There is a toxin that many people carry around with them. They carry it as casually as they carry a cell phone, as dutifully as they carry their wallet, as fatally as they might carry a poison.
That toxin is guilt. And as common as guilt is in our lives, not everyone knows how to deal with it. Jesus tells us what to do with it. This audio file explores his thoughts and works to liberate us from guilt.
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Growing up on a farm, I’ve used a pitchfork many times. We had some forks that had tines missing, and they were of almost no value at all. You can imagine that a one pronged pitch fork is useless. A two-pronged one is just frustrating to use. If you want a fork that works, it needs to be at least three-pronged.
In Matthew 11, God gives us a three-pronged tool to make it through faith-struggles, victoriously. And although it’s not a pitch-fork, you need all three tines — all three prongs — of the tool. If you’re missing one, your faith will be in jeopardy.
The prongs? Know your Bible. Look for God’s work in your life. Let God be in charge.
This message gives more instuction on how this tool helps you through faith-struggles.
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At least they worked well for Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758), an early American Congregational preacher and theologian. Many would assert that Edwards was one of America’s most important thinkers.
At just 19 years of age, Edwards wrote and adopted 70 resolutions he used to govern his decision making process through-out his life. Some of them follow. Continue reading