Loved by God.

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* It's good to suffer loss, for it draws me to the Cross where God's loss is more than what anyone ever lost. * We cannot hear what the stories of the Bible are saying until we hear them as stories about ourselves. * Let go of control. * Trust God. Thank God. Think about God. Talk to God. Talk about God.
Showing posts with label laziness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label laziness. Show all posts

Monday, September 19, 2011

Laziness is Incompatible with Being a Christian (Phil 2:12-13)

Laziness
"I'm not lazy. I'm just tired." This was a catchphrase I used when I preached a sermon on Cain about the secrecy of sin, that sin always starts very, very, very small, since sin in its beginnings is "crouching" (Gen 4:7) almost out of even our own view or awareness.

Misunderstanding Grace
: There is a prevalent idea today that if grace is taught and proclaimed in the church, Christians will think that since they are saved by grace (that has nothing to do with them), then they do not have to do anything. But there is no such suggestion or teaching through out the NT (Heb 13:20-21; 1 Pet 4:11). Paul in particular never had such an idea that "grace" = "I don't have to do anything" in his thought or in any of his writings. In fact, Paul communicates the very opposite thought--that grace ALWAYS results in work (Eph 2:8-10; Rom 6:17; 2 Thess 1:11-12; Gal 5:22-23). Also, because of grace, Paul himself was constantly compelled and motivated to work even harder (1 Cor 15:10), with far greater joy, hope and intensity.