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Featured Book: Live Loved Free Full (365 daily reflections)
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As we approach the end of the calendar year we thought it would be good to
highlight a few of Wayne’s books available here through Lifestream, and
we’re ...
5 days ago
2 comments:
The idea that "relationship produces righteousness" is right, but I'm not sure "righteousness produces relationship" is entirely wrong. I spent my whole Christian life trying to will myself into a relationship with good, knowing that salvation is by grace and not by works. But I never loved God any more and I never got any better as a human being.
I finally got fed up and started trying to treat others with charity and stopped worrying about trying to have a "relationship with God." I think I had failed to understand what that meant--my heart was far too focused on myself to understand. It was finally through trying to show charity to others that I learned a little about love and could focus outside of myself. It was only after I learned about loving others besides myself that began to earnestly seek a relationship with God.
Don't you think ideas like the one in the excerpt limit the ways in which God can reach us?
Alison,
I am not trying to be dogmatic here, and believe me when I say I am NOT trying to limit the ways God can work - that's something I've done for too long.
ALL I am saying is that ANYTHING done apart from Him is from the flesh. Anything done in the flesh leads us to "lest any man should boast".
Paul said ANYTHING not done in faith is SIN!
Jesus said "I am the Vine, you are the branches. Apart from Me you can do nothing."
I do not doubt that you have grown closer to God by your attitude change. But if you did that in faith, I would STILL argue that the relationship part came first - you just didn't realize it.
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