I get so frustrated. I believe strongly in the Lord, Jesus Christ. I believe in salvation. I believe a lot of things.
I love hearing about how people accept Jesus into their hearts. I’ll hear numbers after church camps, mission trips, or special events. “So” many people accepted Christ into their hearts.
But then I get concerned about the follow-up. Are they being discipled? Mentored? Is someone walking with them as they adjust to a new faith and belief system? Or are they left to fend for themselves? Are they floundering?
Belief is one thing. A faith-walk is all together another.
It seems to me that God did quite a bit of talking in the Bible about how we should live. And I get soooo frustrated when I see us turn our heads away from that. We ignore what God has laid out for us to do.
Christians swear. God specifically spoke to us about how we should use our mouths.
Ephesians 4:29 says “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”
Christians drink, smoke, and do things to their bodies. God specifically talked about “causing a brother to stumble” and about how our bodies are “temples of the holy spirit.”
Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble.–1 John 2:10
Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a person to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble.–Romans 14:20
Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come!–Matthew 18:7
Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own–1 Corinthians 6:19
Christians are sexually impure before marriage. God specifically spoke on purity for marriage. He actually, also spoke about purity with our eyes, hearts, and minds!
Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.–Hebrews 13:4
Christians gossip. Again – the whole “how we use our mouth” thing.
Christians dress immodestly. God spoke on modesty; which is a form of purity in my opinion and also a part of using our bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit.
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.–Romans 12:1
Christians are lukewarm. Not choosing one side over the other but walking the line. Going to church on Sundays but living life with the rest of the world Monday through Wednesday. God specifically said that if we are lukewarm he would spit us out of his mouth.
So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.–Revelation 3:16
Christians have idols. We do. We worship our career, our image, our “things” – our dreams and wishes. God specifically told us to lay everything down and worship none other but Him.
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’ ”–Luke 4:8
Christians have a hard time forgiving. God told us to forgive.
Matthew 18:21-23
21Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, howmany times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”
22Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
I don’t know how it can get any clearer than that. And I get so frustrated when I see us as believers having this beautiful gift and we are not using it to its fullest potential. It is no wonder that the world calls us hypocrites and God does not answer our prayers!
We have issues.
We are failing to make a choice. We say we believe. We say we love. But we aren’t choosing the One that we love. Not really. We give half to Him and half to the world. Never fully engaging one or the other.
What kind of a life is that? Always feeling kind of guilty but never wanting to fully depart from our faith because of our fear of God’s wrath and discipline. (Which are good things to fear!)
I say, “Choose you this day whom you will believe.” CHOOSE! Choose wisely.
No more compromise.
Shalom Donna You certainly raised some interesting issues in your post “we’re not living it “.I agree with you totally.Unfortuately since the garden of Eden mankind has been disobedient to God It’s a sad fact man has always been hostile towards God.It irrates me when people talk about ” The fall” in the Garden of Eden.With all due respect it wasn’t a fall at all when Adam and Havah fell into sin.It was a deliberate and willful act of disobedience against God.They were told clearly NOT to eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and they DISOBEYED God’s commandment.They were warned sternly by God of the consequences of disobedience namely that it would result in death,but they ignored the warning.Falls are things that happen by accidentThis was no ccident.This disobedience was a willful and deliberate act of SIN, a choice,or moral judgement. Morality, namely what people believe to be right and wrong can’t operate without FREE WILL.After eating the forbidden fruit, Adam and Havah ran away and hid in the trees in the garden.They didn’t want to face up to what they’d done.They were guilty and afraid of the consequences of their SIN.As I ‘ve said nobody wants to face their SIN. Nobody obeys God’s law (Romans 5) the law stirs up sin.The Bible says a person sins when they are drawn away and enticed by their own evil desire.Human beings according to the Bible are innately evil. God gave Moses the 10 Commandments on Mt Sinai One of the commandmets was to honour the Sabbath and keep it Holy.Very few Christians keep the Sabbath.It was given by God to Moses for us ALL Jew and gentile alike, yet Constantine wanted Sunday worship for his own reasons despite his conversion to Christianity.Yeshua came into the world and told the truth and showed amazing love and miracles,healings and forgiveness of sin and for His efforts we crucified Him. Blessings! Andrew
