I certainly struggle with putting my agenda before God’s agenda. When I do this I have put myself on the throne, and relegate God to those positions you mention. I´m living my life for me in those moments (how I wish they were always mere “moments”!). I “call God in” when I need Him. But the Lord abounds in steadfast love and faithfulness, and if we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness! The Lord´s purifying work is a painful but glorious thing!

The Gospel can destroy this wrong thinking, living according to our agenda and not God´s. The Gospel is where God, in His grace, made Himself “the agenda” to us personally. When we rightly meditate on the truth and the beauty and the glory of Christ in the Gospel, understanding that God in His grace has given us Himself, the source of all blessing, we will cling to Him! Indeed, He has initiated the clinging, causing us to be united to Christ.

When we draw near to God, recognizing that all life and joy, all blessing, exists in Him, we are saying no to other counterfeit sources. Idols are displaced. The wonder of it all!

I, as some already know, have questions about the authors own church and community and whether his advice has been followed at home and actually produced holy fruit?

Also. I wanted to ask the author if he is open to visits from outsiders to actually see his church and cumminity reverberating the word of God?

I just have learned over the years with the current state of the churches and all to ask good questions?

Any ideas?

Les