discernment

Discerning The Voices In Our Head

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“Whose voice is that?” An area that trips up many of us is whether a voice in our head is ours or God’s. Quoting from a previous post: “Our own inner voice is very capable of speaking many things to us! Many confuse it with the voice of God. It can sound like another person talking. It can answer our questions, give direction, give long prophecies, teach us ideas – but none of it is from God. We should never underestimate the power of the human soul to generate all kinds of impressions that may seem like they are not from us. We need to be humble and seriously consider this possibility when doing discernment.” We need to be very honest when discerning the voices. God’s voice usually feels separate from us and produces the fruits of the Spirit. But it is easy to confuse his voice with ours. Discerning the Continue Reading →

weekly words of encouragement

God Guides The Humble – Weekly Words Of Encouragement

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He guides the humble in what is rightand teaches them his way. Psalms 25:9 (NIV)God wants to guide us and teach us, but if we allow pride to reside in us, then he is not so willing to guide and teach. Why? Perhaps because he doesn’t want to encourage and magnify our pride by giving us more blessings. Instead, God’s blessings flow when we keep in mind that all the good that we have began with God’s grace. He guides the humble, not the self-sufficient. We are weak and corrupt by nature, but he still accepts us. We can think of ourselves as students, not masters. We can remember that in our ministry, we are just messengers of his teachings; we did not create the truth. We can understand that we are servants of God and others, not kings over others. In short, if we embrace an attitude of the Continue Reading →

two roads discernment

Overcoming A Fault That’s Beyond Your Character

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Have you noticed that sometimes the reason we aren’t overcoming a fault is that we haven’t fully intended to? We make some mild efforts to change but they don’t work. Then one day we decide to put our full effort into it and presto – the fault is gone! But we also have another kind of experience with overcoming a fault: failure, in spite of all our efforts. “I keep trying to stop doing this, but it doesn’t work.” We’ve probably all said this at some point. We ask God for help, read books, study Scripture, and exercise our willpower, but nothing works. And the fault lives on. Why do we have such different experiences with becoming holy? Because some changes are within our character, and some are not. What do I mean by this? There are some changes that God has already equipped us to make, and success is Continue Reading →

weekly words of encouragement

Hope In God – Weekly Words Of Encouragement

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No one who hopes in youwill ever be put to shame.(Psalms 25:3, NIV)It is interesting how fear unconsciously and semi-consciously influences our lives. Is it not true that one of the reasons we do not trust God for difficult things is that we fear it will not turn out well? We fear he doesn’t hear us, or that he won’t act, or that we won’t like the way he acts. We fear letting go of our attachment to something in order to trust God in that area. We even fear that he won’t keep his promise to reward us in the next age for our sacrifices now. Yet God promises in his word that if we put our trust and hope in God, then we will not be put to shame. In the Old Testament, to hope in God meant that God will give faithful believers material blessings, prosperity or Continue Reading →

weekly words of encouragement

The Value Of Holy Viewing – Weekly Words Of Encouragement

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Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord?Who may stand in his holy place?The one who has clean hands and a pure heart. (Psalms 24:3-4, NIV)The Psalmist here speaks of hiking up Mount Zion to visit the temple, which is the “holy place” of God. This reminds me of Hebrews 10:22 which directs us to “draw near to God with a sincere heart” (NIV) just after mentioning that we have the privilege of entering the holy of holies (the innermost room of the temple where the presence of God dwelt) through the blood of Jesus. Also, remember Matthew 5:8 “Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God” (NIV). These passages lead us to the value of holy viewing. God promises that those who come to him in sincerity and holiness will have the privilege of “standing” in his presence. We will see God better; we will have Continue Reading →