…we are growing in our character every day. The question is, in which direction are we growing? Are we growing toward godly character or ungodly character? Are we growing in love or selfishness, in harshness or patience, in greed or generosity, in honesty or dishonesty, in purity or impurity? Every day we are training ourselves in one direction or the other by the thoughts we think, the words we say, the actions we take, and the deeds we do.
– Jerry Bridges in The Fruitful Life
The fruit of the Spirit is fundamentally relational. Rather than originating with us, it flows to us from our union with Christ, and it flows beyond us to bring us into fellowship with others. The secret of this flow – and our unity with God and others – is humility.
– Jerry Bridges in The Fruitful Life
Transforming Grace – Jerry Bridges
I have recently finished reading this book again. It was my third time through. Some authors write their own ideas and attach a few Bible verses. Others start with Bible verses and move to their own ideas. Few write immersed in Scripture like Bridges does. In this book, Bridges gives us an in-depth Bible study on God’s grace. He covers God’s grace in saving us from our sins, his grace that makes us holy, his grace that enables us to serve, and his grace in the midst of trials. In the context of this blog, it is God’s grace that both enables and motivates us for three passion living. So grace is an important reality for us to know more and live in more. If you haven’t read this book, pick it up! If you have have, you might find it useful like I did to read it again.
It is difficult for us to see God’s hand of love in the adversities and heartaches of life because we persist in thinking, as the world does, that happiness is the greatest good. Thus we tend to evalute all our circumstances in terms of whether or not they produce happiness. Holiness, however, is a greater good than happiness, so God arranges and orchestrates circumstances to produce holiness before happiness. He is more concerned about our eternal than or our temporal welfare and more concerned about our spiritual than our material welfare. So all the trials and difficulties, all the heartaches, disappointments, and humiliations come from his loving hand to make us partakers of his holiness.
– Jerry Bridges in Transforming Grace
Brian J. Mikul 