I'm reading through a book for my devotions by Gary Thomas entitled, Thirsting for God: Spiritual Refreshment for the Sacred Journey. It is a wonderfully challenging book that rightfully insists that the follower of Jesus must be committed to spiritual advancement through disciplined training.
In chapter 8, Cultivation of Virtues, Thomas writes:
"Cultivating virtues is a necessary part of the Christian life. 'That's just the way I am' is a confession of sloth, not humility. It's admitting that we are too spiritually lazy to change, too selfishly indifferent to the way our weaknesses and lack of virtue hurt people. Whether we have a bad temper or an overly indulgent lifestyle, we injure others, weaken our witness, and grieve our Lord."
How many times have we faced a difficult truth about a personal rough patch that God wants to smooth out, only to turn our back on the challenge because it's just too difficult? We receive grace and strength to help us in our time of need, and sometimes what we need is to grab some sandpaper and go to work!
As a community of Jesus followers, God's CAUSE for us is to encourage people through a connected life in Christ. Our effectiveness demands that we be connected with God and others. The hope is that this will be one more connecting point for our journey.
Followers
About Me
- Chris Stephens
- God has graced me with two great families: 1) I live with a fabulous wife and 4 great boys; 2) I journey with and learn from my family at Skycrest Church.
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