Dee: What does God expect of His people? How can we achieve the strength to live the way He wants us to?

John: Mom, I've heard you tell stories about yourself that show you weren't a polished jewel when you came to Jesus.

Harv: I'll vouch for that.

John: I think of the woman who you had resented so. Could there have been some jealousy along with anger towards her meddling?

Dee: Oooo. It's hard to think I allowed such pettiness on my part. And after I accepted Christ as Savior and made an effort to walk in obedience to Him, I came to really love that lady. Originally, I did feel justified in my attitude regarding that situation. As a Christian I needed to pray about it, asking God to direct those attitudes and behavior.

Harv: Jesus said, "If you forgive men their trespasses your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."

John: That puts a lot of responsibility on our shoulders. What if I'm justifiably hurt or angry at someone? Can I help how I feel?

Dee: Probably not. But if you ask God to help you get over these feelings, He will help. He'll even give us a forgiving heart if we ask Him.

Harv: The Christian life calls for us to grow spiritually and become more Christ-like. To do this we must be obedient in reading God's word and praying.

John: What does God want us to pray about?

Dee: Well, let's see. 1Timothy 4 tells us to thank God for our food.

Harv: Psalms 105 tells us to pray for strength.

Dee: Acts 1 says to pray for direction.

Harv: James 5 says to pray for healing.

Dee: One thing I've prayed for a lot is wisdom, especially while raising you kids.

John: Mo-om!

Harv: Philippians 4:6 covers it all by saying, "Pray about everything."

Dee: As a human being, we must eat to grow to physical maturity. So as a spiritual being, we must feed on the word of God to grow spiritually.

John: That's right. Jesus said, "Search the scriptures".

Dee: And Timothy wrote "study to show yourself approved before God.

Harv: It is necessary to conscientiously apply what we learn from the Bible to our lives, remembering that Jesus became the author of eternal salvation to all that obey him. (Hebrews 5:9)

John: Does the Bible say it is necessary to go to church?

Harv: Psalm 100:4 says to enter into his gates with praise

Dee: Psalm 96 says to give unto the Lord the glory due his name. Bring an offering and come into His courts.

Harv: Hebrews 10 says to not neglect the assembling of ourselves together.

Dee: That's pretty strong, isn't it. We really should go to church and even give a tithe or offering.

John: Dad, if a Christian leads a good moral life, is it necessary for them to tell others that he's a Christian?

Harv: It's so important that Jesus said, "whosoever shall confess me before man, him will I also confess before my Father in heaven." That makes it vitally important.

John: I see now, God tells us to read the Bible, to pray, to worship with others, to have a Christ-like attitude and to tell others about Jesus.