The Christian life is a journey. It's not always full of consolation. Sometimes you also experience desolation. When that happens, we need to discern why. Sometimes the Lord is correcting us. But sometimes the Lord is purifying us. We need to know the difference and respond to Him accordingly.

We are called to become faithful and fruitful disciples of Jesus Christ. God's grace is more than sufficient to give us whatever we need in order to fulfill God's purpose for our lives. However, we are often hindered by our flesh in accomplishing God's will. There are four kinds of works of the flesh which are very common. We must guard ourselves against them and overcome them by faith.

The key to successful leadership is dependence on the Lord. Leaders are always faced with great challenges. They need to trust in the Lord and not in themselves in order to succeed. It's tempting to just rely on our own strengths, wisdom, or efforts to accomplish our goals. But without the Lord, leaders will not succeed.

Being a disciple of Jesus is not just about going through the motions of attending church every Sunday or attending Bible studies. Good as they are, they are not the essence of following Jesus. The essence of following Jesus is learning how to listen to Him. This is what we need to learn. Each and every day, this must be the desire of our hearts, to learn how to listen to Jesus.

Those serving in leadership, especially in the church, are constantly engaged in a spiritual battle. They are usually the prime targets of the enemy, Satan. If they fall, many are affected. They need every kind of help they can get, especially our prayers. Praying for leaders is one of the most strategic ministries that anyone can ever engage in.

Many have yet to experience real life in Christ because they are holding on to a lot of things or persons in this world which prevent them from glorifying God by surrendering to Him fully. These are called false attachments. These things or persons are not necessarily wrong or evil. But we make them more important than loving and serving God wholeheartedly. Thus, they become our idols.

Sometimes people feel frustrated because they can't hear God. They try so hard but it seems that God is silent. But is he? Often it is because we don't know how God speaks. God is always speaking to us but often we are unaware of it. So we go on our way without ever hearing God. We need to know how to listen to God by understanding how He communicates with us.

Everyone has his or her own opinion about Jesus. Unfortunately, not all of them are right or true. Some are lies or distortions from the evil one. What distinguishes a disciple of Jesus Christ is his or her true faith in Jesus as the Christ. This is the reason why he or she is following Jesus as Savior and Lord.

We are in a spiritual battle each day. Our enemies are unseen. They operate in the heavenly realms using earthly structures to destroy people's lives. We must put on our full spiritual armor and we must know how to fight our unseen enemies. This is our calling as God's people.

Serving the Lord is a privilege. But it's also a learning opportunity if we trust in Jesus who calls us to serve Him by faith. There will be many challenges and we may not know what to do in each situation. But the Lord will teach us if we abide in Him and listen to His counsel.