To trust God we don’t need to turn our heads from modern medicine and research. Those places aren’t God-forsaken. Even if the people’s hearts are darkened towards him, he is still powerful and gracious enough to shine through them.

Our acts of faithfulness can at times seem so personal and pertinent to only ourselves, that over time our eyes slowly turn inward. Our self-centered hearts have a habit of turning us inward, even when something is meant to drive us outward to our neighbour and upward to God. How do we keep our gaze where it’s supposed to be in this daily plodding along?

Does sanctification ever feel too slow for you? Haven’t I gone to war with enough sins? Haven’t I reached a decent level of holiness? Shouldn’t I be immune to the devil’s temptations now? Sanctification may be slow, but God remains steadfast.

There’s value in taking time to re-evaluate and ponder what someone’s words could have meant before criticizing them. We should listen to a person’s story before voicing our counsel, and hear what others may have to offer for advice first. 

In her book Idols of a Mother’s Heart, Christina Fox sets out to help mothers recognize the idols they have stored away in the corners of their hearts. But she doesn’t leave us mothers there with a pile of idols to clean up on our own—she guides mothers how to turn from those idols and back to God.

First time pregnant wife, do you know the guilt of having a messy home but being too tired and sick to clean it? It doesn’t need to stay this way. I want to offer you true change and hope from the Bible that I had to work through in those early months of pregnancy as a housewife.

You don’t need to stop warning others and pointing out false teachings in order to be gracious. You can be both a grace-filled and discerning church member simultaneously. But first, it requires remembering the grace of the gospel.