But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation.1 Timothy 6:9 There is a great difference between need and greed. Content people simply walk slowly. “Take delight in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart” (Ps. 37:4). When God’s desires become our desires we recognize what we truly need. When you desire more than…
Righteousness with contentment is great gain. 1 Timothy 6:6 Once we are rightly positioned, we can pursue righteousness that produces contentment. Contentment is when we believe that God has sovereignly provided sufficient provision. The world desires to accumulate all, but God desires us to acquire just enough. Instead of selfish concerns, we should be concerned with the Kingdom. We brought…
The Lord…loves those who pursue righteousness. Proverbs 15:9 Every one of us is born into complete bondage to sin. We cannot produce righteousness on our own. Once we are saved, we are positioned. The believer is made righteous at salvation and the must grow in righteousness. Even when our good deeds seem to derive from pure motives, unless that motivation…
Righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ.Romans 3:22 God’s standard defines righteousness and His power enables it. As a result of the greater faith given to us, we are made righteous. Righteousness is the condition of being acceptable to God. No amount of personal effort will result in righteousness. It is not a behavioral modification, but complete heart transformation.…
Agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ.1 Timothy 6:3 Do not approve any words as truth unless associated with Christ as the foundation. Our greater faith is learned through the perfect words of Christ. God supplies our greater faith (and greater grace) to develop us into the likeness of Christ. If you rely on the words of…
Jesus appeared once for all…to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.Hebrews 9:26 Jesus death and resurrection is the only remedy for our sin. There is nowhere else to go but to the cross. If we hide in Christ, He provides us a complete cleansing. It is a pertinent promise that we must not forget. If you want to…
Looking to Jesus.Hebrews 12:2 Our instinct to hide shame is not completely in error. We must hide our shame with Jesus. “If we walk in the light as he is in the light…the blood of Jesus purifies us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). The only way to hide shame is to bring it into the light so we cannot…
They hid from the presence of God among the trees.Genesis 3:8 The first instinct of the first humans immediately after sinning was to find a hiding place. Suddenly they were fallen and feeble. They were damaged in a now dangerous world. All people conceal shame in pointless places. Pride moves us to use whatever we can to hide our shame.…
Then the eyes of both were opened. Genesis 3:7 The second Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, they saw their mistake. Sin begins when you seek to satisfy yourself. Once you give into sin the door for shame opens wide. Do not allow shame to have persistent power; there is nowhere to hide anyways. Instead of giving into your…
[Challenges] come so that the proven genuineness of your faith– of greater worth than gold…may result in praise. 1 Peter 1:7 Every person proceeds in good faith. We all operate with the assumption that something will be what it is supposed to be or do what it’s supposed to do. Greater faith is what governs our following of Jesus Christ.…