When our son David was young, he aspired to be a gymnast. He watched the powerful men competing in the Summer Olympic Games, performing incredible feats—holding an iron cross on the rings or executing backflips on the floor exercise. But you can’t become a gymnast simply by watching television.

David joined a team. He worked with a coach, devoting hours each week to getting in shape and practicing skills on various apparatuses. Gradually, he improved. His body gained muscle, and he learned to straddle the pommel horse, spin over the high bar, and launch into flips over the vault.

The moment you trust in Jesus, you are united with Him. He lives in you, and you live in Him—like a branch living as part of a vine. Union with Jesus empowers you to grow in Christlikeness. Because Jesus lives in you, you can be confident that He will lead you toward godly character. You are not alone.

Your growth in godliness is not a mere self-improvement project. You can be confident that change is possible because the Spirit lives in you and you are united with Jesus. Transformation happens by God’s power—but He calls us to seek it.

Knowing that God has saved you by His grace, you respond by pressing forward and training yourself in godliness to build your character. Because you trust that He is at work for you, you can work hard to grow, confident that real change is possible in Christ.

When you decide to work hard at growing your character, you may encounter objections like these:

• “God does not ask you to try hard, but to trust Him.”

• “Let go and let God change you.”

• “Your own work does not save you, nor does your own effort sanctify you.”

These teachers tend to emphasize grace and God’s power. As a result, they argue that trying hard, agonizing over changing your behavior, or exerting effort wastes time, produces no real change, and reveals a trust in self rather than in God.

But this is not true.

Effort is not the same as earning.

Are you working hard to grow your character? I hear the familiar pushback again: “But wait a minute—we can’t develop character just by human willpower. We do not work to earn God’s grace.” That is true. But remember, we work hard to become mature because God is at work in us.

Dallas Willard puts it this way: “Grace is opposed to earning, but it is not opposed to effort, because effort is action and earning is attitude.” Rightly understood, God’s grace inspires great effort.

God calls you to develop what Scripture describes as the fruit of the Spirit—nine traits that collectively reflect the character of Jesus. You may have chosen one of these traits as your focus for the year:

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”

—Galatians 5:22–23

If these traits are the Spirit’s fruit, it seems the Spirit produces them. Yet the final trait is self-control, which sounds entirely like your responsibility. So who grows the fruit—you or the Spirit?

A new year often brings renewed resolve—fresh goals, new rhythms, and a desire to grow. It’s natural to look at your life and ask, “What do I want to change this year?” As you step into 2026, remember this encouraging truth: character transformation is never something you do alone. Your growth is the beautiful partnership of your faithful effort and God’s powerful work within you.

Do you change your character through personal effort, or does God change your character through the power of the Holy Spirit? Many Christian authors emphasize one side or the other.

As you begin a new year, you can benefit from embracing both perspectives. Each highlights a vital aspect of biblical truth. Properly understood, both are true: God works in you, and you actively work out your salvation.

Do you change your character through hard work, or does God change your character through the power of the Holy Spirit? This tension threads through Christian teaching and confuses many believers.

On one side, some pastors emphasize resting in the gospel of grace. They argue that just as we are justified by grace alone, we are also sanctified—made more like Jesus—by grace alone. From this perspective, the call is to trust God rather than strive. These teachers often hesitate to use the word discipline for prayer, Scripture reading, or other habits, fearing it suggests self-powered effort. They prefer calling them “means of grace,” highlighting God’s transforming work. In this framework, the distinction between behavior modification and heart transformation becomes central: you might stop throwing things when angry, but has the anger in your heart changed?

Many dangerous lies contain a kernel of truth. In the Garden of Eden, each temptation appealed to a good and God-given desire—just twisted away from God’s design:

• Physical – to eat: “Good for food” (useful)

• Emotional – to see: “Pleasing to the eye” (beautiful)

• Spiritual – to know: “Desirable for gaining wisdom” (powerful)

The devil still works the same way today. He tempts you to fulfill healthy desires—your longing to enjoy, to admire, to understand—in unhealthy or inappropriate ways. He twists love into lust, beauty into pornography, and knowledge into self-serving power.

Paul urges believers to stay alert so Satan does not outwit us (2 Corinthians 2:11). One of the best ways to do that is to study how the enemy first deceived Adam and Eve. His tactics haven’t changed.

Satan begins by planting doubt about God’s truthfulness and goodness. Notice how subtle he is—he never directly tells the woman to disobey. Instead, he reframes God’s command:

God: “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” (Genesis 2:16–17)

Serpent: “Is it really true that God said, ‘You must not eat from any tree of the orchard’?” (Genesis 3:1)

Right from birth, we humans want things that are not good for us. King David confessed, “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me” (Psalm 51:5). You see this early on: when another child grabs your little girl’s toy, she yanks it back and shouts, “Mine!” As adults, the language becomes more polished, but the impulse is the same: “I am my own person. I do what I want.”

Scripture calls this internal pull toward rebellion our flesh. It isn’t simply our physical bodies—it’s any inclination in us that resists God. And while the flesh promises freedom, it never delivers. In fact, true happiness doesn’t come from doing whatever you want, because so much of what we naturally want leads us away from God and toward destruction.

You can’t grow in character if you’re unaware of the world’s pull. Here’s how to stay alert.

Your transformation doesn’t just impact you—it blesses your whole circle.

Godliness holds promise for this life and the one to come—here’s why that matters.

If you want a life filled with joy, meaning, and fulfillment, you’ll need to change your character to become more like Jesus. The world offers quick hits of happiness—fun experiences, material things, good food—but none of these will ever deeply satisfy.

In this new series, Bruce Miller attempts to answer some of the questions that people most often ask the internet about God. Here, he examines the evidence for the Bible. Can an ancient book be trusted to be true? 

The question about God’s existence has sparked countless debates, shaped civilisations and influenced billions of lives. In this new series, Bruce Miller attempts to answer some of the most-Googled questions about God

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” (Matthew 5:7)

In a culture that prizes strength and speed, mercy is often mistaken for weakness. But Jesus calls us to a higher standard—one that sees pain, feels compassion, and takes action. In this fifth Beatitude, we explore what biblical mercy really means, why it’s more than just a feeling, and how showing mercy to others reflects God’s mercy to us.

This post includes personal reflection, biblical context, and practical examples to inspire a lifestyle of mercy—at home, in your workplace, and with those who may never deserve it. Because mercy, after all, is never deserved—it’s freely given.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” (Matthew 5:6)

What does it mean to hunger for righteousness in a world that encourages indulging every other craving? In the fourth Beatitude, Jesus invites us to develop a holy appetite—not for success or status, but for a life aligned with God’s will.

In this post, we explore what godly hunger really looks like, why righteousness is more satisfying than anything culture can offer, and how this craving can transform your desires. If you’ve ever wondered how to grow in your faith, fight sin, or find deeper purpose, this Beatitude may be the one your soul has been starving for.