Taking Your Next Step In Following Jesus Christ

One of the necessary characteristics of a friend is faithfulness or loyalty. We understand faithfulness because the Bible tells us that God is faithful. It is who He is not just something He does. Since God is faithful we are to be faithful to others. 

Too many times we measure our goodness by other people rather than by the true standard of good. This can cause us to become complacent in our Christian life thinking that we are doing "good enough." Since Scripture says that there is nothing good in us, it is vital that we live out the fruit of goodness.

We all experience the internal struggle of trying to what is right and not being able to do it. Then trying not to do what is wrong and still doing it. This is a battle we all experience really constantly throughout each day. What does Scripture say about this battle and how can we get victory over the flesh? 

No one likes to be around a harsh or abrasive person. But a kind, gentle person anyone would want to be around. Would others consider you a kind Christian?The fruit of gentleness is vitally important in our interactions and responses to other people. This is a fruit of the Spirit that is very important practically speaking in our everyday lives. 

There are some people that have a short fuse. It does not take much to set them off or make them angry. As a Christian, we are to be long fused. We are to be very patient with people. This is not easy! We will talk about becoming a long fused Christian.  

Peace is something we all of long after. Spiritual peace is completely different than the peace the world seeks after. Spiritual peace is not the absence of evil or turmoil if goes much deeper than that. On this episode, we will discover what spiritual peace is and how we can get it.  

Spiritual joy is not the same as happiness nor is it based on our circumstances. Joy is something we can possess in spite of anything going on in our lives. How can we find and experience this spiritual joy in our lives?

We can have the most talent, the most wisdom, the most faith and use it all for God but without love it is worthless. We could sacrifice our money and even our life but without love it will not profit us one bit. Love is the the more excellent way of the Christian life. 

Love is the centerpiece of the Christian life. Too often we make other good things the goal but miss what is most important. We will examine this centerpiece of our Christian life and how we can live it out in our daily lives. 

Jesus provides us the best example of how to overcome the different types of temptation that we will face in our lives. We will learn from Jesus how He responded to Satan's temptation and also discuss how to discern what voice we are hearing. That of the Spirit or that of the flesh. How can we know which is speaking and which to listen to?

It is interesting to see that it was the Holy Spirit that led Jesus into the wilderness for the express purpose of being tempted by Satan. There are times that God leads us to the wilderness, times that we lead ourselves, and times when other's actions force us there. Regardless of how we get to the wilderness, God is working and there is a purpose in it.

God gives us victory over the flesh by commanding us to walk in the Spirit. What does this mean and how can we do it? 

We all experience the inner battle of doing what is right versus what is wrong. We all constantly battle following the Spirit or following the flesh. How can we make sure the flesh does not win? We will talk about the promise God gives us of walking in the Spirit and what that does to the flesh. 

We have an enemy that is out to destroy us. Peter describes our enemy as a vicious lion walking around looking for people he can intentionally hurt. Peter also gives us insight into how our enemy works and then gives us practical tools we can use to defend ourselves against Satan's attacks. 

We have an enemy that is out to destroy us. Peter describes our enemy as a vicious lion walking around looking for people he can intentionally hurt. Peter also gives us insight into how our enemy works and then gives us practical tools we can use to defend ourselves against Satan's attacks.