Shalom Everyone !Further to my last post where I touched on the subject of sin,and the grim realitythat nobodywants to face their sin.When God called Adam to account for his sin,note God held Adam accountable for his wife’s actions. Adam blamed his wife,and Havah in turn,when confronted blamed the serpent. (Genesis 3)They didn’t want to take resposibility for their actions but conveniently wanted to blame others.Note God didn’t confront the serpent,because God knew He’s just the tempter.Blaming others is just another form of running away and hiding.For God to be just condemning somethiog as a sin it has to be a choice.Where there can be no free will there can be no moral accountability!As a consequence of Adam and Havah’s sin,sin and death came into the world.God didn’t create death.Man did through his free will.Death is a natural consequence of breaking God’s laws through SIN.Ma chhosses sin of his own free will.God doesn’t make people robots. Ironically the problem of sin can’t easily be solved as nobody wants to face their sin.The greatest prophet in the bible Moses was a murderer.Once he was confronted by a fellow Israelite who had witnessed him commit a murder,of an Egyptian slave driver Moses fled to the land of Midian,Thus illustrates my point.Fleeing is running away and hiding! Just like Adam and Havah in the garden of Eden.Yet despite his sin God made Moses the greatest prophet in the bible,He even spoke to him face to face. What an amazingly gracious forgiving God we serve!Yonah was told by God to go to the city of Ninevah and preach the gospel,but he ran away and boarded a ship bound for Joppa.But God intervented sending a big fish to rescue Yonah.Inside the fish Yonah prayed to God.Ironically in a crisis people turn to God.I believe God allows suffering in Christians lives to draw them closer to Him.After the horrific 9/11 attacks in America church attendance increased drastically.In a crisis beyond our control we often see a greater need to seek Divine Guidance.I notice in a lot of movies when people are in some kind of difficulty they blaspheme the Lord’s name.They don’t say the name’s Adolf Hitler or Joseph Stalin do they?They say the only name that has any meaning or power in this world.After Adam and Havah’s sin in the garden of Eden God justly exiled them from the garden.I believe God is just in punishing sinners.If He let anyone into Haven we’d all foul up Heaven due to our sinful state.He’s amazing ,He came into the world and died a horrific death to save everyone who will receive Him as Lord and Saviour.Salvation is a GIFT! Not something we can earn as a reward for doing good.The best part about the gift is that we don’t DESERVE IT!Yeshua wants us to have faith in Him.Broadly defined faith is believing in something that cannot be proven.I find it ironic Adam and havah sinnd by eating forbidden fruit.Just as people have physical hungers for food,we also have spiritual hungers to know God our Creator. After all we’re made in His image! He’s the truth ,he can’t deny Himself!God wants us to be overcomers.He promises us in the book of Revelation if we overcome we will be able to eat fruit from the tree of Life in Heavenand live forever!It’s a sad fact although through Yeshua’s death on the crossour sins have been atoned for,throughout history Christians have always been a persecuted minority.Unfortunately in this sinful world which is hostile towards God,Christians have suffered horriffically for their faith.Dani’el was thrown into a den of lions.Paul was beheaded by Nero in Rome in 63 AD,being a Roman citizen he could not be executed by crucifiction.Cephas was crucified upside down.He also denied 3 times he knew Yeshua. Joan of Arc was burned at the stake in 1429.She claimed to hear from God,and prophesied the eventual defeat of the Englsh armies in France would occur. Christians were murdered by the Nazis in the death camps during world war 2. Doesn’t all this evil persecution of Christans throughout history say something about the state of the world?The Lord’s told us we’llhav etrouble in the world,but promised us He’s overcome the world!Salvation is His gift to us will you choose to accept or reject it ? Happy New Year to you ALL! Andrew