Let Our Eyes Be Opened!"
Are we allowing Satan into our lives without even knowing it? During my times of rebellion I allowed Satan to have a field day with me. I allowed him to use me to cause people to stumble and fall away from God. It is essential if you claim your faith as being Christian you live up to this blessing! This blog entry is going to talk about a few different things and will hopefully help your walk with Jesus Christ! It is long but worth the read.
Are You Being Deceived?
"7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."
During my rebellion time away from Christ, I was CONVINCED that I was unforgivable and that I was going to Hell. Satan had me convinced that to get back to where God accepted me was near impossible. I fell into his trap and plundered into a life filled with sin and rebellion. If you have read my testimony this included drugs, sexual immorality, cursing, coveting, rebellion, and the list goes on and on. I let Satan have a field day in my life and it affected the loved ones in my life who most cared about me. Satan placed a pair of spiritual blinders on my eyes. I knew the result of the path I was walking ended in Hell. My mindset was that if I died during that time I would have went to Hell, which is for ETERNITY. This is the first definition of eternity from dictionary.com: "infinite time; duration without beginning or
end."
Revelation 12:9 (NLT)
"9 This great dragon—the ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world—was thrown down to the earth with all his angels."
Satan is a master of deceiving, and convincing us of lies or half-truths to cause us to stumble, taking others with us, and trying to pull us into the pit of Hell. The Bible makes it very clear that ALL sins (other than blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, will go into this later) are forgivable. God forgives us for idols in our lives (is God number ONE in your life, this means over your spouse, children, EVERYONE and EVERYTHING!), for using the Lord's name in vein, for not honoring our parents (whether we think they are right or wrong we must obey! UNLESS they tell us to do something that goes against what the Bible teaches us!), for sexual immorality (any perverse sexual behavior is forgiven), for murdering, for stealing, for lying, for coveting, for ANY sin we commit! The most awesome thing is not only does He forgive us, He forgets about the sins once we repent and ask forgiveness!
1 John 1:9 (NLT)
"9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness."
Acts 3:19 (NLT)
"19 Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away."
Isaiah 43:25-26 (NLT)
"25 "I—yes, I alone—will blot out your sins for my own sake
and will never think of them again."
26 Let us review the situation together,
and you can present your case to prove your innocence." "
Romans 8:1 (NLT)
"8 So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus."
Isaiah 1:18 (NLT)
"18 “Come now, let’s settle this,”
says the Lord.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
I will make them as white as snow.
Though they are red like crimson,
I will make them as white as wool." "
Ephesians 1:7 (NLT)
"7 He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins."
The first definition of repent on dictionary.com: "to feel sorry, self-reproachful, or contrite for past conduct; regret or be conscience stricken about a past action, attitude, etc." It is true that even if we continue to do a sin and ask forgiveness and mean it with our heart we are forgiven, but don't use this to justify your sin. It is impossible for us to be neutral when dealing with the spiritual realm. We all have a master--either sin or God (Romans 6:19-22). Is is unthinkable that we would continue to allow sin to be our master when we have turned our life over to God (Romans 6:1-3). Nevertheless, our God is merciful! Not one of us is so good that we don't need God's help: not one of us is so bad that we are beyond the reach of God's loving help and forgiveness! Look at sin like a credit card with an endless credit limit. When we sin it's like swiping the card and when we repent and ask forgiveness God clears off our debt. The debt can pile up and up but in the blink of an eye we can be forgiveness and repenting we are debt, sin, free. As we grow in Christ, our credit card should be used less and less.
Are you wanting God to show you this mercy and accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior? Are you sick of living in sin and realize you are utterly helpless without His help? In the blink of an eye, your life can be changed and your eternal destination can be changed, to learn how to accept this FREE GIFT CLICK HERE!
