Category: Sanctification

The Goal of this Personal Ministry We Call “Biblical Counseling”

Posted on September 3, 2020September 4, 2020 by Paul Tautges

The Lord of the church is at work. Jesus Christ is building His church. However, He is not only building His church, He is also making her holy—a work that He will not stop performing until she is blameless: “…

NUGGETS

Posted on August 13, 2020August 13, 2020 by Paul Tautges

Here are a few articles that will encourage your growth in the grace and knowledge of Christ. Lord, Heal Our Dry Eyes – “My tears and my lack of tears are telling: I tend not to love others like Paul

Bearing the Fruit of Self-Control

Posted on June 8, 2020June 8, 2020 by Paul Tautges

First Corinthians 9:24-27 is a fitting passage to consider when thinking about the fruit of the Spirit, which is self-control Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run

The Refiner’s Fire

Posted on April 29, 2020April 30, 2020 by Paul Tautges

God ordains trials to test the reality of our faith in a way that’s similar to the process of purifying precious metals. Gold, for example, is purified through a process of high temperature heating or chemical exposure. According to Sciencing,

Four Resurrection Implications

Posted on April 12, 2020April 12, 2020 by Paul Tautges

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the well from which the fountain of new life springs. If you are united to Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection then you possess this new living water in your innermost being (Jn

Avoid Two Distortions of Grace

Posted on March 2, 2020March 2, 2020 by Paul Tautges

The heart motivation behind Jesus’ teaching ministry was His love for God and others. This explains why, when He saw how the external, law-keeping approach to spirituality placed unbearable burdens upon others, He spoke against them (Luke 11:37-46). But He

Nuggets

Posted on February 26, 2020May 22, 2020 by Paul Tautges

Lessons from a Pastor’s Wife on Suffering – “Becoming a pastor’s wife brought the awareness of suffering to a whole new level. When you watch faithful followers of Jesus lose loved ones, lose health, suffer abuse, face wrong accusations, lose

Bearing Fruit in Christ

Posted on February 17, 2020March 2, 2020 by Paul Tautges

When God saves a sinner He begins a new work of transforming grace, which results in the production of good works for His glory. Ephesians 2:8-10 gives this full picture: For by grace you have been saved through faith. And

We Must Work Out Our Own Salvation

Posted on February 11, 2020February 11, 2020 by Paul Tautges

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both

3 Podcasts to Listen to this Week

Posted on February 10, 2020February 10, 2020 by Paul Tautges

Almost every morning, I go to the local high school to use their indoor track to walk. When the weather is nice then I walk outdoors, but this is Ohio…and it’s winter. Here are three recent podcasts that blessed me

A Rehab Center for Weak and Broken Sinners

Posted on January 30, 2020January 31, 2020 by Paul Tautges

One of my dreams and goals for our church is that we become a hospital and rehabilitation center for sinners—a place where sinners like each of us may live in an atmosphere of grace, where we love and worship Jesus

Reaping the Harvest of Walking in the Spirit

Posted on January 20, 2020March 2, 2020 by Paul Tautges

The Christian life is not a playground; it’s a battlefield. Since we are in a war, and the world, the flesh, and the devil are always working against the Spirit’s agenda, we must get serious about sanctification, overcoming sin, and

Walk by the Spirit, Not the Desires of the Flesh

Posted on January 12, 2020January 14, 2020 by Paul Tautges

“The Christian life is not a playground; it’s a battlefield.” I still remember the grey-bearded guest preacher who first spoke that sentence in a Bible college chapel service in the late 1980s. If you think the Christian life is a

Beware of the Leaven of Legalism

Posted on January 6, 2020January 6, 2020 by Paul Tautges

It sometimes comes as a surprise to Christians when they realize that Jesus did not get along with everyone, and that everyone did not get along with Jesus. The religious leaders were often at enmity against Him. Chiefly this is

Understanding Three Phases of Salvation

Posted on January 3, 2020January 3, 2020 by Paul Tautges

In order to know where you are in the Christian life you need to know where you have been and where you are going. To make progress in Christ you need to understand the three phases of salvation. If you

He Is Able

Posted on October 15, 2019October 19, 2019 by Paul Tautges

Innumerable voices in the media relentlessly tell us, “You can do it!” But if we are honest with ourselves, we know deep down that we can’t. We fail often. We are not invincible. Life’s challenges reveal to us that we

60 Ways the Inerrant Word Blesses Us

Posted on September 7, 2019October 12, 2019 by Paul Tautges

Psalm 119 has been a personal favorite of mine since the early days of my Christian life, studying it was instrumental to my growth. Then, while helping to plant a church in Kansas in the late 1980’s, the Psalm became

Bearing One Another’s (Sin) Burdens

Posted on July 11, 2019March 17, 2020 by Paul Tautges

Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and