Category: What do you think?

Knowing God is where real richness is found, not in looking inward at ourselves

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TEXAS GOSPEL VOLUNTEER

Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 1:17, that God would give believers a spirit of wisdom and revelation to truly know him, cuts against a strong current in our time. We live in a generation fixated on self-knowledge and self-improvement, where “know yourself” has become something of a guiding principle.

But the Christian life points in a different direction. The persistent sense that something is missing, even after years of looking inward, is a clue that the self is not where the real riches are found. Looking into a mirror will not give you what you were made for. It is in knowing God, not knowing ourselves more deeply, that wisdom, meaning, and true purpose come into focus. Isn’t this what Paul wanted for the Ephesians, and what God wants for us as well.

that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death;

Philippians 3:10

There is no condemnation waiting for those who belong to Jesus Christ

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TEXAS GOSPEL VOLUNTEER

Romans 8:1 arrives after Paul has worked through a hard truth: trying to earn right standing with God through law-keeping leads only to frustration. No effort, no accumulation of good works, can produce forgiveness or genuine inner change. Only when he turns to salvation through Jesus does he find solid ground for hope.

To be in Christ is to be joined to him the way branches connect to a vine in John 15, drawing strength, direction, and identity from that union. Those who belong to Christ no longer live to satisfy selfish impulses; they live by the Spirit, and the evidence shows. The past verdict of guilt is lifted. In its place stands a single, unqualified declaration: no condemnation.

Therefore there is now no condemnation at all for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.

Romans 8:1-2

The greatest change you will ever experience is still ahead of you

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TEXAS GOSPEL VOLUNTEER

Think about how long it has taken you to become the person you are today. Some of the shaping has been slow and some of it has been painful, and along the way you may have wondered whether real change was even possible. Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 15:51 offer something that puts all of that into perspective. He calls it a mystery: not all believers will die before Christ returns, but every single one of them will be changed, and this transformation will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye.

Whatever growth and change you have seen in your life so far is not the final version of you. A transformation is coming that will be sudden and complete and glorious. You will be shaped for heaven, made fit to live forever, and conformed to the image of Jesus himself. This is not something you have to earn or work your way toward. It is the wonderful work of God, and it is promised to every person who belongs to him.

Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.

1 John 3:2

Why forgiving yourself is not the same as receiving forgiveness from God

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JEFF TURNER

The idea of forgiving yourself has become common in both secular culture and church settings, often presented as a necessary step toward healing and moving forward. Colossians 3:13 is sometimes brought into the conversation, with the logic being that if God forgives us and we are to forgive others, we must also forgive ourselves. But self-forgiveness and receiving God’s forgiveness are two very different things.

Sin is an offence against God and only he has the standing to forgive it. The forgiveness that truly deals with sin comes from God alone, and it is full and complete when it is given. For a believer, the right response to guilt is not to generate forgiveness for themselves but to accept and rest in the forgiveness God has already provided. Continuing to carry guilt after God has forgiven is not humility; it is a failure to receive what he has offered. Once his forgiveness is in hand, there is nothing left to do but live in the freedom of it.

 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 1:9

How to know you’re going to heaven, and finding peace after loss

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TEXAS GOSPEL VOLUNTEER

Losing someone you love is one of the hardest things a person can go through, but knowing where they are going can bring a peace that is hard to explain. One man who lost his younger brother to illness was able to find that kind of peace because he trusted that his brother had put his faith in Jesus Christ and was now with Jesus. That peace is available to anyone who accepts salvation, because Jesus himself said that those who do so will live, even after death.

So how can a person know for certain that they are going to heaven? It is not about being good enough or doing enough right things. It comes down to giving your life to Jesus Christ and trusting him as your Saviour.

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; the one who believes in Me will live, even if he dies,

John 11:25