Category: What do you think?

Knowing you are already glorified in God’s eyes should move you to live for him and share your faith

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TEXAS GOSPEL VOLUNTEER

God has already placed his stamp of glorification on every believer’s name, meaning that from his perspective the work is complete and finished, and that truth should be one of the greatest motivators in a Christian’s life. Rather than waiting for a sermon to push us toward serving God, the awareness of all he has already done and who he has already declared us to be ought to stir us to praise him through the way we actually live.

The people of God are described as glorified saints, already headed to heaven, and that identity carries a responsibility to bring others along. Sharing what we have in Christ is not just an obligation; it flows naturally from understanding the generosity of what God has given us. A life lived to his glory is the most practical and fitting response to a salvation that was entirely his doing from beginning to end.

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

2 Corinthians 5:20

The Holy Spirit is God’s guarantee that his promises to us will be fully kept

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TEXAS GOSPEL VOLUNTEER

God has made remarkable promises to those who follow Jesus, including eternal life, the forgiveness of sins, the assurance that death is not the end, and the hope of one day ruling and reigning with Christ over all of God’s creation. Ephesians 1:13-14 tells us that when we heard the true message of the gospel and believed, we were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who serves as a guarantee of everything God has promised us until we receive it fully.

Think of the Holy Spirit as a down payment, a deposit that God has already placed in the life of every believer to confirm that the rest of what he has promised is still coming. God does not make promises and walk away from them. The presence of the Spirit living within us is real evidence that our inheritance is secure and that the fullness of what God has in store for his people is yet ahead. What we experience of God now is a foretaste, and the best is still to come.

In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of the promise

Ephesians 1:13

Surrendering your whole life to God opens the door to whatever he wants to do through you

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TEXAS GOSPEL VOLUNTEER

God is not looking for partial commitment; he is listening for the kind of surrender that says, “Here I am, Lord, do whatever you want with my life,” and that kind of openness can come at any age or stage of life. Giving most of yourself to God is not the same as giving all of yourself, and it is the full surrender that he is after.

When a person reaches that point of availability, the possibilities of what God can accomplish through them are wide open. He has a purpose and a plan for every life, and surrendering to him is the starting point for seeing that plan unfold. You may not know what he will do, but you can trust that what he does with a willing life will be far greater than anything you could arrange on your own.

And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me.

Luke 9:23

Understanding God’s sovereignty and the role of temptation in the life of a believer

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A passage in 1 Corinthians 10 promises that God will not allow believers to be tempted beyond what they can bear, and some have read this as suggesting that God is the one sending temptation into people’s lives. The Book of James addresses this directly, making clear that God does not tempt anyone, because he cannot be tempted by evil himself. These two passages are not in conflict; they are describing two different things.

The Greek word behind “temptation” simply means to test or prove, and it carries no negative weight on its own. When a believer encounters a difficult situation or a pull toward sin and rejects it, that is a test that has been passed and made them stronger. If the person gives in, it becomes a temptation that leads to sin. God allows his people to live in a fallen world with all its pressures and difficulties, but he does not personally engineer situations designed to make them fall. What he does promise is that no trial will be so great that there is no way through it.

No one is to say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.

James 1:13

Living with courage and joy when life is uncertain

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NELSON NOLAND

Life rarely comes with guarantees, and yet many people find themselves waiting for certainty before they take the next step. The ancient wisdom found in Ecclesiastes 11 speaks directly to this tendency. Just as a merchant sends cargo ships out to sea not knowing if a storm will destroy them, or a farmer plants seeds not knowing if the harvest will come, ordinary people are called to act wisely and boldly even when the outcome is unclear. Spreading your risks, working hard, and refusing to be paralyzed by the fear of what might go wrong are not signs of recklessness. They are signs of a faith that trusts God enough to move forward anyway.

The second half of Ecclesiastes 11 turns from courage to joy, and it is just as practical. Joy is not something you manufacture on your own. It is a gift that you choose to unwrap by paying attention to the good things already in your life. The writer encourages people of every age, young and old, to genuinely enjoy their years while they have them. This is not an invitation to chase sin or live carelessly. In fact, the text is clear that joy must stay within the boundaries of what is right, because choices made in younger years carry consequences that follow a person for a long time.

What holds these two ideas together, courage and joy, is the practice of remembering God. Not just thanking him in a general way, but actively paying attention to how he has been faithful in the past and choosing to trust him with what is ahead. Just as a bee takes even bitter things and turns them into honey, a person rooted in their relationship with God can take hard circumstances and find something good in them.

These things I have spoken to you so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

John 16:33