Category: Philippians

  • Is self-help the answer? What does the bible say?

    "Self-Help ?" superimposed

    The self-help industry is estimated to generate over $50 billion a year worldwide, with about 40% of that in North America. That tells me people know they are a mess. I have no doubt that some of that money brings at least temporary results for some people. I’m all in favor of better people.

    The problem is that very little, if any, self-help material addresses our key problem. Our problem is sin, and the effects of that sin.

    The Bible is not a self-help book, and the gospel is not a self-help program. The Bible tells of our need for God and His plan of rescue. The gospel is that plan.

    The gospel tells us that when we become believers, we are no longer the same person.

    Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 2 Corinthians 5:17

    That person no longer exists. The new creation still has problems, but we are reconciled to God and transferred into the Kingdom.

    … giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. Who rescued us from the authority of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:12-24

    That doesn’t immediately clear up all of our other problems. For that, the Holy Spirit works in us. As we draw closer to God, our behavior and character change. Our ideas about what is and isn’t truly important transform over time.

    Other than Jesus, no one has been born without sin. Adam and Eve were sinless for some short period of time, but they fell in a most spectacular way. You and I were born with a sin nature and a propensity to sin. We cannot defeat it on our own, no matter how many good works we do or how many self-help books we read.

    The Lord is our helper. The Lord is our healer. He created us in His image, and His desire is for us to be more like Him.

    We are works in progress, but we are His workmanship.

    For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. Ephesians 2:10

    He will not fail to finish what He started in us.

    For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6

    Get help where you need it, but never forget that your true help and healing is supernatural. The God of the Bible is the ultimate helper.

    Trust Him.

    Hallelu Yah (Praise God) 

    Be blessed 

    Kevin 

    You might enjoy: A progressive revelation of Heaven. Seeing Jesus more clearly every day.

    Summary:

    The self-help industry may offer temporary improvement, but the Bible teaches that humanity’s deepest problem is sin, and true transformation and healing come only through God through Jesus Christ.

    • The gospel is not a self-improvement program but God’s rescue plan that makes believers a new creation reconciled to Him.
    • Human effort alone cannot overcome sin; lasting change comes through the work of the Holy Spirit shaping believers over time.
    • Christians are God’s workmanship, and He faithfully continues the work He began in them until it is complete.

    Enjoyed this? Want daily devotionals? Subscribe today 

    Self – the source of our problems

    Adrift? Find your way back

    Two old farmers ask where is God in a broken world?

    The promised helper, the Paraclete

  • Don’t Judge Jesus by Christians

    signs pointing to people and Jesus - Dont Judge Jesus by Christians

    I frequently meet people who have given up on Jesus and the church. They tell stories of hurt and disappointment. I can only say, “Don’t judge Jesus by Christians—He is not like us.”

    The chances are good that if you have been in the church for any length of time, you have been hurt, betrayed or disappointed. A Christian friend has behaved in a most unchristian way. A pastor has said something you didn’t like or gotten some detail wrong in Scripture.

    If that hasn’t happened yet, your turn is coming.

    Christians are not perfect. I often refer to us as a “bunch of messed-up people trying to follow Jesus.” We know we don’t have our acts together, and we need God’s help.

    If perfection were the benchmark to becoming Christian, none of us, including you, could get in. There was only one perfect human being, and they nailed Him to a cross 2000 years ago.

    Don’t judge Jesus by Christians. Don’t evaluate Jesus based on me. I’m on a good day, a very dim image of Him. You need to put your faith and trust in Jesus, not His followers. He never changes and will never fail you or leave you.

    Let me say it again, “Don’t judge Jesus by Christians —He is not like us.”

    Evaluate Him based on His claims and the changes you see in yourself and others. Sometimes that change is a tiny whisper, sometimes He moves mountains. Search honestly and put Him to the test.

    Don’t be content to rely on the impressions of others or second hand accounts of who Jesus is. Study the Scriptures and let the Spirit reveal Him.

    Others have left the church because they tried “Christianity and it didn’t work.” A Christless Christianity is an empty, powerless lie. It will never fulfill what you truly need.

    The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful  2 Timothy 2:11-13

    I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:6

    Come to the cross with open arms, He is waiting for you. He will forgive your sins, make you into a new creation and begin your transformation into being everything He created you to be.

    Don’t let the failure of others keep you from the one who loves you beyond measure.

    Trust Him.

    Be blessed

    Kevin

    Streams of Living Water

    Summary

    Many abandon faith because of hurt caused by Christians, but that failure reflects people—not Christ, who remains faithful, unchanging, and worthy of trust. True faith requires engaging Jesus directly, not relying on flawed representations of Him.

    Key takeaways

    Expect imperfection in Christians. Hurt and disappointment in the church are common because believers are still unfinished.

    Judge Jesus, not His followers. He alone is perfect, unchanging, and faithful—unlike those who represent Him imperfectly. Don’t judge Jesus by Christians.

    Seek Christ personally and honestly. Don’t rely on secondhand impressions; test His claims through Scripture and experience.

    Christ remains faithful and transforms lives. 2 Timothy 2:11–13 and Philippians 1:6 affirm His faithfulness and ongoing work in those who trust Him.

    All contents, “Gleanings From the Word” and “Experience an Extraordinary God in Ordinary Life,” are © 2001, 2026 K.F. “Kevin” Corbin, “Gleanings From the Word.”

    Scripture quotations are from the Legacy Standard Bible® (LSB®), Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. 

    From Gleanings From The Word (Kevin Corbin, 2001– ), a Scripture-based devotional work.

    Interested in more about living the Christian life?

    # Right Belief Must Become Right Living