So how do we receive from God? How do we expand the boundaries of our influence and spiritual authority?
Last week, Dennis McNally taught us that we do not receive because we earned it. All we receive from God comes because of His grace, not our good works. It is always a pure gift. But, […]
For what was glorious has no glory now
in comparison with the surpassing glory.
And if what was fading away came with
glory, how much greater is the glory of that
which lasts! Therefore, since we
have such a hope, we are very bold. We are not like Moses, […]
Zechariah Chapter 4:6 – “not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord Almighty”
As far as I am concerned, this is the central message we need to “live” in order to survive in ministry. Not understanding the balance between our effort and His is what brings about most of our frustrations […]
We are told that we need to “know” God but rarely are we told HOW to know God. We are told that God wants an intimate relationship of love with us but we are not told what our part is or how to do it.
Join Mark on Thursday nights from 6:30-8:30 pm; Jan 22, Feb […]
Here are some thoughts from Chapter 6:
It hurts to see Him reduced to the level of employer or boss. Not only that, it just doesn’t work. If we have to compete selling just another religion, then we are going to lose.
As religions go,
Mormonism is much more attractive, if you like legalism and predictability.
Islam […]
Recently Shell and I were down in Guadalajara doing a conference at a cutting edge church there. The conference was on training the church to recognize communication from God and how to share it effectively. I was ready to teach Sunday morning but I knew I had a prophetic word for the church. I thought […]
Do you ever doubt your influence? I am talking about your good influence. I never doubt my bad influence. I think all of us wonder from time to time just how much good we are actually doing for God. Last Tuesday I was asking myself that question. It always seems to me that I could […]
If our faith is about a relationship rather than law, why does the law exist?
We were always intended by God to live life with our focus upon Him. He designed our operating system as an intimate relationship of love. Out of that relationship, we will be compelled by His love to do what pleases Him, […]
All religions are basically the same. A spiritual, material, eternal reward is offered and a system of behavior is required. When properly applied, the behavior brings the reward.
The rewards differ: Nirvana, 72 Virgins, Cosmic Consciousness, Heaven, etc.
As well, the system of behavior differs: prayer wheels, jihad, religious rituals, moral living, etc. But the rewards and […]
Someone has asked me how to respond to someone who doesn’t really care about their life choices because they think God has to love them on account of Grace.
This attitude is, of course, a misapplication of God’s unconditional love. Sadly, it proliferates where teaching on grace abounds. In fact, this attitude is often cited, by […]
Someone has asked me why, given all we know about our faith as a relationship with God rather than a works based religion, do we so easily fall back into a works based, religious orientation toward God. I think there are two basic reason for this.
The first is pride. Sadly, pride survives conversion. In a […]
We all want more of God in our lives, so how do we get more of Him?
Psalm 78:40-42 in the KJV says,
“How oft did they provoke Him in the wilderness, and grieve Him in the desert! Yea, ….they limited the Holy One of Israel.”
It is more than possible to limit God’s action in our lives. […]
Absolutely. I think the value of my book is it’s emphasis on seeing our faith as fundamentally a relationship rather than a religion. When I look at the issue of forgiveness and repentance, I think in terms of the effect my behavior is having on my relationship with someone I love.
In regard to God, I […]
Yes, regularly.
And to answer “Does God see our sin?”
Yes, for the purposes of sanctification, not for the purpose of judgement.
Hi Bob
Thank you for taking the time to comment on my book. I think you have some great questions so please put them in the comment box so we can get some more thoughts on these points.
Only when you are asleep. God always loves us but like any good Father, His love must sometimes be expressed as disapproval. We must always distinguish between acceptance and approval. We always have His acceptance but we do not always have His approval. His disapproval promotes our growth in holiness as does His approval.
It depends on how you define striving. Much of what we do “for” God is not what He has asked us to do. When we undertake work which He has not asked us to do, we end up working in our own power and fulfilling human potential rather than accomplishing His work which reveals His […]