owned an extensive library of biblical commentaries by the “who’s who” of theological writers. There were few places I could go (Location 94)
were new to Phil. Yet there was something dramatically wrong. If you were to turn from Phil’s library and watch the video of his life, you would see a very different man. (Location 95)
They had given me an extensive history, yet there was little or no reference to God. (Location 113)
Often there is a vast gap in our grasp of the gospel. It subverts our identity as Christians and our understanding of the present work of God. (Location 120)
Their Christianity seemed more an ideology than a worship-driven relationship, and God’s practical call on their lives was more a duty to be performed than a joy to be pursued. (Location 139)
The good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ is a “then-now-then” gospel (Location 144)
The church has done fairly well explaining these two “thens” of the gospel, but it has tended to understate or misunderstand the “now” benefits of the work of Christ. (Location 147)
This blindness is often encouraged by preaching that fails to take the gospel to the specific challenges people face. (Location 153)
They need to see the way the gospel makes a connection between what they are doing and what God is doing. They need to understand that their life stories are being lived out within God’s larger story so that they can learn to live each day with a gospel mentality. (Location 155)
First, there is the blindness of identity. Many Christians do not have a gospel perspective on who they are. (Location 158)
many Christians underestimate the presence and power of indwelling sin. (Location 160)
Many believers also fail to see the other side of their gospel identity: their identity in Christ. Christ not only gives me forgiveness and a new future, but a whole new identity as well! I am now a child of God, with all of the rights and privileges that this title bestows. (Location 166)
That is, if who I am in Christ does not shape the way I think about myself and the things I face, then I will live out of some other identity. (Location 169)
For too many of us, our sense of identity is more rooted in our performance than it is in God’s grace. (Location 172)
“here and now” gap in the gospel also causes us to be blind to God’s provision. (Location 174)
We find it much easier to embrace the gospel’s promise of life after death than we do its promise of life before death! (Location 177)
Without an awareness of Christ’s presence, we tend to live anxiously. We avoid hard things and are easily overwhelmed. But a clear sense of identity and provision gives us hope and courage to face the struggles and temptations that come our way. (Location 186)
A third form of blindness that a gospel gap produces is blindness to God’s process. (Location 188)
If we do not live with a gospel-shaped, Christ-confident, and change-committed Christianity, that hole will get filled with other things. These things may seem plausible and even biblical, but they will be missing the identity-provision-process core that is meant to fill every believer. (Location 205)
The most dangerous pretensions are those that masquerade as true Christianity but are missing the identity-provision-process core of the gospel. (Location 211)
Whenever we are missing the message of Christ’s indwelling work to progressively transform us, the hole will be filled by a Christian lifestyle that focuses more on externals than on the heart. (Location 212)
Jim sees his church participation simply as one healthy aspect of a good life. He has no noticeable hunger for God’s help in any other area. For him, the gospel is reduced to participation in the meetings and ministries of the church. (Location 224)
There is no joy in Sally’s home because there is no grace to be celebrated. (Location 228)
Legalism completely misses the fact that no one can satisfy God’s requirements. (Location 230)
Legalism is not just a reduction of the gospel, it is another gospel altogether (see Galatians), where salvation is earned by keeping the rules we have established. (Location 232)
As the Holy Spirit indwells us and the Word of God impacts us, most of the changes in our hearts and lives take place in the little moments of life. The danger of mysticism is that it can become more a pursuit of experience than a pursuit of Christ. It reduces the gospel to dynamic emotional and spiritual experiences. (Location 239)
Whenever you believe that the evil outside you is greater than the evil inside you, a heartfelt pursuit of Christ will be replaced by a zealous fighting of the “evil” around you. A celebration of the grace that rescues you from your own sin will be replaced by a crusade to rescue the church from the ills of the surrounding culture. (Location 249)
John is a theological expert, but he is unable to live by the grace he can define with such technical precision. He has invested a great deal of time and energy mastering the Word, but he does not allow the Word to master him. In biblicism, the gospel is reduced to a mastery of biblical content and theology. (Location 259)
