50 Days of Wisdom

We hear much about biblical counseling these days. But how did Jesus do biblical counseling? How did Jesus restore a disobedient disciple? How did Jesus shepherd a wayward sheep? How did He pastor to them? How did He lead them to sanctification and obedience? And how did He recover them for usefulness? Well, it must be a long and very complex process, right? It's going to take months, if not years, to restore a disobedient disciple. So, how did Jesus disciple a disobedient disciple? Are you ready? He asks only one question: "Do you love Me?" That's it! Now, I've heard a lot about biblical counseling and discipleship, and I've seen complexity that looks like the backside of a Persian rug. I've read endless books and seen endless paradigms on how to obtain sanctification. But how did Jesus disciple a disobedient, weak, vacillating disciple? He said, "Do you love Me?" That's shocking for its simplicity. And there's no ambiguity or mystery in that. This made me reflect on my childhood and teenage years, when all I could remember about becoming sanctified was that everyone said, "You need to believe in Jesus Christ." As I got a little older, people began to say, "You need to serve the Lord." And then, a little later, the emphasis was, "You need to witness for the Lord." So you need to believe the Lord, and you need to serve the Lord, and you need to witness for the Lord. Well, I was doing all those things, but I was not really experiencing any sanctifying power in my life. And finally, when I got into college, I was told that if I wanted power in my life, I needed to be filled with the Holy Spirit. And it was always described as being continually kept filled with the Holy Spirit. And that was a passive kind of instruction. So I said, "Okay, God, I'm here; I think I'm open. Go ahead, fill me." That shifted me into a passive mode, waiting for something to happen to me, which left me struggling for sanctification. I don't think I really understood it even when I became the pastor of Grace Community Church in 1969. But I began to understand when I came across 2 Corinthians 3:18, "As you gaze at His glory, you're changed into His image by the Holy Spirit." That's not passive; that's aggressively active. And I began to realize that my sanctification was dependent not on creating a vacuum that the Holy Spirit would fill, but on the relentless pursuit of the knowledge of the glory of Christ. I said, "There's only one way to do that; I've got to go to the gospels." Listen, I don't know what you've been taught, and I don't know what you've been told about sanctification. But I will tell you this: the clear word of Scripture is that your sanctification is directly related to your pursuit of the knowledge of Christ in all His glory. It's not passive. You must let the Word, the revelation concerning Christ, dwell in you richly. So that's what I did. And when I got to the end of John's gospel, I saw this, and I was just amazed at the simplicity of what our Lord said to recover and restore the most critical disciple of the bunch for the early church. He asked Peter only one question: "Do you love Me?" Jesus was asking him, "Have you seen enough and heard enough to love Me?" Well, I'd always known I needed to believe in Him, and serve Him, and witness for Him, but I don't think I ever thought about loving Him. But then I should have, because what is the first and great commandment? "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength" (Deuteronomy 6). And this commandment applies to Christ because God has revealed Himself to us through Christ. Therefore, what does God want from me? On behalf of Christ, He wants me to love Him with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. That's the Christian life. Sanctification is all tied to loving the Lord Jesus with all your faculties. Thus, the motive for all your sanctification and service is not complicated at all. It's just this simple: "Do you love Me?" Repent and believe! GTY.org (SC17-2) – The Transforming Effect of Loving Christ

Today's Wisdom

Day: 950

June 20, 2026

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My name is Mark Paul from Wauchula, Florida, and like the Apostle Peter said in 2 Peter 1:14, "I know that the laying aside of my earthly dwelling is imminent." Consequently, my goal is to leave a legacy that will continue to advance the kingdom of God long after I have departed. In other words, bear fruit for eternity. And by simply reading and sharing my free eBooks, you too become contributors to the advancement of His kingdom. Thank you for partaking in this endeavor, and I look forward to greeting you on heaven's shore.

The Truth in Love,

Mark Paul - Servant of God

Now grant, O Lord, that when the souls who read these books cast their eyes upon these lines, their minds may be illuminated and their consciences convinced and awakened, that they may see with their eyes, hear with their ears, and be converted so that You may heal them. Amen