by Jon Walker
“I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13 NASB)
God wants you to trust his guidance, so he sent you a Guide.
When you became a believer, God placed the Holy Spirit within you, and he’s been teaching you ever since to listen and respond to the Holy Spirit’s counsel. The Holy Spirit is your Guide, one who walks with you along the way. He knows every step of the journey and understands the blessings and dangers ahead. He knows where you’ve been and where you’re going, and he knows the best path to take.
This is an important issue to understand, because God never intended for you to figure out the steps of your journey without him. In truth, how you get on mission and how you succeed at your mission are God’s responsibilities. Your responsibility is to seek his guidance and obey his directions.
Showing posts with label Spiritual Journey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Spiritual Journey. Show all posts
Thursday, 9 August 2012
Wednesday, 2 May 2012
Depression: Illness or Spiritual failure?
Written by Cynthia Cavanaugh
Angry, frustrated and confused, I boarded a plane for Southern California. My dear friend and mother-in-law lay in a hospital bed with the shadow of death hovering. As I sat on the plane numb and expressionless. I cried, “Lord, where are you? Can’t you see my wounded heart?” I wanted to scream instead of cry, “LORD, I CAN’T DO THIS ANYMORE!” I felt as though his face was shrouded from me.
Angry, frustrated and confused, I boarded a plane for Southern California. My dear friend and mother-in-law lay in a hospital bed with the shadow of death hovering. As I sat on the plane numb and expressionless. I cried, “Lord, where are you? Can’t you see my wounded heart?” I wanted to scream instead of cry, “LORD, I CAN’T DO THIS ANYMORE!” I felt as though his face was shrouded from me.
This was one of the few times in my journey with God where I truly felt that I had been abandoned by Him. So many traumatic events had happened. Just two weeks earlier we had buried my grandfather–the spiritual rock of our family. I had had the privilege of caring for him and walking with him through his last days and now, just weeks after his death, I was possibly facing another. I felt as though the foundation of my childhood was being bulldozed.
Wednesday, 11 April 2012
Join with me on an amazing journey
At some point in our lives we will ask: How should I relate to God? I believe this is life’s greatest question. Most people have some concept of God. Over the years my opinions have covered the waterfront. I’ve viewed him as a higher power, a creator, a stern judge to be feared or a friend to be loved. I’ve been a skeptic, a seeker, a cultural Christian and now…well, I’ll save that for later.
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Monday, 9 April 2012
Why Thirsty Christians Don’t Drink
by Pastor Colin S. Smith
“Not that I have already obtained all this or have already been made perfect, but I press on…” Philippians 3:12 (NIV).
You want to be better. You are stretching yourself out in pursuit of a more godly life. Do you sometimes find that you’re discouraged by the progress that you’re NOT making? You want to be a better Christian, but you’re not there yet, and you’re painfully aware of it.
That’s what the doctrine of sanctification does: It promotes humility and effort. It says to us “You haven’t arrived yet. You have a long way to go. Press on.” I need this great truth in my life and so do you. I need to apply myself to become more holy. With God’s help, I need to work on being less selfish, less critical, more generous, and more thankful.
Are you as holy as you want to be? The first sign of holiness is that you want to be more holy than you are. The problem we face in sanctification is discouragement. If sanctification is the only truth you have grasped, the Christian life will always seem beyond you.
Strength for the journey
That’s why alongside sanctification, we need regeneration that reminds us of what God has already done, so that we find strength and joy to continue the journey:
A man goes on a journey through a desert. He has a backpack and a cloth over his head as he trudges through miles of sand. In his backpack he carries water to sustain him on his journey. And whenever he drinks, he’s reminded that he needs to find more water, because without it he cannot go on.
Regeneration is the oasis for your soul. It tells you that alongside the work that Christ continues, there is the work that He has already done. That’s water to a thirsty soul!
Imagine the same man, now tired and thirsty, coming to an oasis. His flask of water has been empty for hours. He sees a spring of water ahead of him, and a cool lagoon to swim in. You see him coming, so you go out to welcome him. But he tells you he cannot stop. He must press on.
You plead with him “But you need to renew your strength! You will never survive, unless you refill your water.”
“No,” he says. “I must press on…” And off he goes without water…
Stop fretting and drink!
