Graceful Truth
CHRISTIAN LIFE

"GIVE ME AN ORDER OF NORMAL PLEASE!"

October 21, 2020

I long for a bit of normal. Heading to church with a full room of our friends. No masks. No COVID. No bitter election season. No sickness. No anger. No riots. No empty football stands with silly cardboard cutouts and piped in fan noise (who thought of that?) No hypocrisy by me or anyone else.
 
But, do you know what I'd rather have than all of that? Jesus. I'm not being smug or super-spiritual. I really need and want more of Jesus in my life, my thoughts. I want to be better refined into His image. More grace. More prayer. More humility. More glad surrender to His control. More spiritual power. More boldness to share the good news with others.
 
I once heard Adrian Rogers say, "I don't know how much of Jesus you have, but I know you have all you want." God is not withholding Himself from us. He just has a path to know Him that was not on our radar.
God has always allowed the struggles of this present world to accomplish higher purposes. He wants to bring us to brokenness and the glad surrender of our wills so we will lay down our idols and turn to the only One who can satisfy the deepest longings of our souls.
 
So, I need not resent these these trials as "intruders, but welcome them as friends, knowing they come to test our faith and produce in us the quality of spiritual endurance" (James 1:2-3, Phillips translation). I need to embrace God's sovereign activity in my world and my life for His glorious purposes.
 
I'd love some normal, but I don't want it at the expense of not knowing Him who is life indeed.


Also in Graceful Truth

HOW DO YOU MAKE EACH DECISION IN THE COMMON DAY AND HOW IS THAT WORKING FOR YOU?
1 Kings 22 Christian Life Prayer Word
HOW DO YOU MAKE EACH DECISION IN THE COMMON DAY AND HOW IS THAT WORKING FOR YOU?

June 29, 2022

Your life is made by multiple decisions. So, what do you do first as you face the choices of each day? Sadly, most of us do not do what Jehoshaphat recommended. “Please inquire FIRST for the word of the LORD.” The word “first” literally means “as the day.” It could mean “today, right now.” But it also implies “for this day, in this particular moment.”

Continue Reading

GOD’S LIMITATIONS
1 Kings 20 God
GOD’S LIMITATIONS

June 28, 2022

Our limited thoughts about God are our most limiting condition. What we believe about Him determines everything about us: what we think, how we respond, and what we will accomplish in life. It even determines what we believe about ourselves, for we were made in His image. To think less of Him is to dramatically decrease our understanding of our own potential.

Continue Reading

THE FIRST STEP TO WISDOM
Proverbs 30 wisdom
THE FIRST STEP TO WISDOM

June 22, 2022

A wise man is not only knowledgeable but has the unique ability to apply the right truth at the right moment in the right way. He is the one you seek when you don’t know what to do. He is the one who speaks little in a meeting, but when he opens his mouth, he has the word that everyone has been waiting for; that clarifies the entire issue in a sentence. As opposed to the brashness of the arrogant, his words carry a depth and solidity and warmth that is unusual and profound.

Continue Reading