Let us take off the spiritual blinders Satan has placed on our eyes and remember this lifetime doesn't compare in any way to a very real eternity that we will face one day! It's GUARANTEED, HELL'S FLAMES or HEAVENS GATES, the choice is YOURS! Don't be deceived by the new movement of "Universalism" either, a doctrine stating that because God loves everyone that the people who disobey and don't follow Him will be allowed into Heaven after a certain amount of suffering in Hell. This is a DANGEROUS doctrine being taught now by Rob Bell in his book "Love Wins". Among the unsaved, who wants to come to Jesus Christ if in the end they will be brought to Heaven regardless of what they do on earth? I wish this was true, I would love to see everyone united with Jesus Christ and in Heaven, I don't wish HELL upon ANYONE. It is wrong to rejoice upon seeing death of even the most evil people.
God is very loving (1 John 4:8-10), gracious (Exodus 33:19, 1 Peter 2:3) and merciful (Exodus 34:6, Psalm 67:1; James 5:11). But God is also holy (Isaiah 6:3; Revelation 4:8) and He is just (Nehemiah 9:32-33; 2 Thessalonians 1:6), and hates sin (Psalm 6:5-6; Habakkuk 1:13). God punishes the sinner (Jeremiah 50:31; Ezekiel 44:12; Matthew 25:46; 2 Thessalonians 1:9; 2 Peter 2:9; Hebrews 10:29).
This paragraph revised from: http://carm.org/hell-eternal.
"Deeper Down the Rabbit Hole"
Matthew 18:6 (NLT)
"6 But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to have a large millstone tied around your neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea."
I also want to point out to people to stop giving things expecting to get riches back from God! Stop listening to preachers telling you that if you give in faith you will receive a large sum of money back. Give money freely out of your heart because you want to bless someone. Although I enjoy this radio station, K-Love right now is on their pledge drive, I have no problem with them fund raising. However, I don't like how they ask people who can't even pay their bills to donate by faith and God will bless them. By this reasoning, shouldn't they just have faith in God and not ask for donations? If you are financially capable and feel blessed and want to donate to K-Love, by all means do it! But if you are donating out of obligation when you don't have money to do it, DON'T DO IT! If you pray about it and God tells you to donate on faith than do it, but get His confirmation before doing it. People are losing faith and falling away from God donating money to K-love and other places because they are donating money they need to pay their bills without asking God what they do in the situation. Donating money is great, but if you are having trouble paying your bills make sure you confirm with God before donating!
This does not apply to tithing, which means " One tenth of annual produce or earnings, formerly taken as a tax for the support of the church and clergy." This was the law of the Old Covenant and we are now under the New Covenant. Under the New Covenant we are supposed to give generously, but giving at least 10% of what you earn is a good guideline to follow. I personally feel your tithe should go to the church you attend, and any other money you want to give elsewhere is your decision. We should all financially support the church we go to!
2 Corinthians 9:6-7 (NLT)
"6 Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop.
7 You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.”
Proverbs 11:24 (NLT)
"24 Give freely and become more wealthy;
be stingy and lose everything."
This will be hard to take in because I know people work extremely hard for their money, but everything you think you own and all your money is God's. If you are a good steward with God's money and are obedient to what He asks you to do with it, He will bless you and you will never have more to worry about anything financially! You will only get more financial responsibility.
Deuteronomy 10:14 (NLT)
"14 Look, the highest heavens and the earth and everything in it all belong to the Lord your God."
Psalm 50:12 (NLT)
"12 If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
for all the world is mine and everything in it."
Haggai 2:8 (NLT)
"8 The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies."
Now, does being a Christian mean we won't sin or will become sinless? Not at all! The Bible makes it very clear that we all sin, it's probably hard for any of us to go ONE day without sinning. Again, don't use this to justify sinning! Don't let the guilt of Satan deceive you when you do to trick you into thinking God won't forgive you though. The last time I checked I became a Christian because I was broken, and needed Jesus Christ to pick up the pieces and put me back together! We are not perfect!
1 John 1:8 (NLT)
"8 If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth."
9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.
10 If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts."
Remember though, upon the Salvation we receive through our faith by the mercy and grace of God, we are called a NEW person (or creation)!
2 Corinthians 5:15-20 (NLT)
"15 He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.
16 So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now!
17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
18 And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him.
19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.
