SACRAMENTAL LIVING

“What leads to the inner decision to ignore Wisdom’s call? Since the issues that Wisdom raises “are the issues of life” (Proverbs 8:34), it really depends on how we define life. The Lord Jesus says, “I am…the life” (Jn 14:6). If we exclude Christ from our consideration of any aspect of our lives, then we are operating on an entirely different ground from that of the Lord. Life’s issues might then seem to encompass nothing more than health, wealth, status, ideology, or the boa

“To be meek means to be gentle and kind, to be empty of all selfishness and earthly ambition. It means, in a word, never to return evil for evil, but always in everything to overcome evil by good (cf. Rom 12.14–21). Meekness means to distrust and reject every thought and action of external coercion and violence, which in any case can never produce fruitful, genuine and lasting results. Meekness is to have the firm and calm conviction that the good is more powerful than evil,

“Effective witness requires that we first learn to rely on the Spirit to help us….You can’t witness effectively by relying on your own strength, because fear will keep you from speaking out for God. Only by relying on the power of the Holy Spirit can you live and witness for Him.” (Foundation Study Bible, Acts 1:8, Life Application Study Bible, Micah 3:8) “Let us take heed about this: what we are called to is not simply preaching in the sense of communicating some information

“We perform all our behaviors from mixed motives. Virtually all our “good” deeds have an admixture of altruism and self-centeredness. We are aware that we are likely to receive some benefit or acknowledgment from our good works. We can’t avoid a tinge of selfishness. But in praying our experiences we can become aware that the power going out from us to effect good for others is a power beyond us. The power to do good deeds is a power that originates well beyond us. We begin t

““We can go through life, plodding along this way, without anybody even noticing. It’s a lifestyle that doesn’t fill up trophy cases or result in monuments being created. It can, however, end with “Well done, good and faithful servant” from our Lord. The excitement is in the results of being in a position to help family and friends grow. Success comes from being in a relationship with God that means fruitfulness by His definition…Social status is unimportant to God. He is int

“What if God was only faithful when he felt like it, only dependable part of the time, only loving on special occasions? Thank goodness, He is always faithful to His own nature. The world desperately needs to see that same kind of faithfulness in our lives." (Lloyd John Ogilvie) “Our faith is not meant to get us out of a hard place or change our painful condition. Rather, it is meant to reveal God’s faithfulness to us in the midst of our dire situation." (David Wilkerson) “Gr