None of us wants to think that we are as bad off as the gospel says we are! We prefer to think that we just need some minor theological tweaking or more faithful church attendance to function as God intended. Yet the gospel says that no system or activity can provide what we need. Our sin is so great that only Christ’s work on the cross can rescue us. (Location 300)
We tend to believe that the sin that surrounds us is more dangerous than the sin that resides inside us. (Location 307)
When we forget how desperate our condition really is, Christian activity begins to replace a heartfelt reliance on Christ and his grace. We get more excited about changing the world than we do about the radical changes of heart and life that the gospel promises because of Christ’s presence in our hearts. (Location 310)
We don’t like to think that we need wisdom and correction daily. (Location 313)
It is uncomfortable to see ourselves as needy and weak, but we are, and that is exactly why Christ is the only answer. (Location 315)
Knowledge of doctrine is not the same as Christian maturity and victory over sin. (Location 317)
To the degree that you forget you are a sinner, you will underestimate your daily need for Christ and the relationships in his body that are his tools of change. (Location 318)
was. Self-righteousness is your own personal defense attorney. (Location 344)
Beneath the battle for behavior is another, more fundamental battle— the battle for the thoughts and motives of the heart. (Location 362)
God’s goal is that we would actually become like him. He doesn’t just want you to escape the fires of hell—though we praise God that through Christ you can! His goal is to free us from our slavery to sin, our bondage to self, and our functional idolatry, so that we actually take on his character! (Location 381)
Nothing is more obvious than the need for change. Nothing is less obvious than what needs to change and how that change happens! (Location 403)
is full of promises of the freedom we have in Christ. But our culture has its own warnings and promises of freedom, false solutions promised in various theories of change. (Location 436)
I was quickly taken captive by the idea that my anger was legitimate, that there was nothing wrong with me, but everything was wrong with my child. (Location 453)
justified my sinful anger in the name of fatherly discipline and accountability. (Location 459)
Paul tells us that we get captivated by hollow and deceptive diagnoses and solutions that present themselves as superior to Christ. (Location 462)
In some way, they allow the person to live independent of Christ and avoid the deep heart transformation that only Christ can bring about. (Location 464)
In every difficult situation, temptation abounds to blame others. (Location 476)
approach to change that only focuses on external behavior is never enough. Biblical change is so much more! (Location 496)
It all sounds so biblical! But it makes assumptions about the human heart that the Bible does not. The most important assumption this theory makes is that our hearts are empty and need to be filled. But the Bible does not say that we are empty. (Location 514)
The Bible describes us as defectors and enemies of God who want to fill ourselves with things in creation rather than the Creator (see Rom. 1:21—25). (Location 519)
James 4:1 says that we fight with others, not because we are empty, but because we are full of desires that battle within us. (Location 523)
She needs to see that the cross clarifies that she is responsible only for her own sins, not the sins of others that have so deeply wounded her. (Location 531)
But is Jesus my therapist or my Redeemer? If he is my therapist, then he meets my needs as I define them. If he is my Redeemer, he defines my true needs and addresses them in ways far more glorious than I could have anticipated. (Location 541)
Repentance for our rebellion and sin against God is minimized or even ignored while God’s love for us is maximized. (Location 546)
they need to see how great God’s love is for them in Christ, but they also desperately need to see how often their infatuation for other things replaces God’s love in their lives. (Location 558)
Jesus is not a vending machine that dispenses what we want to feel good about ourselves. He is the Holy One who comes to cleanse us, fill us, and change us. (Location 560)
He loves us too much to merely make us happy. He comes to make us holy. (Location 561)
Paul says that we have been given fullness in Christ. If I act on this truth, nothing can empty me of what is already mine. (Location 589)
Our new record and new power are never separated in Scripture, and we must keep them together in our lives as well. (Location 594)
Jesus’ payment for sin and his righteous life becomes ours. We also have new power. The Holy Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead now lives in us, bringing new life and power to grow in Christlikeness. (Location 600)
But in Christ, you get it all. You are regenerated, forgiven, and treated as if you had perfectly obeyed the law. The Holy Spirit gives you the power to grow in your sanctification. And you are promised that one day you will be made perfect and live with God forever. (Location 604)
