin Graham has been to some very dangerous places and seen a lot of "action" both by man and God. As I finished reading each chapter, I wrote down what I learned about how to live beyond the limits in sync with God. The stories that go along with each of these points are worth reading; so I highly recommend reading the book in its entirety. Chapter 1 - If we want to be used by God; we have to trust ourselves to His care and say, "Let's go". . . . We can live beyond the limits of fear by trusting the Lord and giving Him room to work even when the road seems uncertain and is laden with devastating possibilities. Chapter 2 - To live a life beyond the limits, we must learn to be courageous when dealing with those who are steeped in worldly lifestyles. Chapt

It is easy to believe that God can use our lives when we see immediate results, when positive feedback encourages us to push on. It is hard to keep walking when we see little sign that what we are doing is making a difference. Sheila Walsh God’s desire is that His Word and His Spirit be guides for life. Being a follower of Jesus Christ means becoming more and more like Him - letting His spirit transform us into all we were created to be. That happens, dear friends, from the inside out. Luci Swindoll Perhaps there is little immediate satisfaction in what you have been called to do, but if you will faithfully push on through the night the Lord is the one who carries a reward in His hands. Sheila Walsh What are you resisting? Has God been nudging you into action and you’ve either said “no” repeatedly, or “well maybe” so weakly that no one can hear it? I can tell you from my own experience, the very thing we say “no” to just might be God’s blessing in disguise. He wants to bless us; He wan

“In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.” These trials have come, the Scripture says, “so that your faith - of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire - may be proved genuine” (1 Peter 1:6,7). This genuine, refined by fire, holding-on-for-dear-life faith will result in praise and glory to Christ.” Nicole Johnson We will go through trials, but we can submit to them so that our faith, the most precious thing we have, may be authentic. When people see our lives they know we are honest people. Suffering makes us real, and that brings glory to God. Nicole Johnson Lord, how frequently and mindlessly we kick against the very constraints you put in place for our growth and refinement. Remind those of us who get so caught up with the earthly that to do so is to miss the heavenly. Your plan for each of us is not one of earthly ease but of heavenly peace. Marilyn Meberg How do we truly

Genesis 22 records a very great test for Abraham. It is a passage of Scripture that I identify with having faced our own test of faith with Dennis’ cancer journey. In his Old Testament Commentary, Warren Wiersbe says that “the main lesson (of this passage) is obedient faith that overcomes in the trials of life. Abraham teaches us how to face and handle the tests of life to the glory of God.” When Dennis first began to process his cancer diagnosis, he said that “God must not have thought we could handle much adversity because we have been blessed in so many ways through the years. But apparently, he thinks we’ve matured enough to be able to handle this now.” It was interesting to read almost the same thing from Warren Wiersbe in his commentary. He writes, “In one sense, it is a compliment when God sends us a test; it shows God wants to ‘promote us’ in the ‘School of Faith’. God never sends a test until He knows you are ready for it.” The Christian life is not a guarantee of an easy life

From a few years ago. . .  I had the opportunity to attend our church’s women’s conference today. It was a really nice time to be away from the responsibility of home, to sit at the feet of the Lord in worship, hear the Word of God and visit with my very good friend at lunch. The theme of the conference was “Follow Me” based on the Scripture Luke 9:23 which reads, “Then he said to them all: If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” Sandy MacIntosh was the first speaker. She talked about the three parts to this verse. First, is the denial of self. She pointed out that it is a  choice. The verse says “If anyone would come after me”. We must choose to give up our way for His will in our life. Her second point was that we are to take up our cross daily. The verb is in the continual form. It is not a once and for all action. She shared a story from A.W. Tozer. He had said that in every heart there is a throne and a cross. We remain

Because the Days are Evil Oct. 30, 2010 Janie Alfred ended the women's conference today. She taught on the second half of Ephesians 5:16 "because the days are evil." This was so in line with our study in Daniel. She shared several verses that speak of the natural inclination of our hearts as well as signs of the last days.  Genesis 6:5 "Every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all time." Genesis 8:21 "Every inclination of of his heart is evil from childhood." Romans 3:10 "There is none righteous, not even one." 2 Timothy 3:1-5 "There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasures, rather than lovers of God - having a form of godliness but denyin

Redeeming the Time Oct. 30, 2010 Sandy MacIntosh spoke on how we are to live until Christ returns. We are told that Jesus will return unexpectedly, but that it will be soon. We are to represent Him until He comes again. He has given us a "to do" list (the Bible) of how we are to live. Some of the things she mentioned: be bold - not just comfortably blending in; love Christ above all others; be alert; seek the Lord- study God's word; live His word; speak out for righteousness; pray; don't settle for a mediocre Christian walk; sing praises; when God tells us to stop! in our sin, turn around and go back to Him. God is the God who sees us. In fact, He sees us as if we are the only ones here. She asked us to consider how we are redeeming the time until Christ returns. And when will you be ready to be totally and fully His? Don't wait for another day.

