Category: Foundational Truths

Putting on Christ

You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

Ephesians 4:22-24

The New Testament, particularly in the writings of Paul, presents a vivid contrast between behaviors and qualities that Christians are encouraged to “put off” and those they are advised to “put on” in their pursuit of Christ-likeness. Below is an overview of these qualities with references to specific scriptures:

Qualities to Put Off:

  1. Anger, Wrath, Malice: Christians are encouraged to let go of anger, wrath, and malice. (Colossians 3:8)
  2. Blasphemy, Filthy Language: Avoiding blasphemy and unwholesome talk is emphasized. (Colossians 3:8)
  3. Lying: Being truthful is a key aspect, hence the admonition to stop lying. (Colossians 3:9)
  4. Sexual Immorality: This includes any form of sexual activity outside the bounds of marriage. (Colossians 3:5)
  5. Impurity, Lust: These are often linked to sexual sins but can apply to other areas of life as well. (Colossians 3:5)
  6. Greed: Described as idolatry, greed for material possessions is discouraged. (Colossians 3:5)
  7. Bitterness, Rage, Brawling, Slander: All forms of hostility and ill-will are to be put away. (Ephesians 4:31)
  8. Envy: This involves resenting the good fortune of others. (Galatians 5:26)

Qualities to Pursue:

  1. Compassion, Kindness: Showing empathy and kindness is highly valued. (Colossians 3:12)
  2. Humility, Gentleness: These qualities reflect the character of Christ. (Colossians 3:12; Ephesians 4:2)
  3. Patience: Bearing with one another and forgiving each other. (Colossians 3:13)
  4. Forgiveness: As the Lord forgave, so should Christians forgive. (Colossians 3:13)
  5. Love: Described as the bond of perfection, it is the greatest virtue. (Colossians 3:14; 1 Corinthians 13:1-13)
  6. Peace of Christ: Letting Christ’s peace rule in hearts. (Colossians 3:15)
  7. Thankfulness: Being grateful is a key attitude. (Colossians 3:15)
  8. Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-Control: These are the fruits of the Spirit to be cultivated. (Galatians 5:22-23)

This list is not exhaustive but captures some of the primary qualities discussed in Paul’s letters in the context of Christian living. Each of these qualities and their opposites are part of a broader moral and ethical framework that Paul sets out for believers, aiming to align their lives more closely with the teachings and example of Jesus Christ.

Agents of Grace: Light Shining in the Darkness

We don’t see it.
But know that in the Spiritual Realms,
Followers of Jesus who are actively growing in and demonstrating the Fruit of the Spirit in their daily lives are lights shining in the darkness. Cf Ph 2:15.

A Believer who starts the day with prayers such as:
“O Lord, use me as an instrument of Your Grace this day.”
“Lord, teach me about You, myself, and others today.”
“Father, use me to encourage someone else. Bring someone into my path who needs to see Your Grace.”
“Lord, for whom should I pray this day?
–– this kind of Believer is a serious threat to the kingdom of the enemy. We our lives are being intentionally lived out from a core of God’s Grace, we are pushing back the darkness.

The Enemy’s Tool Box

SO to prevent believers from becoming effective, balanced Agents of Grace the enemy has a tool box.First, he seeks to tries to help us slide into self-righteousness. Religion does not scare the enemy— in fact, it is one of his most effective tools. The more religious we are, the easier it is for us to become self-righteous. When we are religious, it is easier for him to convince us that the enemy is other people who don’t think like we think and are not as good as we are. Consider of all the evil done when people thought they were better than others and that God was on their side!
Use the Fruit of the Spirit as the evaluation tool. Is this growing the Fruit of the Spirit in my life, or diminishing it? Is it making me more compassionate or less? More joyful or less? If is diminishing the Fruit of the Spirit in your life, it is appealing to your fallen nature not your heavenly nature.

However, if a Believer maintains their humility and is actively walking in grace, then the enemy seeks to weaken their effective lives, by some combination of guilt, shame, and/or fear.

Just a reminder here. Are You Drawn or Driven?

Jesus draws people to Himself by His love and grace. People who are being drawn by His Spirit of Grace develop the Fruit of the Spirit in their lives.

Satan seeks to use guilt, shame, and fear to drive people. People who are driven can try to be better people and imitate the Fruit of the Spirit, but it is more of an outward pretense than a genuine display of God’s Presence. Driven people sooner or later resort to “the end justifies the means” thinking.

