Grow in Faith and Reap a Harvest of Righteousness - Part 3

It’s possible to become discouraged when changes which are needed to make life more dependable are so slow in coming. Productive change, without exception, coincides with making room for it to happen physically and emotionally. For a vineyard to stay healthy and productive, the grapevines must be pruned to make space for new growth.

Lasting change depends on your determination to create a place in your heart, mind and attitudes for it to exist. Fighting the fluctuation of feelings and thoughts can be discouraging, so change must be welcomed and nurtured. A healthy garden must be watered, and weeds that invade to suck away the nutrients must be recognized and obliterated.

          Change depends on discipline and hard work and can be painful, but it later produces a harvest of righteousness and pleasure. Changing for what is good, righteous and helpful is a challenge because it requires some thinning out, pruning and discarding. God will be your strength, hope and light as you choose to this transition.  

Act with Confidence and an Active Conscience - Part 3

History is replete with individuals who were overly confident in their skills and abilities. In 1863 Joseph Hooker, General of the Union Army, remarked: “My plans are perfect, and as I execute them, may God have mercy on General Robert E. Lee, for I will have none.” Months later Hooker resigned after he was defeated by Lee at the Battle of Chancellorsville.

God intended for leaders to have confidence, to be trustworthy, to believe in themselves. Too much pride and too little compassion create false confidence. False confidence led to General Hooker’s defeat. Healthy self-confidence is strengthened by our confidence in God’s faithfulness.

The Apostle Paul registered his confidence in the church at Ephesus. He also spoke of his confidence in the Gospel and his confidence in Christ Jesus. This kind of self-assurance reassured these early Christians that Paul’s conscience was clear, and this gave him the authority to speak the truth as God revealed it to him.