A lot of Christians live like that. God says “You are a new creation.” That’s water to a thirsty soul, but you rush past it: “I’m not as new as I want to be. I must press on.” God says “You have been set free from sin.” There’s power in that, but you rush right past it, saying “There are so many sins in my life that I need to conquer.”
You’re so passionate about sanctification that you rush past regeneration. And like a man without water in the desert, eventually you will fall down. Drink deeply of this water. Let Christ tell you who you are in Him. Take in the miracle of grace that He has already done. Stop fretting about what you’re not, and take in who you already are: In Christ you are a new creation. The old has gone. The new has come! Take in this truth. Drink of this water. It will be life to you. It will help you overcome discouragement.
This LifeKey is based on the message “Knowing Who You Are,” by Pastor Colin S. Smith on May 3, 2009, from the series “Regeneration: How Christ Changes Your Soul.”
gotquestions http://www.lightsource.com/ministry/unlocking-the-bible/articles/why-thirsty-christians-dont-drink-13253.html
“Not that I have already obtained all this or have already been made perfect, but I press on…” Philippians 3:12 (NIV).You want to be better. You are stretching yourself out in pursuit of a more godly life. Do you sometimes find that you’re discouraged by the progress that you’re NOT making? You want to be a better Christian, but you’re not there yet, and you’re painfully aware of it.
That’s what the doctrine of sanctification does: It promotes humility and effort. It says to us “You haven’t arrived yet. You have a long way to go. Press on.” I need this great truth in my life and so do you. I need to apply myself to become more holy. With God’s help, I need to work on being less selfish, less critical, more generous, and more thankful.
Are you as holy as you want to be? The first sign of holiness is that you want to be more holy than you are. The problem we face in sanctification is discouragement. If sanctification is the only truth you have grasped, the Christian life will always seem beyond you.
Strength for the journey
That’s why alongside sanctification, we need regeneration that reminds us of what God has already done, so that we find strength and joy to continue the journey:
A man goes on a journey through a desert. He has a backpack and a cloth over his head as he trudges through miles of sand. In his backpack he carries water to sustain him on his journey. And whenever he drinks, he’s reminded that he needs to find more water, because without it he cannot go on.
Regeneration is the oasis for your soul. It tells you that alongside the work that Christ continues, there is the work that He has already done. That’s water to a thirsty soul!
Imagine the same man, now tired and thirsty, coming to an oasis. His flask of water has been empty for hours. He sees a spring of water ahead of him, and a cool lagoon to swim in. You see him coming, so you go out to welcome him. But he tells you he cannot stop. He must press on.
You plead with him “But you need to renew your strength! You will never survive, unless you refill your water.”
“No,” he says. “I must press on…” And off he goes without water…
Stop fretting and drink!
A lot of Christians live like that. God says “You are a new creation.” That’s water to a thirsty soul, but you rush past it: “I’m not as new as I want to be. I must press on.” God says “You have been set free from sin.” There’s power in that, but you rush right past it, saying “There are so many sins in my life that I need to conquer.”
You’re so passionate about sanctification that you rush past regeneration. And like a man without water in the desert, eventually you will fall down. Drink deeply of this water. Let Christ tell you who you are in Him. Take in the miracle of grace that He has already done. Stop fretting about what you’re not, and take in who you already are: In Christ you are a new creation. The old has gone. The new has come! Take in this truth. Drink of this water. It will be life to you. It will help you overcome discouragement.
This LifeKey is based on the message “Knowing Who You Are,” by Pastor Colin S. Smith on May 3, 2009, from the series “Regeneration: How Christ Changes Your Soul.”
gotquestions http://www.lightsource.com/ministry/unlocking-the-bible/articles/why-thirsty-christians-dont-drink-13253.html
Friday, 23 March 2012
Permission to Hurt
by Gordon
The Bible tells of a walk Jesus took with His disciples one day to a pool where people believed they could be healed of any disease or injury. The legend was that the first person into the pool after an angel created a disturbance in the water would be miraculously cured. For me, one of the most remarkable things that happened in the story is actually something that didn’t happen. As Jesus and His disciples walked into the area of the pool they must have been surrounded by broken, hurting, and sickly people. It must have been hard to walk without stepping on someone laying by the pool, waiting for the angel to stir the water. And this is what didn’t happen: Jesus didn’t lecture anyone about being hurt or sick. No one scolded anyone about being in the condition they were in. The Great Physician didn’t begin this episode with a lecture about why these people shouldn’t feel, or act, or hurt the way they were. No one discounted the pain by even remotely suggesting that it might be inappropriate to be in pain.
