If we want to stop committing a habitual sin, we should first look at what we are doing and then develop strategies for changing our behavior, right? Wrong. The first step should be to start at the other end—not with ourselves but with God. That is why step one in breaking a sinful habit is …
Continue reading “65503 3. Knowing God (Step 1: Adopt a correct view of God)”
One time a man named George came to me (Henry) for counseling. Actually, I was the second counselor this man had gone to. George wanted me to interpret what the first counselor had said. George’s perceived problems included feeling bored with church, dissatisfied with his wife, and annoyed with his colleagues at work. He had …
Continue reading “65504 4. Embracing Truth (Step 2: Revise your false beliefs)”
One time my wife and I (Henry) were driving to Detroit, where I was engaged to speak. At one point in the trip my wife said, “Henry, you are going the wrong way.” I felt defensive and replied, “Don’t you think I know where Detroit is? Look, do you want to drive this car, or …
Continue reading “65505 5. Turning Around (Step 3: Repent of your sin)”
I (Bill) became a Christian in my early twenties through the influence of a group of young adults at Hollywood Presbyterian Church in California. Quickly I began ministering in a number of ways and saw God blessing my efforts. Around the same time, though, I accepted a member of my church as a partner into …
Continue reading “65506 6. Defending Your Ground (Step 4: Defend against spiritual attacks)”
Since the beginning of Campus Crusade for Christ, I (Bill) have made it my policy never to be alone with any woman other than my wife, Vonette. I have seen the way other Christian leaders have failed in the area of sexual purity and have brought disaster upon their ministries as a result. Even the …
Continue reading “65507 7. Preventing Setbacks (Step 5: Flee temptation)”
Both of your authors know what it is like to be ill. I (Bill) have been diagnosed with a progressive lung disease, while I (Henry) have suffered from Parkinson’s disease for years. For each of us, it was crucial to get an accurate diagnosis in order to begin the appropriate form of treatment for our …
In order to fix my broken life, God had to change the way I thought about Him and the way I thought about myself and others. He had to reintroduce Himself to me as a God of love. First John 4:16 tells us, “God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, …
Before the fall, Adam and Eve had a Spirit-to-spirit connection with God. God did not live in them, but He walked with them. In the Garden of Eden, everything for Adam and Eve’s full life—their perfect relationship with God, self, others and the world—came through their relationship with God. Adam and Eve’s spirit, soul and …
After the fall, God could no longer express His love and care for Adam and Eve as He had in the beginning. All of humanity was living in a broken relationship with God. Now people were living with their eyes opened to the knowledge of good and evil. Because people had no connection with God …
Continue reading “63204 4. Moses and the Law: “You Shall Love””
Jesus didn’t just show us a new way, He made it possible for us to live in that new way. He gave us the New Covenant to replace the Old. In the New Covenant we receive from God by faith. It is a two-step process summarized clearly in First John: “And this is His commandment: …