Holiness must begin with Christ. We must first belong to him. (Location 632)
“A true Christian is one who has not only peace of conscience, but war within.” (Location 652)
Instinctively, we sense that things are not the way God designed them. The world we live in is broken, and sometimes it seems so broken that we don’t think that there is anything we can do or say to make a difference. (Location 714)
We all have a personal dream of a better life. We examine our lives, decide where change is needed, and imagine what it would look like. The problem is that our desires don’t go deep enough. It is here that the Bible challenges our dreams. (Location 718)
when most people dream of change taking place, we think the change needs to take place outside ourselves. We think, How much better life would be if a certain situation or a relationship were different! Meanwhile, God says that what needs change most is us! He does not just work to fix situations and relationships; he is intent on rescuing us from ourselves. We are the focus of his loving, lifelong work of change. (Location 720)
Our ability to dream is easily kidnapped by our sin. (Location 726)
Positive personal change takes place when my dreams of change line up with God’s purposes for change. (Location 737)
Revelation is in the Bible to help us understand our final destination, and thereby make sense of our lives here and now. (Location 817)
Everything God does and everything God calls us to only make sense from the perspective of eternity. If there is no end to the story, believers are a bunch of fools who need to be pitied. There is no reason for what we have tried to do. (Location 828)
Someday you will stand before the throne. There will be a moment when your voice will be heard in the chorus of praise that will never end. Someday you will be convinced that it has all been worth it. Life looks dramatically different when examined through the lens of eternity. (Location 855)
The most important thing happening in your life right now is not that new house or new job. It is not your professional success or the love of a friend. The one thing worth celebrating for all eternity is your redemption. By God’s grace, you are being progressively delivered from the one thing that can completely destroy you: sin. But God not only delivers you, he restores you. He is making you a partaker of his divine nature. (Location 864)
There will be a day when you stand before God’s throne. You won’t be anxious with shame or fearful with guilt. As you stand before him, you will be like him because his grace made you a participant in his divine nature. In that moment, you will not be celebrating the physical gifts of earth-bound life. Your heart will overflow with the realization that God has been victorious. (Location 867)
Grace is a process and God is committed to complete the process in each of his children. (Location 879)
God was working to build his kingdom in Frank’s heart. (Location 886)
When Jesus saves us, he not only changes what we are, but who we are as well. (Location 891)
The physical world around us is attractive and intoxicating. It seems to be able to give life, but it cannot. (Location 903)
What is the goal? If you study for hours or work sixty hours a week, you have a purpose in mind. What hopes and promises are giving direction to your life? (Location 916)
You always have some goal or destination in mind, even when you don’t fully realize it. The question is whether the hopes, plans, goals, and promises that direct your actions and words are worthy of your calling as a child of God. Do they reflect God’s purposes to make you more like Jesus? Do they move you in that direction? Do they draw you closer to the One who will bring you there? (Location 918)
Christianity’s change process does not revolve around a system of redemption but around a person who redeems. (Location 920)
Christ is our hope. He links the forgiveness of the past to the growth of the present to the hope of the future. Hope for the present is rooted in the hope of eternity. It rests on him. The hope of eternity is Christ, and because I have him in my life now, I know he will empower me to complete the journey so that I can see him face-to-face. (Location 922)
Your destination is secure. All of the things that are truly worth living for cannot be taken away from you! Yes, you can lose your job, your health, your house, your car, or your friend. The loss of any of these things would be hard. But you cannot lose your identity in Christ. You cannot lose his love and grace. (Location 946)
Christian joy is not about avoiding life while dreaming about heaven. It is about taking an utterly honest look at all earthly life through heaven’s lens. (Location 952)
If I am married to Christ, the core of my present life is not personal happiness, but spiritual purity. (Location 1039)
cannot fully appreciate the blessings Christ brings until we see ourselves as we truly are. Then we are amazed at how gracious and merciful Jesus is. (Location 1093)
What a contrast between what Christ brings to the marriage and what we bring! We ought to ask, “What did Christ ever see in us to make us the object of his love and grace?” The obvious answer is, “Nothing!” He showered his mercy on us simply because he chose to! (Location 1113)
