“We have a tendency to assume that if our spiritual experience is real, it will produce instant change.”

A thought by Andy Stanley, (2009-01-21) from his book, Louder Than Words: The Power of Uncompromised Living (Kindle Locations 1054-1055). The Doubleday Religious Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

We have a tendency to think that if I am a Christ-follower then longevity means maturity. That when I accepted Christ into my life that I have arrived and that is it but that isn’t true. Oh there may be some things that changed in that moment but there are other things that come from growth. We grow in our character.

Now I am a 67 year old retired pastor who has found a ministry through writing. I take other people’s thoughts and from my experience I give my thoughts, I just continue that thought. Now it can come across that I have arrived. I no longer have a need to grow, I just need to show. And there is great spiritual danger there. I have not yet arrived. I am still going through the process and I have to constantly live with that fact.

And God is still very faithful to show me where I need growth in my character. But there is a real danger of letting my love grow colder and my heart to grow harder and not being sensitive to His voice. Oh I am mature. People listen to my wisdom. But the question is “how is my love life?” The danger is a hard heart.

This quickened me this morning as I read this thought by Andy, “When what grieves God no longer grieves you, your heart is hard. When what bothers God doesn’t bother you anymore, your heart is hard.” We have stopped growing in our character.

Andy says, “Character requires a sensitive heart. To develop character amidst the numbing climate of our society, you cannot afford to develop calluses. You cannot risk operating with blind spots.”

So why not stop today and really get honest with yourself and with God.

How is your heart? Is it hard or is it sensitive?

Comments

“There’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.”

A thought by Bob Goff from his book, Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People ( p. 41). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Have you ever built a sand castle or maybe a Lego castle? Have you? Bob says, “We actually build castles all the time, out of our jobs and our families and the things we’ve purchased. Sometimes we even make them out of each other. Some of these castles are impressive too. Lots of people come to admire what we’ve built over the course of our lives and tell us what great castles we have. But Jesus told His friends we weren’t supposed to spend our lives building castles. He said He wanted us to build a kingdom, and there’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.” Bob goes on, “You see, castles have moats to keep creepy people out, but kingdoms have bridges to let everyone in. Castles have dungeons for people who ha...

“When you understand that life is a test, you realize that nothing is insignificant in your life.”

A thought by Rick Warren, (2012-10-23) from his book, The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? (Purpose Driven Life, The) (p. 57). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. To realize that from God’s perspective life is a test goes a long way in determining how you handle your life. It is important to see that in testing your character is both developed and revealed. Rick goes on to say that “even the smallest incident has significance for your character development. Every day is an important day, and every second is a growth opportunity to deepen your character, to demonstrate love, or to depend on God.” So there is a God purpose behind each situation in your life. Even the bad ones are there to strengthen you and develop you. You see those bad situations are really good ones because they are there for your good. I start each day with a reminder that God is good. Not every situation that is going to come in my day is good but because G...

“Sometimes we think we’re stuck simply because things are hard.”

A thought by Matt Perman, from his book, How to Get Unstuck (p. 52). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the That is a possible trap for many, isn’t it? Matt says, “But if you’re continuing to make progress and aren’t experiencing huge snags, you’re not stuck. Rather, you’re in a dip. “A dip is a temporary hard slog that you will get through if you keep pushing and don’t give up. And pushing through the hard slog is actually the fastest route to the destination. In these cases, you will be especially tempted to bail. Be discerning and able to identify that you’re in a legitimate dip and you’re not a failure.” Matt says another trap to be careful of, “Some people are stuck and don’t know it.” He goes on, “Everything can be going your way, going smoothly, and going quickly. Everything feels and seems wonderful. Yet... you are still headed toward a dead end, a form of getting stuck, if you are leaving God out of t...

Just Continue That Thought...

Search This Blog