The Biblical instruction to judge ourselves was given in 1 Corinthians 11:31: “For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged.”
This scripture was given as an important part of understanding how God disciplines His children. If we don’t understand the truth about God’s discipline, we may give Him credit for bad things that happen in our lives.
Dara Maclean Petty has been writing songs since she was 7. Raised in a household of faith, her parents had always encouraged her to seek God’s will for her life. At 22, when her life seemed to have stalled, she wondered where she had gone wrong. When she pressed in to her heavenly Father, He was faithful to give her the wisdom she desired and her life began to change.
There are times when life on this earth is hard and uncomfortable...and even downright painful. When those times come, you deeply need the comfort that only the Holy Spirit can bring.
How do you receive that kind of comfort?
By doing just what the believers in Acts did. By “walking in the fear of the Lord.”
We can take a lesson from the church at Corinth. Because of strife and division, Paul had to write to them, “When I was with you I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual people. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in the Christian life” (1 Corinthians 3:1).
You are not alone in that battle. As children of God, none of us want to be guilty of fulfilling what Scripture calls “the lust of the flesh.” In our society, lust is most often thought of in connection with sexual immorality. But lust means “strong desire.” The lust of the flesh is simply the strong desire to follow after the ways of the world rather than God, in any area of our lives.
If you’re looking for a home church where you can be rooted and planted according to Psalm 92:13, you probably already know that church shopping can be quite a process. As you prayerfully consider where to plant your family, be sure to seek the leading of the Holy Spirit. Only He knows where He intends for you to be planted. In the meantime, the following are good guidelines to use in choosing a good church.
The right church will:
1. Preach the whole Word of God. Including healing, deliverance, abundance and victory.
True Christianity is not a religion. It is a relationship with God.
Religion is any system of attitudes, beliefs or practices to honor or appease a god or supernatural force regarded as creator and governor of the universe. The number of religions and belief systems in the world today is in the thousands. God is not interested in religion. He is interested in our hearts. He wants to have a relationship with us because He loves us.
One night after a worship service a friend of mine and I stepped outside and were suddenly awed by the beauty around us. It was one of those crisp, clear winter nights when the brilliance of the moon and stars nearly takes your breath away. I said to my friend, "Tommy, will you look at that!" Then he looked up with one of those Holy Ghost whole-face smiles and with a voice full of tenderness said, "My Daddy made that!"
"My Daddy...." I'll never forget the way he said that.
Have you ever looked around at your own life or the life of the Church and wondered why it's taking the Lord so long to get things in order?
If so, let me tell you something I learned a few years ago. He's not the One who's slow. We are!
It's not God's fault that the Church still has spots and wrinkles. It's not His fault that we're not living in total victory. He's always ready. He's the great "I AM." We're the ones who fall short.