We are foolish and blind (see Col. 2:1—5). Sin makes us fools. We are easily deceived, attracted to hollow and deceptive philosophy, and enticed by arguments that lead us away from Christ. Sin blinds us to our sin! We think we are fine. We think we have insight and power to live life. But the opposite is true! (Location 1118)
This is what the Christian life is all about. With joy I affirm that I am a new creation in Christ. With humility I confess that sin is still in my heart and I need God’s grace today as much as I did when I first believed. The Spirit overpowers the things that once dominated my life. I am in him, though not yet completely like him, so I commit myself to the ongoing heart change that is God’s loving focus. (Location 1156)
individuals and families always came to a deeper awareness of the grace of Christ when they experienced it through the community of believers. (Location 1470)
We have seen that God places us in a redemptive community to change us into the likeness of Christ. We understand the love of Christ more fully when we look at it with other believers. (Location 1482)
The ultimate goal of God’s grace is an active, healthy, unified body of believers, a full-fledged family freed from sin and its slavery. It is this people, purified and zealous for good works, that is God’s precious inheritance. (Location 1493)
But the body of Christ must also be built together. It is deformed and disabled when people never fully join and participate in the first place. (Location 1498)
When we don’t think about our gifts in this corporate way, the very gifts that are given to bless the community are used to divide it. (Location 1513)
we are better when we are together. Without a combination of gifts expressing the grace of Christ, that very grace is shrouded in ineptitude and pride. (Location 1523)
Where you see weakness is probably the very place where God wants you to serve your brothers and sisters. (Location 1528)
The sacraments and our participation in them serve as reminders that the Christian life is both individual and corporate. One without the other is not sufficient. (Location 1550)
God’s work of change has relationships at the core. They are a necessary means and a wonderful goal. Humble (Location 1553)
only when you have an overall sense of what God is doing can you make sense of the details of your life. (Location 1603)
God’s grace and love are revealed in the way he designed his world. His world not only displays his attributes, it functions as a vehicle of truth. In his redemptive love, God created a world that points to him at every turn. (Location 1607)
indwelling Holy Spirit. He uses lilies to explain his fatherly care. We wake up every day to a world that illustrates life-transforming truths. God does not want us to stumble through life in terminal blindness. He is not willing for us to be tricked by the Enemy’s lies and half-truths. He loves us too much to leave us to our own explanations and interpretations. (Location 1614)
• what life in this fallen world is like, • who we are as fallen human beings, • who he is as Savior and Lord of all things, • how he progressively transforms us by his grace. (Location 1620)
You will grow in practical wisdom as you walk with your Lord down the road of personal change. This big picture model is the story of every believer. God invites us to enter into the plot! (Location 1626)
As we work through these passages, choose an area of your own life that needs attention and try to see how these elements provide practical personal insight for you. (Location 1667)
help the Corinthians understand their own situation. We should be encouraged by Scripture’s honesty about the things we experience on earth. God understands what is going on around us and in us. (Location 1681)
On this side of heaven, we all live under the heat of trial in some way. (Location 1698)
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Christ sustains me so that I can live with him and for him even when I struggle. His grace not only forgives, it enables and delivers. It endows me with wisdom, character, and strength. And all this is at the heart of what God is seeking to produce in me. (Location 1723)
we too will find ourselves in situations that seem far beyond our ability to endure. (Location 1757)
Where do you feel like you are beyond your ability to endure? The Bible speaks into just that kind of experience. God enters our stories with the hope of Christ and shows us where we are and where we need to go. (Location 1760)
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Scripture makes it clear that these responses are not forced upon us by the pressures of the situation. What I do comes from inside me. (Location 1784)
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The promise of the Cross extends beyond renewed strength or enhanced wisdom. Christ gives us himself and in so doing remakes us from the inside out. (Location 1790)
If you are a believer, you are in the process of being remade to reflect the character of Jesus himself. And your Lord is employing every circumstance and relationship in your life to accomplish that goal. Fruit (Location 1791)