Time to look into the mirror.
Rohr’s observation reveals that for many Christians the Fruit of the Spirit is only an outward show, not an inward reality.

“Christians are usually sincere and well-intentioned people until you get to any real issues of ego, control, power, money, pleasure, and security. Then they tend to be pretty much like everybody else.
“We often give a bogus version of the Gospel, some fast-food religion, without any deep transformation of the self; and the result has been the spiritual disaster of “Christian” countries that tend to be as consumer-oriented, proud, warlike, racist, class conscious, and addictive as everybody else– and often more so, I’m afraid.” 

—Richard Rohr

Satan Is the Ultimate Bully

Guilt, Shame, and Fear are not evil in themselves but rather the tri-consequence of the fall. Adam and Eve were afraid and tried to hide. They felt shame so they covered themselves. They felt guilty so they blamed.

God seeks to return us to the pre-fall state by addressing guilt, shame, and fear in Christ’s great redemptive events— the crucifixion & resurrection. He bore our shame and our guilt. This amazing love and the assurance of the resurrection free us from fear.

Abuse (bullying) is using guilt, shame, and/or fear to get one’s own way and control or belittle the victim.
Satan is the ultimate abuser. He works hard to keep us from functioning free from guilt, shame, and fear. He wants to shame you by questioning your worth and your core identity. He seeks to remind you of your failures, weaknesses, doubts, etc. He wants you to an have unhealthy fear of God to prevent you from being drawn by grace, which is the biggest threat to his power.

To enemy the scariest being on the planet earth is someone who 
Stands firm in God’s grace. 1 Peter 5:12

Paul says that “since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have also obtained access into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of God’s glory.” Romans 5:1-2.

When you read Paul’s letters,
notice how often his themes address guilt, shame, and fear.

JB Phillips Romans 8:31-35, 37-39
In face of all this, what is there left to say?
If God is for us, who can be against us?
He that did not hesitate to spare his own Son but gave him up for us all—can we not trust such a God to give us, with him, everything else that we can need?
33-34 Who would dare to accuse us, whom God has chosen? The judge himself has declared us free from sin.
Who is in a position to condemn? Only Christ, and Christ died for us, Christ rose for us, Christ reigns in power for us, Christ pleads for us!
35 Can anything separate us from the love of Christ? Can trouble, pain or persecution? Can lack of clothes and food, danger to life and limb, the threat of force of arms?
37 No, in all these things we win an overwhelming victory through him who has proved his love for us.
38-39 I have become absolutely convinced that neither death nor life, neither messenger of Heaven nor monarch of earth, neither what happens today nor what may happen tomorrow, neither a power from on high nor a power from below, nor anything else in God’s whole world has any power to separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ our Lord!

As faith, hope, and love grow in our lives, we are able to “live under the freedom of God’s grace,” Romans 6:14.

Understand that God’s desire for our lives is for us to respond to His grace and then live out this grace in our daily lives. This is standing firm in His grace.

Friday Thoughts: More about Listening to Yourself

The story of the fall (Genesis 3) contains so many interesting insights about our fallen nature and about how we are tempted.

In simple terms, temptation to sin is about taking something good that God created and perverting it.  Free will is a God created gift.  The temptation was to push that free will beyond its intended purpose and it became pride – seeking to be independent from our Creator.  

Also note that part of Satan’s temptation was to question the motive of God, that is claiming that God didn’t really have our best interest in mind.

And then after the fall we are left with the devastating consequences.  Free will has been perverted to pride.  And for the first time, mankind experienced fear, shame, and guilt.

To this day the enemy seeks to keep us from enjoying God’s Grace and Presence using these tools:
pride,
guilt,
fear, and
shame. 
He also continues to try to get us to doubt that God is really for us.

All this is to make the point that all these things (and more) were addressed at the cross.

When we hear in our heads, words of self-condemnation, shame, accusations, fear, questioning God’s purpose for us (doubt), etc … we need to return to the truth of the Gospel.  

The enemy would love to keep us burdened with what has been addressed at the cross.

Our task is to take captive these thoughts, that is identify our self-talk that comes from leftovers of our fallen nature—listen for tone and the words of fear, pride, shame, guilt, doubting God’s motive.  Set your mind on things above, letting go of remnants of our fallen nature.

Scripture for reassurance.

So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.
Romans 8:1.

