The Transforming Word of God

I am so thankful that God loves me in spite of me. He sacrificed so much to give me salvation—to call me, to justify me, and even to glorify me (Romans 8:30). But I have some besetting sins. One is gluttony. Ouch! I said the word. Who wants to identify with gluttony? Granted, I'm not huge (but I could be on my way), but neither am I thin. But I think about food all the time; I want something in my mouth all the time. I'm not even hungry when I want to eat, to chew, to crunch.  Admittedly, my choice is usually sugary or a carbohydrate of some type. And I don't even feel well as a result! So why do I continue? Proverbs 23:2 says to "put a knife to your throat if you are given to appetite" (ESV). The NIV uses that awful word instead of appetite—gluttony! And the next verse says, "Do not desire his (the ruler's) delicacies, for they are deceptive food." I have finally realized that my eating, my grazing, is a spiritual battle. It's not just a m...

We've all seen sayings that appeal to us. Sometimes they keep their appeal; other times, upon reflection, we find we don't really agree with all that it conveys. This is one of those sayings: Parts of it are truly good. If we live our lives as if there is a God, we will live moral and circumspect lives, we will care about others and not just ourselves, we will be concerned about what is right and what is wrong. That is good. But the rest of it misses the mark because when we die we will stand before the God of all creation, the God against whom mankind has rebelled, the God who is not only a God of love but also a God of justice. We will be judged on the basis of our knowledge of God and our relationship to Him. Without faith if is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. Hebrews 11:6 ESV I don't see any "ifs" in that verse, do you?  Not only that, we hav...