Every day for the month of October, I have participated in a 31 day writing challenge and today is the last day! If you would like to read all the posts in this year’s series, click here for the index post.
One thing I’ve recognized this month is that, while on this earth, we will never completely crush our kingdoms. We have the sin nature in us, always at war within us to regain control, to put self back on the throne. It’s part of the sanctification process that we continue to journey to be more like Christ.
To fight against this tendency, we need to learn to preach the truth about God to our hearts. Tim Chester, in the book, You Can Change, identifies four life-changing truths that we can cling to in this daily struggle:
- God is great – so we don’t have to be in control
- God is glorious – so we don’t have to fear others
- God is good – so we don’t have to look elsewhere
- God is gracious – so we don’t have to prove ourselves
This is a continual process. We are to be continually crushing the kingdoms of our own making as we grow closer to God. You can follow these steps as you grow.
- Acknowledge: I’m completely sinful, but I’m completely loved.
- Admit: I see the sin in my own life and I own that it’s wrong.
- Determine: I choose turn from the sin to not do it anymore.
- Recognize: I’m a bigger sinner than I thought.
- Rejoice: I’m a bigger sinner than I thought, but he’s a bigger Savior than I knew.
Thank you for journeying with me this month. I hope you will continue with me as we continually crush our kingdoms and build up God’s kingdom.
Ethel Miller
/ October 31, 2014Congrats to you Janice, you get through October facing a difficult challenge. You have encouraged me in many ways. And I admire your openness — we all want to hide our ugliness from others. We don’t want to admit them to ourselves, let alone anybody else seeing or knowing that we are flawed. Thank the Lord, I am not what I once was, but I still am not what I want to be or who I think the Lord wants me to be. There used to be an old bumper sticker that just had a bunch of letters on it, which translated meant something, like “please be patient with me, God isn’t finished with me yet”. And I understand that we need to be patient with ourselves because God is continually doing a work in us. When He is done, He will usher us into His heaven. Have a great day and Janice, thanks for sharing your heart with us/ with me.
claygirlsings
/ October 31, 2014Thanks for all your encouraging words.
Jennifer Kostick
/ October 31, 2014Beautiful spiritual truths in this post! Congratulations on day 31!
Anita Ojeda
/ October 31, 2014Congratulations on finishing the challenge! I especially love the ‘rejoice’ reminder–God IS a a bigger Savior than we could ever know!
Charlotte.sprinkles
/ October 31, 2014Congratrs on finishin the challenge we did it woop!!
karrileea
/ October 31, 2014Yay! You made it! We made it! Congrats on finishing strong and laying it all out there… praying that readers continue to gather and read and learn… that we all continue to crush our kingdoms and advance His!
Amber
/ October 31, 2014This list.
God is great – so we don’t have to be in control
God is glorious – so we don’t have to fear others
God is good – so we don’t have to look elsewhere
God is gracious – so we don’t have to prove ourselves
it has stopped me. I need this a screensaver I think. It needs to be before my face all the time. Thank you for writing today.
claygirlsings
/ October 31, 2014Yes. Check out the book, You can Changes, too, for a more in depth look at each of these.
Barbara H.
/ October 31, 2014I love this reminder that this is something we need to do continually, not just once, and that God’s grace is sufficient for it.
claygirlsings
/ October 31, 2014So, true – God’s grace is sufficient! Thanks for following along this month.