We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in His love.  God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect.  So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face Him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.  Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear.  If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced His perfect love.  1 John 4:16-18

Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood.  For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could He break the power of the devil, who had the power of death.  Only in this way could He set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying.  Hebrews 2:14-15

What shall we say about such wonderful things as these?  If God is for us, who can ever be against us?  Since He did not spare even His own Son but gave Him up for us all, won’t He also give us everything else?  Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for His own?  No one—for God Himself has given us right standing with Himself.  Who then will condemn us?  No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and He is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.  Romans 8:31-34

Listen to Yourself, Sept 14, 2023

I am rereading some of a book I coauthored 30 years ago.
PS
If you want a PDF copy of the book send me your email address.
Doug.NewJersey@yahoo.com

There is a section we called “Listening to Yourself’ and used the term ’Self Talk.’

We all have conversations in our head.
Much of what we hear is the instruction we heard from our parents and others who have influenced our lives.

Some of it is positive:
Various things such as
“I can learn to do things.”
“Though it’s undeserved, I know that I am loved by God.”
“Mistakes are not fatal.”
“I need to know which things just have to be done and which things need to be done the best I can do.”
“I can ask for help.”
“By grace, I belong.”

Some of our self-talk is negative.

For those who have endured abusive treatment or trauma these thoughts are pervasive. These are a few of the thoughts of people who are struggling, compiled by working with veterans affected by PTSD.

As you read this list, listen for the tone of voice you associate with this.

I don’t deserve love. I’m not lovable. I must earn love.
I am not good enough. I must prove myself.
I am worthless.
I am shameful. I must redeem self.
I am stupid [insignificant, a failure, a disappointment.]
I have done something unforgivable.
I should have done ________________ .
Etc.

= = = = = = = 

In some situations, perhaps all of us have had these thoughts pass through our heads. For those traumatized, the thoughts don’t just pass— these types of negative thoughts are a constant battle.
Two things:
1) Be compassionate with others.  You don’t know their inner battle.
2) We need to guard our hearts against these self-condemning thoughts. 
Recognize the tone of voice in your heard and immediately go to what God has declared.  

= = = = = 

Without God’s Grace, we are left to be enslaved
by harsh internal condemnation.  
We must learn to stand
in God’s grace (Romans 5:2).
Remember that
“He chose you to live in the grace that Christ has provided.”
(Galatians 1:6)

 – – – – – – – – – – – 

“We can go to God being
confident that what we reveal about ourselves will be
UNDERSTOOD
and that our God
with whom we disclose ourselves will
ACCEPT us,
seek our (BEST INTEREST) good,
and COMMUNICATE
support and love.”

Cynthia Heald, My Creator, My Confidant

I teach this as UABC. 
God 
Understands us,
Accepts us,
seeks our Best interest,
Communicates love and support. 

  • – – – – – –  

“Casting the whole of your care
[all your anxieties,
all your worries, all your concerns,
once and for all]
on Him, for He cares for you
affectionately and
cares about you watchfully.”

(1 Peter 5:7 Amplified)

Jesus’ Presence

Learning to Just Be.

The story of Lazarus’ resurrection, recorded in John 11, is amazing in so many ways.  When we get to John 11:35, the shortest verse in the Bible.  A simple sentence, “Jesus wept.”  I am still astounded that Jesus didn’t just say, “Stop crying, it’s going to be all good in 20 minutes at the most.”  

If we are problem solvers, we typically deal with emotions by trying to fix it, first.  We want everything to be okay and sometimes say, “It’s okay” when it isn’t or “Just calm down” which has probably never helped any calm down.

If we can’t fix it, we try to explain it often with silly platitudes.  Often we use scripture as a platitude— trying to explain something tragic with just a ‘Have Faith’ or ‘God works all things for good’ type Bible verse.  

And if we can’t explain, we just deny or ignore that someone is upset or that there is a problem. Instead of fixing, explaining, or ignoring how about just be there!

Jesus inspired Paul’s command, 
Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep, Romans 12:15.  

One of the hardest acts of humility is to just be with someone and 
Just Be with Them –letting go of thinking about past or future; 
not thinking about what you are going to say; 
without being impatient; 
not fixing the problem or giving advice;
letting go of your own agenda;
without judgement.

This is difficult because even if we are maturely walking in grace, we all carry around at least some unhealthy guilt, shame, and pride which makes it harder to just be present.  
Jesus wasn’t burdened with guilt, shame, or pride and was free to just be.

Another thought. John wrote, 
“For whoever does not love their brother and sister, 
whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen,” 1 John 4:20.