Why then, are we so uncomfortable with the idea of being hurt? Why is it that when I am manipulated, or used, or attacked, I get this sense that I shouldn’t feel the embarrassment, the betrayal, or the anger the situation aroused in me? Could it be that we are so uncomfortable with pain that we refuse to admit that it has a place in our lives and especially in our spiritual journeys? I know that in my case I tend to believe that I have to get beyond the pain quickly and get back to a level of productivity and business that I have almost always covered over my wounds without having cleaned them out first. And of course, that never helps.
So, today, I want to give you permission to hurt. You may feel your pain. You may examine your sorrow and bewilderment. You have permission to suffer without feeling the need to gloss it over and get on with life, and without the need to act as if everything is OK, or is going to be OK, even when there is no evidence of that anywhere. You and I both know that you should get over this, and I promise you that you can. But first, you have to stop and process the pain. You have to come to terms with what you feel and what you’ve experienced that has stirred up those feelings. If you don’t take this very first step of allowing yourself to feel the fullness of your hurt, you may never move beyond it. So, it’s OK… The time will come when Jesus will ask the question “Do you want to get well?”, but that time doesn’t have to be today if you haven’t yet admitted how much you need to get well in the first place.
So, knowing that relief, joy, and growth are certainly very near to you, it is safe for you to take a little time to acknowledge what your soul already knows. You are not alone, the Spirit is ready to stir your pool, but there is no rush. When you are ready for the next step, the next step will begin to take you. If you need help, or just someone to talk to, reach out to us here at the Refuge. We’re willing to walk this with you.
the refuge
The Bible tells of a walk Jesus took with His disciples one day to a pool where people believed they could be healed of any disease or injury. The legend was that the first person into the pool after an angel created a disturbance in the water would be miraculously cured. For me, one of the most remarkable things that happened in the story is actually something that didn’t happen. As Jesus and His disciples walked into the area of the pool they must have been surrounded by broken, hurting, and sickly people. It must have been hard to walk without stepping on someone laying by the pool, waiting for the angel to stir the water. And this is what didn’t happen: Jesus didn’t lecture anyone about being hurt or sick. No one scolded anyone about being in the condition they were in. The Great Physician didn’t begin this episode with a lecture about why these people shouldn’t feel, or act, or hurt the way they were. No one discounted the pain by even remotely suggesting that it might be inappropriate to be in pain.
Why then, are we so uncomfortable with the idea of being hurt? Why is it that when I am manipulated, or used, or attacked, I get this sense that I shouldn’t feel the embarrassment, the betrayal, or the anger the situation aroused in me? Could it be that we are so uncomfortable with pain that we refuse to admit that it has a place in our lives and especially in our spiritual journeys? I know that in my case I tend to believe that I have to get beyond the pain quickly and get back to a level of productivity and business that I have almost always covered over my wounds without having cleaned them out first. And of course, that never helps.
So, today, I want to give you permission to hurt. You may feel your pain. You may examine your sorrow and bewilderment. You have permission to suffer without feeling the need to gloss it over and get on with life, and without the need to act as if everything is OK, or is going to be OK, even when there is no evidence of that anywhere. You and I both know that you should get over this, and I promise you that you can. But first, you have to stop and process the pain. You have to come to terms with what you feel and what you’ve experienced that has stirred up those feelings. If you don’t take this very first step of allowing yourself to feel the fullness of your hurt, you may never move beyond it. So, it’s OK… The time will come when Jesus will ask the question “Do you want to get well?”, but that time doesn’t have to be today if you haven’t yet admitted how much you need to get well in the first place.
So, knowing that relief, joy, and growth are certainly very near to you, it is safe for you to take a little time to acknowledge what your soul already knows. You are not alone, the Spirit is ready to stir your pool, but there is no rush. When you are ready for the next step, the next step will begin to take you. If you need help, or just someone to talk to, reach out to us here at the Refuge. We’re willing to walk this with you.
the refuge
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