20 So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!”
Upon accepting the gift of Salvation or re-dedicating our lives to Christ, God isn't going to overwhelm us with things we are doing wrong and ask us to stop all our sins at once. God is merciful, and will never overburden us and Satan can never tempt us with more than we can handle (1 Corinthians 10:13).
"Even Deeper (Reality Check)"
"Live So The Preacher Won't Have To Lie At Your Funeral"
"On Judgement day You'll Wish You'd have been A Fanatic for Jesus"
Is this just for the people who are unsaved? Only a select few of people who claim to be Christians and think they are saved are. Upon Judgement day, there is going to be a very rude awakening! Is this me judging? No, this is to open people's eyes and keep them accountable to what the Word of God says. I was just as guilty during my rebellion time if not more guilty than anyone else of claiming something and living something else.
2 Timothy 3:16 (KJV)
"16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:"
There is only one way to become a Christian, that is upon Salvation that is a free gift ANYONE can accept through faith. This gift is something that no one rightfully deserves, but is only but the mercy of God (Ephesians 2:8).
Do you know for 100% FACT that you are going to Heaven? Is your eternal destination guaranteed this very moment? How is it possible for us to know we are going to Heaven? The Bible tells us we become a new person (or new creation) when we receive this gift. Upon accepting this we are to turn away from our sins and repent. We aren't expected to rid our lives in a day of all our sin. Can people only tell you are a Christian by your Facebook "religion" or do you live the life you claim? We have to take our spirit to an all you can eat buffet feeding it through the reading and studying of God's Word, spending personal time with Him through prayer, among other things. Have you limited your spirit to one item from the the McDonald's dollar menu by just feeding your spirit on Sunday at church, or are you giving your spirit an all you can eat buffet throughout the week?
There will not be a SINGLE doubt in your mind or heart that you are going to Heaven. You will know you are Saved if you have become a new creation. We can only serve one master, and by serving our sin we are not serving God. It is time to think long and hard if this microscopic amount of time we are living in now is worth serving Jesus and expanding the Kingdom of God or not. Are you living for God and His Kingdom or your Flesh?
Matthew 7: 21-23 (NLT)
"21 “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter.
22 On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’
23 But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’ "
1 John 2:4-6 (NLT)
"4 If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth.
5 But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him.
6 Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did."
3 John 1:11 (NLT)
"11 Dear friend, don’t let this bad example influence you. Follow only what is good. Remember that those who do good prove that they are God’s children, and those who do evil prove that they do not know God."
Matthew 6:24 (NLT)
"24 No one can have two bosses. He will hate the one and love the other. Or he will listen to the one and work against the other. You cannot have both God and riches as your boss at the same time."
Matthew 16:24 (NLT)
"24 Jesus said to His followers, “If anyone wants to be My follower, he must forget about himself. He must take up his cross and follow Me."
John 8:12 (NLT)
"12 Jesus spoke to all the people, saying, “I am the Light of the world. Anyone who follows Me will not walk in darkness. He will have the Light of Life.”
Ephesians 5:1-2 (NLT)
"1 Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children.
2 Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God."
Luke 6:40 (NLT)
"40 Students are not greater than their teacher. But the student who is fully trained will become like the teacher."
1 Peter 2:21-22 (NLT)
"21 For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps.
22 He never sinned,
nor ever deceived anyone."
I could go on with more verses, but I think the point has been proven. Now some might say well what about the theology "Once Saved, Always Saved." This theology is just as DANGEROUS as Universalism. The Bible is a puzzle and we must put the pieces together, we have to study it. We have to make sure a piece fits exactly and not force a piece to fit somewhere that it comes super close to fitting, forcing it in place. We need to know that the OT was written mainly in Hebrew with some Aramaic. The New Testament was translated from Greek. We used the closest English word we could for a word in those languages. Realizing they had multiple words for our words "love", "war", and many others is the key to understanding the Bible. Sometimes love or war can have multiple meanings and we have to discern which one is correct. For more information on the origin of the Bible check out: How We Got The Bible. So now let us take a look at what the Bible says against "Once Saved, Always Saved" as well as the unforgivable sin.