I wonder if is also true that—
if we can not give our full attention to and just be with our brother or sister
(that we can see and hear,)
then how can we learn to give God our full attention? Doug McCulley

Let’s follow Jesus’ example. Let’s just be present for others and before the Lord.

Mistakes: How to Process Mistakes

Part One: Causes of Mistakes

Adapted from Charles Swindoll, Tale of the Oxcart, page 386.
We all make mistakes.  It’s a sign of our humanity.  
Scripture records man’s mistakes to teach us.  
I think they fall into 5 categories:

1. Panic-prompted mistakes usually involve fear, hurry or worry.
2. Good-intention mistakes come from wrong timing, poor (or wrong) methods, misinformation, and incomplete communication.
3. Passive-negligence mistakes result from laziness, lack of discipline or inconsistency .
4. Unrestrained-curiosity mistakes relate to the demonic or sensational.
5. Blind-spots mistakes usually come from ignorance, habit, or influences.

—Adapted from Charles Swindoll Tale of the Oxcart (page 386)

Part Two: How to Process Mistakes, DMc

So when we make mistakes our questions are…

What, if any, of this is sin?

Such as pride, self-centeredness, procrastination, laziness, etc.? 
Is there anything I need to repent of?

Have I sinned against, offended, or hurt anyone else?  

Do I need to make amends?

What do I need to learn from this?

Am I thinking short-term instead of what is best in the long-run?
Am I blaming others or taking responsibility for my own actions?
Am I recognizing my weaknesses or unhealthy tendencies?

What different choices do I need to make so that this problem doesn’t repeat itself?

Do I need to …

  • communicate better?
  • plan better?
    • do more research?
  • choose different relationships, associations?
  • ask better questions, etc.?  
  • get help, advice from friend, expert or professional?

What lifestyle changes do I need to make?

What new habits, patterns, methods, procedures do I have to adopt?

How did this affect others?

Learn to apologize correctly.
The key to a sincere apology is empathy for how this affected them An effective apologize focuses on how my mistake affected the other person. If I explain why I goofed. If I give excuses or say I usually don’t do this … I am not apologizing.

Apologizing needs to be about how my mistake caused another person to be inconvenienced, hurt, saddened, frightened, etc. not explaining why it happened or promising it will never happen again.

For a printable PDF (for this or other articles),
email me at
doug.newjersey@yahoo.com.
Ask for Mistakes handout.

Grief Comes in Waves

To those who grieve:

I had often taught that grief comes like waves. I wrote this out for my family after we had loss two very dear loved ones.

To those who grieve:

Your hurt is so severe
because your love for them, and
their love for you, was dear and deep. 

No words can make it better,
but it may help to know that grief is experienced in waves. 

Grief is like being on a sunny deck of a ship, but then the ship suddenly evaporates and you are thrown into a cold ocean without warning.  There is a shock, a disorientation, a disbelief as one tries to grasp the reality of the cold water and the need to come to the surface to breathe.  Even though you are wearing a floatation device and able to catch your breath for a moment, large waves sweep you under again and again. 

Sometimes you are aware of others, who like you, are making every effort to stay at the surface just to breathe.  You try to reach to help them and they, to help you—  but the waves and currents conspire to have alternating moments of being alone again in the cold and other times holding onto others as they too struggle to just to gasp for air. 

Numbness, calm, and quiet is intermittently experienced with overwhelming crushing waves. As you all try to help each other back to the safety, It is a process of enduring the waves that sometimes catch you off guard, other times you see them coming. 

Sometimes the waves push you toward solid ground, other times it feels as if you are as far away as you were in the beginning. 

And there will be a day that you will begin with a few hours NOT thinking of your loss, but then the wave will come and you may even feel guilty for briefly feeling somewhat normal.  There will be moments of  “I need to be sure to tell him this or that” then realizing he is beyond our words.  Later that will become a frustration– “O, how I wish he were here to see or hear this.”

The pain will lessen.  It will become more like an ache— a strange mixture of emptiness, sadness, gratitude, and joyous confidence.  However, even then, be warned that there will be unexpected waves of oppressive grief that may last a few seconds— or all day.

We take some comfort in all our memories, the lives he touched, the people he encouraged— however, let us turn to the God of all comfort. Our assurance, our hope, our foundation is that he is waiting in the glorious presence of God Himself. 

All of mankind’s greatest thoughts and conceptions of all time,
all added together would not fill a second of God’s eternity.

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard,and no mind has imagined what God has preparedfor those who love Him.May our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father,who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace,comfort and strengthen your hearts.”

