Rick Warren's Blog, page 645

Willpower Won’t Solve Your Problem

“I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me.” (Romans 7:22-23 NLT)

You have a war inside of you that will rage for your entire life between who you used to be and who you’ve become in Jesus Christ. Paul, the most decorated missionary in the history of Christianity and the author of most of the New Testament, battled with it.

The Missing Ingredient in Your Battle Against Sin

“So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.” (Galatians 5:16 NLT)

You can do everything right and still not defeat a sin. You can read the Bible every day. You can pray. You can have a group of friends around you who’ll speak the truth in love to you on a regular basis.

You Need a Battle Buddy

“Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so God can heal you. When a believing person prays, great things happen.” (James 5:16 NCV)

People don’t go to war by themselves. It would be a suicide mission. Someone has to have your back.

Let Go of Your Self-defeating Lies

“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8 NIV)

We lie to ourselves all the time: “I haven’t gained any weight. I’m not hurting anyone. No one even noticed.”

Winning the War Inside of You

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6:12 NIV)

You may not realize it, but you’re at war. You may not wear military fatigues. You may not eat at a mess hall. You may not dodge physical bullets.

The Word "No" Is Important for Your Spiritual Journey

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.” (Hebrews 12:1 NLT)

The most important word to remember for your spiritual journey may be a surprising one — no.

Your Heavenly Cheering Squad

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.” (Hebrews 12:1 NLT)

Home field advantage can mean everything in sports. Teams who are at home often have a far better record than those on the road. When a team has someone cheering them on, they can often outplay their ability.

When You Feel Like Giving Up

“All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God had promised. For God had something better in mind for us, so that they would not reach perfection without us.” (Hebrews 11:39-40 NLT)

It’s not easy to live by faith. We live in a broken world. The weather doesn’t work right. Our bodies don’t work right. Our relationships don’t work right.

Blessing Comes from Obeying God’s Word

“Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” (Matthew 7:24 NIV)

Receiving, reading, researching, remembering, and reflecting on the Word of God are all useless if we fail to put what we learn into practice. We must become doers of the Word (James 1:22).

Are You Hungry? Feed on the Word of God

“Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly.” (Colossians 3:16a NIV)

Just like you need physical food for physical strength, you need spiritual food for spiritual strength. The Bible describes itself as spiritual food — the water, milk, bread, and meat of our spiritual lives. It’s everything you need for sustenance.