Why Practice Matters More Than Good Intentions
I'm just trying to acknowledge that and let his light permeate and bring warmth to every aspect of my life, putting proper and prioritized emphasis on him. We're going to look at practice makes perfect, but we are going to connect it…
See the principle clearly
I'm just trying to acknowledge that and let his light permeate and bring warmth to every aspect of my life, putting proper and prioritized emphasis on him. We're going to look at practice makes perfect, but we are going to connect it to a spiritual point first and probably exclusively as we look at a few verses in the book of 1 John. 1 John champions a series of words that are great to mark throughout that text.
One of those words is practice, which appears like 10 times in this letter.
Let Scripture shape it
How do I live in God with no fear of judgment when I sin and God judges sin? So now maybe I have totally confused you and you're thinking, what does the battle between confidence in heaven and sin have to do with the phrase practice makes perfect?
In the book of 1 John, it is revealed that our understanding of practice makes perfect will be the key to gaining confidence in salvation even as we battle sin.
Bring it into daily life
There may be a man who fights that every day, who will not accept it, who is sorrowful anytime it happens, and he may falter. And he turns from it, he doesn't want to get good at it or good at justifying it, and he begs for God's forgiveness, and he receives it.
He has not become someone who lives this life and who cannot break away from it, because it has sown itself to his identity.
Take the next faithful step
Chapter one of that wonderful letter says, When we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, but we have to continue to confess them, to fight them, to say, that is not something I am willing to get good at or practice or justify, and I will fight it with every ounce of my being, and we're going to heaven. Even if we sin, we are still going to heaven because we constantly turn and keep fighting.
But if there is ever any sin in my life, even one, that I accept, that becomes a part of who I am, and I stop fighting, I will lose the Lord.
Take the idea with you.
- 01Where does the central idea of “Why Practice Matters More Than Good Intentions” show up most clearly in my life right now?
- 02What does this episode call me to believe, stop, start, or handle differently?
- 03What is one specific action I can take today instead of merely agreeing with the idea?
Listen to the original episode
This article was adapted from Practice Makes Perfect. Continue with the podcast for the original teaching in Kris’s voice.
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