Many Christians struggle with condemnation. We desire change. We want to break bad habits and develop godly character but our attempts often end in frustration. We have incredible encounters with God that change us for a short time, but back we go to the same behaviour. We desire to walk in another direction, to repent, but we keep on repeating the same sinful patterns over and over again. This booklet provides a way out by reminding us that the real [...] Read more »
The Apology
What if we truly believed that the kindness of God leads people to repentance? How would we behave towards people like Oprah? I’ve used this approach a number of times and it really breaks down walls. You can read about one of the times in my book “How to Judge Without Being A Jerk” I included it in the “Look Inside” part you can read without buying the book. Without further ado, here is my debut of a written and [...] Read more »
Top 10 Posts for 2010
I think it’s great for bloggers to review their most read posts to see what services they are offering to the web. I a bit surprised at my annual review, even though I’ve been tracking it weekly so I’m not totally surprised by some. Here’s my top posts for 2010. Can’t wait to see what happens with my plans for 2011. How Should I Launch A New Ministry? 70 Functions of the Holy Spirit 10 Questions I Would Ask Before [...] Read more »
What Does Repenting from Evil Deeds Mean?
What Does Repenting from Evil Deeds Mean? As followers of Christ we know we need to repent of evil deeds. You’re a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17) you can’t go on sinning. It’s impossible for those who have been born of the Spirit to continue in sin. (1 John 2:3-6). There are two words in the Bible that tell us what to do. The first is Greek it’s metaknoia. Greek =metaknoia which is meta+knoia and meta is the [...] Read more »
You’ve Been Forgiven – Day 27
Truth: Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-33 (New Living Translation) Thought: There are many who, after being forgiven by God and after seeking the forgiveness of those they have offended, find it extremely difficult to live in the freedom that forgiveness brings. Sometimes they don’t feel they were worthy to [...] Read more »
Forgiveness Confusion – Day 24
Truth: Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. (Colossians 3:13 NIV) Thought: Too many followers of Christ are confused about forgiveness. They live out of lies they hold to as truth. We’ll be looking at some of those lies today. We don’t forgive because we believe the violator needs to pay. We feel the one who did us wrong needs to understand what we were put through. [...] Read more »
How to Overcome Demonic Attacks
Please don’t be offended that I say one possibility for habitual sin is demonic attacks. And don’t think I’m giving you permission to say, “the devil made me do it” to absolve yourself from any responsibility. If you have named Jesus your Lord, He has given you a new name and His authority. You don’t have to put up with supernatural cravings to sin. Here’s what you need to know. Unforgiveness, hate, abuse, sin, unclean sex, illness, trauma, and fear [...] Read more »
Understanding Confession and Repentance
We need to confess our sins to God. That is, we need to agree with Him that it was sin. It wasn’t a “mistake” or “stupidity” or “oops” or…it was sin. It separated us from Him and alienated us from others. It’s not in our nature to sin any longer. We are no longer under the control of sin. We also need to confess to each other. There is healing in confession. We are told to Confess your sins to [...] Read more »
The Process of Restoring Trust
When a follower of Christ has sinned, and has repented of that sin, trust still needs to be restored. This is how the process of restoring trust begins: Allow them to feel godly sorrow. Ask questions like, “Who has been affected by your sin?” Help them see the broader picture. Lead them through to solutions with questions like “What are you going to do to make it right with those who are affected by your sin?” “How are you going [...] Read more »
How Do We Honor When There Has Been Sin?
You’re a leader. You may be a pastor, mentor or parent, but you’re in a position of authority. Someone you’re responsible for has sinned and they come expecting the condemnation they are under to be compounded because they’ve confessed a hidden sin and know the myth of grace many in the church hold to.(The “myth of grace” is its for me and not you.) But Jesus fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah: A bruised reed he will not break, and a [...] Read more »
Understanding Condemnation
Finally, “Krino” is also translated “to condemn”. Since we can so easily move from discernment to condemnation – especially when we don’t discern in love – we need to understand what condemnation is. First of all, it’s not the same as conviction. Both condemnation and conviction bring pain and sorrow, but they bring different kinds… For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind [...] Read more »
Truth to Meditate On to Know You Are Forgiven
If you’ve asked for forgiveness from God, you may still need help knowing you’re forgiven. People have this problem when they want to “feel” like they’ve been forgiven. Truth supersedes feelings. Feelings will follow, but they don’t point to the truth when they contradict what the Bible says. So know what the Bible says about forgiveness. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is [...] Read more »
The Kindness of God Leads Us to Repentance
I was speaking to a Comparative Religions Class at a local university on the topic of the early church councils. Much of the early debate of our spiritual ancestors revolved around the nature of Christ. Councils were called to settle disagreements. The Council of Nicea (325) was called to settle the controversy the followers of Arius promoted by teaching that there was a time when Christ did not exist. The Council of Nicea met to decide: “Was Jesus Christ God [...] Read more »
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