Why did Jesus say, “You are not far from the kingdom of God”? It is because just having the knowledge of what God is looking for is not enough. The journey and the spiritual war start in the mind, as we discussed before. But you could have the knowledge of God and not have a heart for Him at all...
There is only one way to find out if something is an idol in your life: let it be taken away. Then, if you really mourn for it, you know that your heart has been given over to an idol. For example, if God took away your food, how would you react? God weighs the motives of the heart...
God has programmed an amazing characteristic deep inside each of us: The more you eat, the more you will want…but the LESS you eat, the LESS you will want! This is true for shopping, for alcohol, for drugs, or for self-indulgent hours in the day.
We have been given so much... We have the freedom to love God and we actually get a second chance to hear His voice and follow our beautiful Lord. While much of the world is fearful of being controlled by God, we cannot wait to find His lead! Why?
I have not set an alarm clock in many years. God wakes me up every day just at the right time. With gentle creativity, He chooses a variety of waking methods, so my first thought is God and thanking Him for waking me—and the earlier the better for me. I love getting up in the night and working for Him or having Him teach me something new...