The Western church is in decline. It is hard to imagine anyone disagreeing with that statement. The evidence of our failing condition is overwhelming. Here are two (of many) examples: Based on a 2019 Pew Research study, only 69% of Americans identify as Christian – down from 77% ten years earlier. In a 2018 Barna […]
The Struggle for Faith Read More »
Grace is appropriated through faith for the renewing of our minds – that we might be obedient to the faith and experience the perfecting of our faith through the work of grace. This is not a play on words; it is the way we mature as children of God. The grace I am thinking of:
Applying Spiritual Disciplines Read More »
Neuroscientists have concluded that 80+ percent of our thinking occurs subconsciously. In other words, a lot of our thinking happens off the radar, below the surface of our attention and consideration. Think about that in light of Paul’s assertion that the normal Christian brings every thought captive to the obedience of Christ (2Corinthians 10:5). Of
The Enemy that Lies Within is Speaking Over You Read More »
I suspect, like me, you could use a little encouragement. It seems that we are turning the calendar into an increasingly uncertain and chaotic future. Perhaps God is stripping away our earthly foundations and shaking us free from the deceptions and distractions of the world, to get our attention and draw our gaze to His
inLight Adventure Newsletter – Encouragement for the New Decade Read More »
The three R’s we have in mind are responsibility, rebellion, and rights. There is a relationship between these three which we plan to expose in the next few hundred words to better prepare you for the battle against your carnal mind. Let’s begin with something on which most of us agree: Rebellion corrupts everything. Yes,
Thoughts fly in and out of our subconscious like bats from a cave. This wouldn’t be such a concern if our subconscious were not the base of operation for our carnal mind. Given that 95% of our thinking is off the radar of our conscious awareness, it is important that we force ourselves to make
Thoughts are Like Bats Read More »
Choosing the right words to say can be a challenge. I often find myself attempting to communicate beyond the words that are readily available in my mind. Failure to “find” the right word makes me feel ignorant, dumb, even foolish. Choosing the wrong word can be confusing to the listener, and frustrating to the speaker.
Does that really mean what you think? Read More »
For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Romans 12:4-5 And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the
Last week, we suggested that the most important thing every disciple of Jesus Christ needs to know is the identity of their number one enemy. I lamented not knowing sooner in my life that my carnal mind has been an active and aggressive ally of Satan and the world since my childhood. Not knowing for
Overcoming the Carnal Mind’s Influence in the Church Read More »
It is frustrating to discover something at sixty that you really needed to know when you were thirty. Of course, I might not have listened, or the information may have had little application in my life at the time, but I still wish someone had made the attempt. Maybe they did and just I don’t
If I Only Knew Then Read More »