2 Corinthians 2:9 & 2 Thessalonians 5:15&16

May the God of all comfort,
be near the hearts of those who are grieving,
those who are struggling just to breathe.  

“For since we believe that Jesus died
and rose again, even so,
through Jesus, God will bring with Him
those who have fallen asleep”
–1 Thessalonians 4:14.

Golden Corollary

Golden corollary

We live in strange times.
In some ways we are so spoiled, entitled.  
The comforts of the modern age with so much available to us immediately 
make us often think along the lines of 
“I shouldn’t have to wait or be inconvenienced“ or “I deserve … “ 

Another part of entitlement that we have all been guilty of at least once or twice:  
When someone else does something outside the rules, 
we want enforcement.  
If I do the same thing, 
I want exemption.

In contrast to that, 
we also can BE TOO HARD on ourselves.  
Some people need to learn ‘to give themselves the same grace that they would give others.  
I call this the ‘Golden Corollary.’  
= = = = = 
I was attending a conference with a friend.  I was driving, we were talking, and I missed a turn, so we had to do just 5-6 minutes of back tracking.  For some reason I found myself mentioning my faux pas a few times at the conference.  At some point I stopped and thought it through.  

“If instead my friend was driving and we made the same mistake, when would I have let it go?  As soon as we found the place to turn around!  Would I have mentioned it at all?  No!  In fact I might not even remember it happened.  Why did I feel like I had to confess a non consequential mistake that no one would care about?  Because I had not learned to give myself the same grace as I give others.”  
= = = = 

If you tend to hold onto guilt or shame, 
Here is a good exercise: 
What if a good friend (sibling, child, etc.) was in a similar situation…  
What would you tell them?  
This is probably fairer, more compassionate, and more balanced than your typical response.  
It is probably much closer in content and tone of voice to 
what our Friend and Savior would say 
than the harsh tone of self-condemnation 
that some people seem to battle.  

And yes for some mistakes, you might tell a friend,
“You really messed up.  You need to apologize and make it right…. “ 
but you would still do it with a tone of love and compassion.  
They would still know that you were for them not against them.
= = =
If you tend to keep thinking about mistakes 
long after others have forgotten them, 
you need to practice the 

Golden Corollary—


“Do unto yourself with the
same grace you give to others.’

Tuesday Sept 12 Forgiveness

Tuesday Thoughts

Sept 12

Many replied to a text last week.  Last week I explained that we know the Golden Rule, but we need to learn what I call the “Golden Corollary,” which is “Give yourself the same grace that you would give to others.”  

Forgiveness is key to this.   

Some key points about forgiveness.
(Much of this is from Lewis B. Smedes, Forgive & Forget?)

Forgiveness is letting go of the desire for vengeance.  
According to Vine, the word forgive implies to “let go” or to dismiss or release the wrong.  
Paul wrote, “Do not repay anyone evil for evil.  Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord (Romans 12:17,19). 
“Forgiveness is not the alternative to revenge because it is soft and gentle; it is a viable alternative because it is the only creative route to less unfairness.”(Smedes)


To sum it up:
Forgiveness is letting go of the belief that I have the RIGHT to make someone pay for what they did.

  • It is NOT excusing the wrong or minimizing it and certainly IS NOT FORGETTING.
  • You can forgive and still require accountability. 
  • You can forgive and put down consequences. 
  • Forgiveness does not necessarily bring reconciliation.  (Forgiveness is a one-way process; reconciliation is a 2-way.) 
  • Similarly, forgiveness does not mean that you must or can trust the person again.  (The offending party must seek to rebuild trust.) 
  • Forgiveness may not restore life as it used to be. 
  • Forgiveness is NOT EXCUSING THE WRONG nor ALLOWING IT TO CONTINUE.  
  • We must intervene to stop continued abuse or wrongdoing.
  • Forgiveness is NOT being soft to injustice or harm being done. 
  • **Lewis B. Smedes, “Forgive & Forget?” is excellent.


On learning to forgive oneself… 

“I think that if God forgives us, 
we must forgive ourselves. 
Otherwise, it is almost like 
setting up ourselves as a 
higher tribunal than Him.” 
—C. S. Lewis.  

Not forgiving oneself is arrogance according to Lewis.

How do we live out forgiving ourselves?

The Apostle Paul is perhaps the best example.  
He clearly thought of his sins as an ugly fact. 
“I was a violent man, a persecutor of the church.” 
(Acts 22:4, 26:11; 1 Cor 15:9; Gal 1:13; Phil 3:6; 1 Tim 1:13).  