Walk Circumspectly Oct. 30, 2010 June Hesterly spoke at the CCCV women's conference back in 2010. She spoke on Ephesians 5:15 - Be careful, then, how you live - not as unwise but as wise. She reminded us that as followers of Christ we are now seated with Christ in the heavenlies; we have all spiritual blessings; peace that passes all understanding; and are sealed with the spirit. The Israelites were warned not to become like their captors, but they did. We are not to become like the world, but to stand out and make a difference. June asked the question: Do people in your life KNOW that you are a committed Christian? Often things in life become hard and when we choose not to go to the Lord, then things begin to seem impossible. Gradually we become complacent like the church of Laodicea. This leads to compromising our lifestyle. In turn we begin to conform to the world. To avoid this, we need to remain in the Word, prayer and in fellowship with other believers. When there

Despite the highest standard of living in the history of humanity, our generation seems driven by an insatiable desire for more, better and faster. Just when we should feel most satisfied, we find ourselves bored and disillusioned. The problem is not that things are so bad, but that we have lost a gift called gratitude. The Scriptures urge believers to maintain a spirit of thanksgiving in all circumstances. We do so not as a gift to God, but as a gift FROM God. He doesn't need our thanks, but we desperately need reminders that we are created beings dependent upon our Maker. Giving thanks realigns our hearts with the apostle Paul's expression of praise in his letter to the Romans: "For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen" (11:36). Acknowledging God as the Source of all things frees us from the lie that we don't need Him.  Unfortunately, children are born with a propensity toward greed, envy and other vices that

Oh the choices we have. I don't know of a sadder place to be than in the feeling of being trapped or a victim. I want to encourage you to recognize the choices you have today. You may not like your job - but you get to choose whether to go to work today. If you show up it's because you choose to - not because you have to. Sometimes just changing our terms changes our feeling about where we are in life. (The article below) will encourage you to frame your financial well-being. You may have thought you were "poor" when all the time you had just chosen "simplicity." Poverty or Simplicity? By Dan Miller The current “recession” or economic downturn has prompted many people to enjoy a healthier, greener, ecologically responsible, and simpler lifestyle. So what is the difference between poverty and simplicity? If I’m angry that I can’t afford a new Ferrari I may feel that I’ve been doomed to poverty. However, if I enjoy the classic lines and character of a

A while back, my hubby and I read the following in My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers: "Anything that has even a hint of dejection spiritually is always wrong. If I am depressed or burdened, I am to blame, not God or anyone else. Dejection stems from one of two sources - I have either satisfied a lust or I have not had it satisfied. In either case, dejection is the result. Lust means "I must have it at once.'" The devotion went on to speak of spiritual dejection due to our impatience in our prayer life; but we paused here to discuss the attitude of society to have things "now" versus "waiting". There are so many areas in life where the attitude "I must have it at once" can become a driving force. Often we think we are entitled to things or we deserve things. We want the newer more up-to-date; bigger, better item. We want to be entertained. We desire our kids to have new and challenging experiences so we put them in classes and

On November 17, 1999, Ann was meeting with a client in her print shop when the phone rang. It brought a message that forever changed her life. “Your house is on fire, and it’s fully involved,” said the caller, the captain of the local Coast Guard. His words hit Ann like a punch in her stomach. When she arrived at the scene minutes later, those feelings turned to disbelief. The house, perched on a pint-sized rocky island, had been her family’s haven for 24 years. Now a charred, flaming skeleton stood in its place. Her treasures—family photographs, the mandolin her grandfather had made and sent from Finland, her children’s artwork, her kids’ baby clothes she’d saved for her grandchildren—had been reduced to water-soaked ashes. Shock threatened to engulf Ann. But as it did, a familiar Scripture verse filled her mind: “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10

The problem with contentment, American-style, is that it denies our human limitations. We are encouraged to admire the supposedly "self-made" man or woman. We are taught to value self-sufficiency. And we assume that money will insulate us from chance, protect us from "the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune" - maybe even from death. In contrast, the Apostle Paul claims he achieved contentment "in any and all circumstances." Paul's ideal of contentment is truer to life. We didn't create ourselves and we can't save ourselves from death. In the last two chapters of Philippians, Paul describes a type of contentment that isn't based on self-sufficiency. It comes in grateful acceptance of his dependence on God and the sharing in the gifts offered by others. His contentment isn't the satiation of appetites but the taming of appetites. His contentment doesn't bring the absence of suffering; it brings the enablement to continue in se