THE VERSE
But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever! Amen.
2 Peter 3:18
THE THOUGHT
Are you growing in your relationship with God? The Christian life is like riding a bicycle uphill- there is no such thing as coasting in your walk with God. When you decide to stop striving and pressing on towards God, you will find yourself slipping back towards the world; there is no middle ground. But this message of admonishment is ultimately a message of great encouragement. One of the great paradoxes of the Christian life is that it is only in the desperate striving to find God that we will discover how to rest in His presence. That is why the author of Hebrews encourages his audience to “strive to enter His rest.” That is why Paul says he presses on to take hold of that for which God already took hold of him. That is why Jesus can say both “Take up your cross and follow me” and “Come all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Let us therefore strive, with all that is in us, to pursue God with all our hearts and enter His rest, knowing that He has already taken hold of us, and that He will keep us from falling and will bring us to glory.
THE PRAYER
God, I am in a battle for my mind, but because of Your great love for me, You have not left me alone in the fight. I know that You fight with me and for me; help me in my struggle to sanctify my thoughts and present my entire life in purity to You. Show me how to take my thoughts captive to You.
EXTENDED READING
Matthew 11:28-30
Matthew 16:24-26
Philippians 3:10-14
Hebrews 4:9-16
Jude 1:20-25
THE QUOTE
“Our deepest problem is that we seek to find our identity outside the story of redemption… Lasting change begins when our identity, purpose, and sense of direction are defined by God’s story.” ~Paul Tripp
This post is written by Brendan Beale, author of Cross Connections