He used HARSH terms to describe his actions, 
BUT he did not live in regretful thinking, 
“if only I hadn’t done this  … if only I’d done that.”  
Rather he thought
“I am so guilty! but even more, SO FORGIVEN!”  

Paul was so effective in his faith partially because
he did not live in guilt nor regret. 
He lived in grace. 
“But God” is one way to sum up Paul’s life!


“But God is so rich in mercy, 
and He loved us so much,
that even though we were dead 
because of our sins, 
He gave us life.” 
Eph 2:4-5 NLT
 

2 Most Important Questions

What we believe about what God is like and how He views us determines almost everything in our lives– our attitudes, interactions, values, purpose, identity, worth, faith, and hope.

Foundational Truth

2 most important aspects of our lives:
I often teach that the 2 most important questions/beliefs we have:

HOW DO YOU SEE GOD?
HOW DOES GOD SEE YOU?

These 2 questions determine almost everything else in your life.

HOW YOU SEE GOD.

“I want God as He is, not how I want Him to be.” C S Lewis.  We need to see God as He is, as He revealed Himself in Jesus, not in myth, superstition, sentimentality, our own limited human projections.

Think for a moment.  How you understand God’s character, His beauty, His compassion manifested in Jesus— this determines EVERTHING about your faith. 
Is He a God to trust, to seek, to be DRAWN TO 
OR
a Entity to avoid, that we just try to keep in happy and hope He doesn’t cause me trouble?

Most of us, if we believe Jesus’ words, “if you’ve seen Me, you’ve seen the Father,” can read the gospels and get an accurate sense of God’s compassion and grace as it is lived out in Jesus’ life.  

I try to encourage people to consider the tone of voice Jesus must have had.  His tone must have been reassuring, encouraging, affirming.  Consider how comfortable the woman at the well must have been that she didn’t take off running when an obvious foreigner knew everything about her life!  Jesus seemed to always take any spark of curiosity and fan it into a flame of faith.  I think part of this is that his voice was one of sincere concern, a tone of grace.

Maybe this is connected to what Paul instructs: “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person,” Colossians 4:6.  Jesus was certainly the embodiment of that command.

We need to hear Jesus’ instructions in that tone that draws us to know more and obey.  

My greatest need is to SEE GOD as He is not as we want Him to be.

We need to ponder, study, be amazed 
by Who God Is and
What He Has Done.  

This the essence of
WORSHIP & THANKSGIVING.

HOW GOD SEES YOU.  

If we respond to His calling, He sees us as having passed from death to life (John 5:24), as having the right to become children of God (John 1:12).  

By faith, in Christ, we are chosen; His handiwork; beloved; adopted; a new creation; given a seat in the heavenly realms; citizens of heaven.

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” 1 John 3:1

“We are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:10, NIV)

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.” (2 Cor 5:17, ESV)

“You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.” (1 Peter 2:9, NIV)

“For I hold you by your right hand—
I, the Lord your God.
And I say to you,
Don’t be afraid. I am here to help you.
I am the Lord, your Redeemer.
I am the Holy One.” From Isaiah 41:13-14 (NLT)

We have a fallen selfish nature.  The cure for that is not in trying to be better, it will not be found in reformation, education, better standards, etc.
The cure for our fallen nature is 
To SEE GOD AS HE IS
AND
TO SEE OURSELVES AS GOD SEES US THROUGH CHRIST’S SACRIFICE.

Each day we also need to ponder How God Sees Us!  

If we could see ourselves as God does, we would be radically transformed in almost every way possible.
My identity, significance, purpose, security, value, future, and my primary relationship—all of this is found in what God declares to be true.

He declares we have a right to be a child of God.
He declares that we are beloved.
He declares that we are forgiven and redeemed.
He declares that we called by name to be a new creation.

WHEN WE SEE OURSELVES AND OTHERS MORE AND MORE AS GOD SEES US… WE WILL BE TRANSFORMED!

So …. “In face of all this, what is there left to say?  If God is for us, who can be against us?  He that did not hesitate to spare his own Son but gave him up for us all—can we not trust such a God to give us, with him, everything else that we can need?” Romans 8:31 (JBPhillips)

May God, the source of hope, fill you with all joy and peace by means of your faith in Him, so that your hope will continue to grow by the power of the Holy Spirit. Rom 15:13 (GNT)