Month: November 2018

climbing

Why Should We Go Through Purification Now? – Part 1

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After Jesus returns God will complete our Christformation. “When Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2, NIV). “We shall also bear the image of the man of heaven” (1 Cor. 15:49, ESV). Therefore, we will not need more purification because we will be pure as Jesus is pure.   This brings us to a critical question. If God is going to complete our Christformation after Jesus returns, why should we go to all the trouble of letting God transform us now? Why should we “cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body” (2 Cor. 7:1, ESV), “put to death the deeds of the body” (Rom. 8:13, ESV) and try to reach “the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” (Eph. 4:13, NIV)? This involves sacrifice and struggle. Why do this now when God is just going to instantly do it after Continue Reading →

Weekly words of encouragement

The Good News Of The Kingdom – Weekly Words Of Encouragement

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“Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.” Matt. 9:35 (NIV) This passage reminds us that Jesus brought the good news that the kingdom of God had come to earth and was available to all people. Finally, 2,000 years after Abraham, the God’s realm of peace and love had come to earth. What could be better news than this for planet earth? This is the news that we believed and now taste. And now we look forward to the completion of the kingdom when everything that doesn’t belong in the kingdom is done away. And just in case anyone doubted whether Jesus really brought the kingdom he demonstrated the kingdom with power by healing diseases and sicknesses. Since we are in the kingdom this same power is available to us now! You Can Continue Reading →

fivefold way stages of growth

Our Fivefold Way of Growth – Part 2

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Last week we looked at the first two processes of the fivefold way of spiritual growth. First was God’s grace coming to us. Second was purification. The third way is infilling. As he takes the bad stuff out of us he also puts his good stuff inside us. And we are to actively engage in this process: Ephesians 4 teaches us to “to put off your old self” (v. 22, NIV) and “to put on the new self” (v. 24, NIV). As God brings us into communion with himself he wants to pour himself into us and expand his Spirit inside us.  Think of yourself as a dry riverbed downstream from a mighty river. God is a big wave of beautiful water coming down the river towards the mouth of your riverbed. You can either open up to his river with surrender in faith or you can dam it up. Continue Reading →