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Look at your life through the eyes of your Redeemer. Let him reveal your behavior and your heart as well. (Location 1797)
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We realize that we will never face an experience, no matter how dark or difficult, that would be a shock to our God. (Location 1831)
Don’t hesitate because your heart is weak and your mind confused. Don’t hesitate because you have questioned my goodness and love. Come as you are, for my sacrifice is for you, just as you are.” This kind of honesty before God is meant to be part of our worship. What a helpful and hopeful invitation! We do not have to put on spiritual masks to approach God. We can come as we are. His love is sturdy and his grace is sufficient. (Location 1902)
Our experiences become more difficult when we carry unbiblical, and therefore unrealistic, expectations into them. We are shocked when we find ourselves in stressful situations. We question God’s goodness and wonder what has gone wrong with our faith. We think that God has changed the rules on us. (Location 2009)
For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. (Rom. 8:20—22) (Location 2020)
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Paul uses three phrases to describe earthly life between the fall and Christ’s second coming. (Location 2023)
Sin has frustrated the cosmos and none of us will escape it. (Location 2028)
Bondage to Decay Everything living is dying in some way. The bondage lies in our inability to reverse the process. It is as close to us as our physical bodies. From the second we are conceived, the dying process begins. (Location 2029)
In God’s original plan, life was to give way to life, on into eternity. But sin has inflicted decay on our world and none of us will escape. (Location 2033)
Life is filled with struggle and pain. The image of childbirth reminds us that this pain is a part of a process. (Location 2036)
The example of childbirth reminds us that there is a redemptive purpose at work in the pain, but that does not make the pain go away! Understanding the hope of the gospel doesn’t produce stoicism or denial. You don’t deal with pain by minimizing it. (Location 2038)
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Frustration, decay, and pain are true of “the creation,” an all-encompassing category that includes everything but God. Everything else has been touched by sin and the fall. Nothing I am involved with, nothing that surrounds me, functions the way it was originally intended. Everything is broken in some way. (Location 2041)
The Bible alerts us to an even more troubling reality—a spiritual Enemy named Satan. He lives to tempt, trap, and torment humanity, using all the results of the fall as tools of his evil trade. (Location 2050)
God works to restore all that the fall damaged, Satan seeks to use the damage to his advantage. He uses the frustrating and painful things as weapons against us, to damage our hearts and cripple our faith. (Location 2052)
The frustration, decay, and pain you experience are not signs that you have been forgotten, forsaken, or singled out by God. They are normal for everyone who lives on this earth. (Location 2056)
We often tell the stories of our lives in the same way. We can make ourselves conspicuously absent from our summaries of our own lives. (Location 2061)
The Bible is very different in the way it looks at life. It always finds the person in the middle of the situation and focuses on what the person does. (Location 2063)
Paul’s point is that it is not enough to recognize the Heat and suffering in our world; we need to think about how we respond to it as well. (Location 2069)
This passage shows us how quickly pain morphs into anger. It calls us to humbly admit that, as sinners, we tend to respond sinfully to whatever difficulty we encounter. (Location 2126)
This passage makes one thing clear: the anger we reveal in the middle of trial says more about us than it does about the trial. (Location 2129)
Life on earth is a wilderness. Each day we face unexpected difficulties, and even blessings knock us off our path! In it all, God works to expose, change, and mature us. He (Location 2165)
It is true that Christ’s death for us and his presence within us change who we are. We are new creatures in Christ even in a world full of Heat! But we all know that it is easy to forget the wonderful things that are ours as children of God. It is easy to give way to thoughts, emotions, and desires that should no longer rule us, and easy to be more defined by our problems than by the grace of Christ. (Location 2191)
You already have a new heart. You have been radically changed by his grace and are being progressively restored day by day. (Location 2195)
The only way to properly celebrate these realities is to humbly ask, “God, where are you calling me to further change? What qualities that you promised to your children are still not active in my heart? What do you want me to see about you?” (Location 2196)
