Category: What do you think?

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

Where to go when you want to hear the voice of God

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JEFF TURNER

Hebrews 12:25 warns believers not to refuse the one who is speaking, and some have used that verse to suggest that God still speaks audibly to people today, perhaps through inner impressions or voices from heaven. But the place where God’s voice is found reliably and truly is in the pages of scripture. That is where he has spoken, and that is where he continues to speak to anyone who reads and listens.

Jude’s letter describes the faith as something that was delivered to believers once and for all, and the close of Revelation contains a firm warning against adding to or taking away from what has been written. The Bible calls itself the word of God, and Hebrews describes that word as living, active, and sharper than any two-edged sword. Waiting for a voice to drop into your mind from outside scripture is not what the Bible describes or encourages. When God speaks to a person, he does so through what he has already said, and what he has said is enough.

All Scripture is inspired by God and beneficial for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man or woman of God may be fully capable, equipped for every good work

2 Timothy 3:16-17

Finding peace when life falls apart

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JEFF TURNER

There is not a person alive who has escaped seasons of doubt, confusion, and fear. Life, by its very nature, brings hardship to every door. And yet, Scripture does not look away from that reality. It meets us in the middle of it. The Bible is honest about the weight of adversity, while at the same time pointing us to a God who has made a remarkable promise: He will never leave us, never walk away, never abandon us to face our troubles alone (Hebrews 13:5-6). When fear comes, and it will come, the right response is to bring it straight to God, speaking our worries plainly and then stepping forward in faith, trusting that He is already at work, weaving something purposeful out of what feels like chaos (Psalms 56:3-4).

Consider what God may be doing in the very hardship you are carrying today. Difficult seasons are not wasted in His hands. Adversity becomes a refining fire, burning away what is weak in our faith and leaving something more genuine in its place. It is worth pausing to ask, honestly, whether the trial you are walking through might be one God is allowing to draw you closer to Himself. He is sovereign over all things, including the hard and confusing chapters of your personal story. His promise is not that life will be easy, but that He is working on your behalf, shaping something good, something you may never have seen coming. Trust Him with it.

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

Romans 8:28