Attachments
" 'In the same way therefore not one of you can be my disciple if he does not renounce all of own possessions' (Luke 10:33). The application of the saying is this: Discipleship requires that God be in first place. The reference to renunciation of all his own possessions refers to all earthly attachments that have first place.” (NET Bible, Luke 10:33) “We must understand that as long as we are still attached to anything earthly, as long as we lean on anything within or without
Simplicity
“To undertake this reverse orientation and remain ever true to Christ, our hearts must be committed to Christ first and foremost. In the original Greek text of verse 5, the word aplóteti (“sincerity”) connotes “singleness, simplicity, being uncompounded, pure, or even sound.” The Lord requires this of us, for “no one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and ma
Willpower
“In his disobedience and expulsion from Paradise, man lost the grace of the Holy Spirit (My Spirit shall not remain)…Without the grace of the Holy Spirit, man is easily overcome by the devil, for his willpower alone is incapable of resisting the devil's temptations. Furthermore, his will was weakened through his disobedience and expulsion from Paradise. But he willfully refused God's helping grace (every intent . . . was only evil continually)…Nevertheless, His grace was alwa
Willingness
“If you would enter into the mystery, then, like Christ Himself, you must become small, weak, poor, misunderstood, and willing to be broken. You cannot know Him if you refuse to be like Him. This is the only path that is truly Christian. Outside the mystery, there is nothing to be known, nothing that will save.” (Father Stephen Freeman) "While expressions about God in words and technical phrases may help us to attain a rational assent to faith in God, we must remember that ou
Franticness
“When we are overwhelmed by stress due to the frantic nature of life, it is difficult to think clearly. We might tell ourselves, “As soon as I finish this project…as soon as our festival is over…as soon as the weekend rolls around, I’ll be at peace.” The problem with this thinking is there will be, almost inevitably, something that will keep us busy and—likely—stressed just around the corner. Unfortunately, we allow life’s “business” to distract us from our spiritual focus.”