The thorn bush represents the fact that, as sinners, we tend to respond sinfully to circumstances of life. (Location 2201)
There are many Johns in our churches—people who know the Lord but whose lives clearly need change. Yet they live in the Christian community with no sense of urgency or evidence of a personal agenda for growth. As Christians, they are far too easily satisfied. (Location 2222)
God calls you to be dissatisfied. You should be discontent, restless, and hungry! The Christian life is a state of thankful discontent or joyful dissatisfaction. That is, I live every day thankful for the grace that has changed my life, but I am not satisfied. Why not? Because, when I look at myself honestly, I have to admit that I am not all I can be in Christ. I am thankful for the many things in my life that would not be there without his grace, but I will not settle for a partial inheritance! (Location 2224)
In this sense, it is right for me to be discontent. It is right for me to want nothing less than all that is mine in Christ. He does not want us to enjoy only a small portion of the riches he has given us. He calls us to wrestle, meditate, watch, examine, fight, run, persevere, confess, resist, submit, follow, and pray until we have been transformed into his likeness. (Location 2228)
God does not call us to self-loathing, but to a willingness to examine our lives in light of our hope as new creatures in Christ. That hope is not only based on the promise of forgiveness, but on his promise of personal deliverance and restoration as well. (Location 2232)
The same grace that has forgiven me is now in the process of radically changing me. I should not be satisfied until that transformation is complete. (Location 2233)
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Note: wow. Señor, ayudame a no estar satisfecho hasta que completes tu obrfed en mi
Real hope is not rooted in my performance, my maturity, my theological knowledge, or my personal perfection. It is not rooted in the quality of my character, my reputation, or my success in ministry. My hope is Christ! He is in my life forever, looking on me with tenderness and compassion. He will progressively transform me until the job is complete. (Location 2260)
You cannot celebrate the wonderful things Christ has given you and be content with sin in your life. (Location 2283)
The greatest war is not between nations or peoples. It is the war for our hearts. But Christ my Redeemer has already won this war by his life, death, and resurrection. I now have the right to apply that victory to my heart and life. I can come out of hiding, confess my need, and believe that there is hope and help for me. (Location 2307)
God calls you to humbly take a close look at yourself. He calls you to believe and act upon the gospel promises of forgiveness, restoration, wisdom, strength, deliverance, and power by acknowledging your responsibility for the Thorns in your life. (Location 2322)
Our responses are not shaped by the situation but by the thoughts and desires our hearts bring to those situations. (Location 2326)
Your task is like a medical doctor’s: your diagnosis of what is wrong will determine what you think the cure is. If a doctor diagnoses an infection, she will prescribe an antibiotic. If she diagnoses cancer, she’ll prescribe radiation or chemotherapy. The cure only works if the diagnosis is correct. If the diagnosis is wrong, the cure may lead to painful, even deadly, consequences. When it comes to soul care, misdiagnosing a personal problem can also have deadly consequences. In the early stages things may go well, but over time the situation worsens. (Location 2413)
Note: :o
The Bible says that my real problem is not psychological (low self-esteem or unmet needs), social (bad relationships and influences), historical (my past), or physiological (my body). They are significant influences, but my real problem is spiritual (my straying heart and my need for Christ). I have replaced Christ with something else, and as a consequence, my heart is hopeless and powerless. Its responses reflect its bondage to whatever it is serving instead of Christ. Ultimately, my real problem is a worship disorder. (Location 2519)
The reason we fail to keep commands 4 through 10 is because we have failed to keep the first three. If you break commands 1 through 3, you will break commands 4 through (Location 2546)
Still, God’s greatest concern was not what they had encountered (or would encounter in the future), but who they would worship! He knew that the greatest battle would be for their hearts. (Location 2549)
Counseling Joe would certainly offer the hope and comfort of the gospel, but this would include showing him how his sinful heart has responded to his painful past. (Location 2636)
An essential element of growing in grace is a willingness to look at what fuels the ungodly responses in your life. (Location 2673)
It is all by grace, but that does not mean we are passive! Christian growth is warfare. It is worth doing the hard work of discovering what leads us away from this glorious God. (Location 2675)
Repentance is not true repentance unless it is specific and intelligent. We don’t sin in the abstract; we sin in concrete, particular ways. Since that is true, we need to take an honest look at our lives—both heart and behavior. (Location 2677)
