Don’t let it hold you back from living as intended: enjoy God! He can handle your strugges/lightweight. Allow Christ to train you up to maintain the victory He died for  you to have. #OlympicTraining #OlympicVictory

The Gospel only remains as good as we perceive God’s grace at work.

The moment we begin relying on our good efforts rather than God’s finished work, the Gospel loses its relevance and value. Even after being justified, we retain the joy of our salvation by continuing to practice the repentance and faith in Christ alone that redeemed us in the first place. It is the power of Christ that saves us, and the power of Christ that keeps us saved – what an enduring Gospel!

Never fall into the trap of thinking your good deeds now outweigh your bad, no matter how long you’ve been walking with the Lord. Remain repentant and diligent, even in dealing with “small” or private sin and thoughts — the same grace that brought us this far wants to take us even further. So remain transparent with yourself and others and never stop boasting in your weaknesses like Paul encourages, “so that the power of Christ may rest upon you” (1 Corinthians 12:9).

Living under the grace of the Gospel is our privilege and enduring practice, may not even one day go by where we waste it. #LiveFree

Purity is for God — not for ourselves, future spouses, or parents. He  is the only audience that matters, but it’s easy to forget whose jealousy ultimately gets stirred when we squander our affections. We have a Father who not only desires our presence, but paid the full ransom so we could live as free and undefiled ambassadors of His heavenly government. As His resting place and the “carriers of His spirit in the earth, let’s be diligent with the things we permit into the King’s private chambers.

• Matthew 5:8

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

• Romans 12:1

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

• 1 John 3:3

And everyone who thus hopes in Him purifies himself as He is pure.

Quick jottings from a growing revelation:

Imagine you have 2 kids. One of them pretty much ignored, given a few morsels once a week, usually on a Sunday, maybe a few “treats” on other days, when you find “enough time”.. just enough to barely survive. The other, very spoiled, overfed, wasteful, comforted at the first sign of discomfort, bribed with gifts whenever a tantrum is thrown, ego well-stroked, pride seldom-rebuked … a rotten brat! 

Now ladies and gentlemen, I am sure you’re probably thinking along the lines “Not my kids! I would never raise kids like that… over my dead body!” And folks, that is exactly right. OVER.YOUR.DEAD.BODY these are kids you now have.. and nurture.. no need to imagine. Or more like, within your dead body maybe. But definitely portions of yourself, made in your image, given to you to steward. Drum roll please, as I present to you, your spirit, and your flesh.. in that exact order. 

Yes, the 2 children I described above are our very own scraggly emaciated spirit man, and a selfish, greedy, plump bully aka, our flesh. But it gets even better, the first child, our spirit nature, is only an infant… a malnutrition-ed one at that… yet a newly created being that was birthed with hope and destiny in it’s eyes. The latter, is a professional and haughty mischief-maker, that began enslaving the newborn from day one to do it’s bidding, and to exist only for it’s benefit…. all this happening with our help and approval as the parent of the house. And even worse, we daily swear up and down to our friends that the first, the newly created spirit toddler, is our favorite child.. because of this child’s lovely, quiet and gentle demeanor… while we daily watch it get oppressed by it’s older sibling, and only turn our heads.

I am not talking about the unsaved either. I am describing the ‘church’, the very disciples of God… I am describing myself. 

Much of the discipline and persecution that many of us avoid is allowing the flesh to run rampart with it’s luxurious lifestyle, high-maintenance desires, need for worldly entertainment and being fed constantly. Even worse, it has tied the hands of our very spirit man, because we have unconsciously sold our spirit man into slavery to it’s sibling… by limiting it’s meals to snacks and milk only, but empowering the hand of the greedy, needy flesh which has forced our spirit man to bow in fear and subjection. 

And then we wonder why our witness for Christ is powerless in public. Frankly, it’s a joke, watching us pray and ask to perform MIGHTY WORKS in Jesus’ name….because our spirit man can barely stand up and fend for itself in it’s own house - our bodies - much less in the spiritual neighborhood outside.

Memo to flesh: it’s time for a permanent time-out.

References (NKJV)

Galatians 4:29
But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now.

Romans 8:13
For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

1 Corinthians 9:27 (NIV)

No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.