christianity

So I can be a true teacher and mentor to him and his friends, never trading precious family time to burn the midnight oil at work. Work comes and goes, but kids are only kids for a very limited time.

And to paraphrase some ancient wisdom: “It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken adults.”

Because the soul encompasses and ?organizes? the whole person, it is

frequently taken to be the person. We naturally treat persons as ?souls.? But, of course, the soul is not the person. It is, rather, the deepest part of the self in terms of overall operations; and like the body, it has the capacity to operate (and does, largely, operate) without c

It is sad to consider how much of the work of the Lord is carried out in our own strength, without seeking the Lord’s blessing.

But Paul writes that even if “I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing” (1 Cor. 13:2–3 ESV). Wow. Those are strong and unmistakable words. According to God, we are here to love. Not much else really matters.

His calling will determine which road he takes in his service for Christ.

When we are focused on loving Christ, it doesn’t mean we do less. I used to do many of the same things I do now, but I was motivated by guilt or fear of consequences. When we work for Christ out of obligation, it feels like work. But when we truly love Christ, our work is a manifestation of that love, and it feels like love.

Repentance, like faith, is an intellectual understanding (that sin is wrong), an emotional approval of the teachings of Scripture regarding sin (a sorrow for sin and a hatred of it), and a personal decision to turn from it (a renouncing of sin and a decision of the will to forsake it and lead a life of obedience to Christ instead).

The Larger Story reveals two kingdoms that are at war over the vital piece of real estate the Scriptures call the heart. Both kingdoms know its value and its worth. One kingdom offers lies, the other the truth. One offers death, the other, Life. Both kingdoms know that if you get the heart of a person, you get the whole person. The respective ruler

Preachers who ignore the human flaws in biblical characters out of deference to the reputation of past saints or out of a desire to hold a moral example before present believers unconsciously distract attention from the only hope of true faithfulness.