Whatever you want to be in public, you need to start training for it in private.
When you start studying the lives of those God has used greatly and told us about in his word, you notice a similar theme in all of their journeys. The details are different but every one of those men and women who God has used in significant ways have always gone through a period of private training with the Lord before he used them publicly.
Unless you are a stay at home parent, which is a full-time job with its own unique challenges, a huge portion of your life will most likely be spent in the work place. No matter how much you love your job, there will always be challengers in this area of life trying to steal your joy.
What should you do if there are theological differences in your marriage? Is interdenominational marriage acceptable? Does the Bible forbid interfaith marriage? Can a Calvinist marry an Arminian? Can a complementarian marry an egalitarian? Can a Baptist marry a Pentecostal? If you are dating to figure out if you should marry someone, but theological differences arise, is this a sign you should not get married?
As a Christian, there is nothing more despairing and hopeless that repetitive sin. How easy it is for doubts and confusion regarding our own salvation to begin to creep into our minds when we continue to sin over and over again. Overwhelming feelings of God’s anger and disappointment with our repeated rebellious behavior can crush us so completely we eventually do not want to come to him at all.
Right next to Bible study is prayer. If we desire to grow in Christ, connect with God, find the direction we desire in life, and see God move in our lives in personal ways, then Christians must be a people of prayer.
Core to Christianity is the Bible. Without the Bible we would not know God in all the fullness that he has revealed himself through the Scriptures. God has ordained the Bible to be central in the Christian’s life not to replace a personal relationship with God but to enhance it.
Martin Loyd Jones said, “Sanctification proceeds as we are led by the Holy Spirit to draw deductions from the doctrine of justification. Do you long to be holy? Do you long to have victory over sin in your mortal body? How can you do so? First, understand the doctrine. You cannot ‘work out your salvation with fear and trembling’ (Philippians 2:12-13) if we are unclear about the doctrine of salvation.”
Is it ever possible to pray too much? This question is both easy and hard to answer. The short answer is “No, you cannot pray too much.”
However, when we start talking about praying for specific people, places, and things over defined periods of time, we will need to apply wisdom and walk with the Spirit to answer this question in each personal situation people will encounter.
In other words, while you cannot pray too much, I believe it is possible to pray too much about certain things or certain desires, especially when the Holy Spirit is trying to move you forward but for some reason you won’t let a certain prayer request go.
So what does the Bible say about praying too much?
It’s my belief that the amount of real spiritual power someone has is equal to how much credit they are willing to give God in their hearts and actions. God greatly uses those who are finally ready to give him all the glory. If you still desire the praise, then God isn’t going to curse you with the power.
This trait of possessing power and yet knowing it comes from God is always present in those God uses the most. Joseph is a perfect example of this.
If God creates us into new creations once we put our faith in Jesus Christ, why do we still sin? And if God’s grace is endless, why does it matter if we sin. As we look at Romans 6:14, we will see that “sanctification” is the answer to our questions.