So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls. (James 1:21 NLT) How do we rid ourselves of the 'filth and evil' in our lives? If we want to really allow God to begin this work within us, we begin to take in his Word on a regular basis - not just as reading material, but with time to really 'digest it' and allow him to speak to us through what we are reading. The 'planting' of his Word isn't a 'top sowing' - it is a purposeful sowing of the seeds of change in prepared soil. The time we take to allow our hearts to be prepared to receive his Word - like time in praise and worship - the more we will find the soil of our hearts is prepared to receive those 'seeds' he plants. The seed that is planted is the only seed that grows - maturity takes tending. We aren't going to 'ingest' his Word in huge chunks and think that it will impac...
Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle. (Napoleon Hill) Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up. After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin. And have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children? He said, “My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline, and don’t give up when he corrects you. (Hebrews 12:3-5 NLT) God's discipline may not seem like a good thing, but it is always based in love and fully cushioned with his grace. We struggle with sin - he provides a bit of correction to get us back on course. We get lazy in our walk with him - he calls us to attention through circumstances we never expected. We drift a bit in our focus on what he has called us to do - he puts a bit of a roadblock in our path, so we are forced to turn around again. God's discipline is always meant for CORRECTION. It is hard to believe that correcti...