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The grace of Christ and the dynamics of biblical change need to be understood within the framework of our circumstances and our sinful responses. (Location 2760)
It has been said that if you don’t take time to face the bad news, the good news looks less good. (Location 2763)
Even though life is hard, it is not the hardships that cause us to respond as we do. Our responses are shaped by the thoughts and motives of our hearts (Heb. 4:12). (Location 2765)
When Jesus died physically, Paul (and all believers) died spiritually. Paul sees himself so united to the death of Christ that he can say, “I no longer live.” What does this mean? From birth, each of us was under the control and dominion of sin. The death of Christ was not a defeat, but a triumph (see Col. 2:13—15). In his physical death, Christ broke the spiritual power and authority sin had over us. Look (Location 2817)
What Christ did then on the Cross permanently alters who you are now and who you will continue to be. (Location 2821)
he is as a human being that it is as if he no longer lives! Yes, he is still Paul, but because of his death in Christ, he is a Paul who (Location 2822)
Our hearts, once under the domination of sin, are now the dwelling place of Christ, the ultimate source of righteousness, wisdom, grace, power, and love. (Location 2831)
Here is the gospel of our potential. It was necessary for us to die with Christ so that he could live forever in our hearts. The old sinful me has died. But it has not been replaced with a better me. The replacement is Christ! My heart is new, because Christ lives there. My heart is alive, because Christ lives there to give it life. My heart can respond to life in new ways because it is no longer dominated by sin, but liberated by the gracious rule of Christ. That is why I have the potential for amazing change and growth in my heart and life. (Location 2832)
We base our lives on the fact that because Jesus lives in us, we can do what is right in desire, thought, word, and action, no matter what specific blessings or sufferings we face. Our potential is Christ! When we really believe this and live it out, we start to realize our true potential as children of God. We start to see new and surprising Fruit mature in our lives. (Location 2840)
It gives you the freedom to admit your sin and repent. It is impossible for your sin to shock the One who died because of it. The Cross also gives you the freedom to seek and receive forgiveness each time you fall. We do not have to carry the sins Christ took on himself. He paid the price we could not pay so that we would never have to pay it again. (Location 2883)
If a Christian is going to make progress in the Christian life, she must be convinced of this powerful new reality. We are personally united to Christ through the Holy Spirit. (Location 2901)
The Holy Spirit enables us to see Jesus and all that we have and are in him. (Location 2930)
This is exactly why it is so important to understand the Spirit’s ongoing work. He connects our hearts and minds to Jesus and all he has done for us. (Location 2937)
happens. My heart begins to morph along the lines of Romans 1:25. Something (Location 2943)
All of us live our lives based on some identity, some functional sense of who we are, what we are like, and what we are worth. Most (Location 2974)
The Cross must be central, because it defines who you are, who you are becoming, and who you will be! (Location 2978)
While a Christian should never minimize personal gifts, past problems, or current struggles, these do not displace his or her more fundamental identity of being in Christ. “I am a new creation in Christ who happens to be a businesswoman, pastor, or parent.” (Location 2985)
My fundamental identity in the Cross of Christ supersedes whatever struggle I am going through now. (Location 2988)
Faith keeps us laying hold of the grace and mercy of Christ and thereby avoiding despair. Repentance keeps us facing our ongoing struggle with sin and thereby avoiding pride. (Location 3023)
The life of repentance and faith puts to death the deeds of the sinful nature and lives more and more in righteousness. (Location 3159)
Change can and does happen when we live in relationship with our Redeemer and embrace all the benefits he brings. (Location 3165)
Jesus is buried deep in the earth (see Matt. 12:40). When the Bible talks about the Christian life, it talks about loving God with all of our hearts. God is not content to live on the periphery of our lives. He will settle for nothing short of the center! (Location 3181)
A new lifestyle—the outward Fruit of a believer’s life—does not grow out of a stoic obedience to God’s commands, but from a heart that has been captured and captivated by the Giver of those commands. (Location 3200)
Because God has made every provision to address my most fundamental need—redemption—I can have confidence and joy that change is absolutely possible for me. (Location 3260)
The hope of the New Covenant is a new heart that is daily being renewed. But (Location 3379)