"Once Saved Always Saved"
No Biblical Accuracy
Let's first take a look at this verse.
Hebrews 6:4-6 (NIV)
"4 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit,
5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age
6 and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace."
IMPOSSIBLE, if its impossible for someone to be able to repent, it means they can't be forgiven, there is only one sin that is unforgivable.
The prodigal son was a great parable (Luke 15:11-32). It tells the story of a son who was once with the father, than lost, than found. This was someone who apparently had not tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, because they fell away and came back to their father who accepted them. I just have to toss out a THANK YOU JESUS FOR THIS CAUSE I AM TO BIG OF A WUSS TO SPEND ETERNITY IN HELL!
The person in Hebrews was clearly mature in there walk with Christ, he had tasted of the heavenly gift, shared in the Holy Spirit (you can't share in the Holy Spirit unless you are a saved Christian), tasted the goodness of the word of God and the coming age. An unsaved person DOES not fit into the guidelines of this verse at all, only a saved person. ONE unforgivable sin.
(impossible also known as unforgivable = same sin).
Some teach the unforgivable sin is not accepting Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. This is once again an incorrect theology.
Let's take a look at the difference in God's people.
You had the people from Adam-Moses in which there was no way to go to Heaven because there was neither a law to follow nor Salvation by faith through God's grace.
Romans 5:14 (NIV)
"14 Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who is a pattern of the one to come." (Only 2 people escaped death. Prophet Elijah was the second man to be taken to heaven in a natural body, (2 Kings 2:11), Enoch being the first (Genesis 5:24; Hebrews 11:5) Both now reside in heaven in their natural mortal bodies, having never died.)
You had the people from Moses-Jesus, before Jesus' Resurrection, who are under the law.
Romans 10:4 KJV
"4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth."
Than you have the people from Christ's Resurrection-Now who are under Salvation by faith through God's grace.
Romans 3:28 (KJV)
"28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law."
Now. When Jesus died He went into the earth and preached to the captives of paradise. How do we know this?
Luke 23:43 (KJV)
"43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise."
Let us do a word translation for paradise in Greek, because the New Testament was translated from Greek. Paradise - park IE an Eden, place future happiness. Paradise was closest English word to match to the greek definition.
But Paradise is in Heaven right? It is now yes, but during this time it wasn't.
Luke 16:22-23 (KJV)
"22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom."
Now if you would do a translation of Abraham's bosom or even ask someone who is Jewish or knowledgeable in Jewish history, they would say this is translated into "the place where the just enjoy the peace of Heaven after death", also known as paradise.
John 20:17 (KJV)
"17 Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God."
Jesus tells her he has yet to ascend to the Father (in Heaven) but is going there soon, if He didn't ascend, he had to descent.
1 Peter 3:19-20 (KJV)
"19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;
20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water."
1 Peter 4:6 (KJV)
"6 For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit."
This verse is talking about souls who were in prison (paradise, not hell) and dead, those who attempted to be faithful to God back in the days of Noah (the span of Adam-Moses).
God's nature never changes, He is fair to the people from Adam-Moses because they had no way into Heaven. God is the same today as He was than.
James 1:17 (KJV)
"17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning."
1 Timothy 2:3-4 (KJV)
"3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savoir;
4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth."
God wishes for all men to become saved. He was the same in Adam's day as He is now. Jesus died and preached to the captives who had died to give them the chance to come to Heaven. Therefore, how is it possible that the unforgivable sin is not accepting Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior when the captives didn't and God's unforgivable sin is never changing. God's nature never changed, He was fair to the people during Adam-Moses because there was no way to go to Heaven until God sent His Son to preach to them and accept Jesus as Savior (upon dying).
We can now also see paradise has moved and is now with God in Heaven. Up into Heaven instead of descending.
2 Corinthians 12:4 (KJV)
"4 How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter."
Revelations 2:7 (KJV)
"7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God."
Special thanks goes to my dad, Rodney, for explaining the above to me.
I will now get into another explanation against the "Once Saved Always Saved" theology. First let's take a look that Satan is not going to divide his kingdom by casting out demons in people. This is Jesus casting out a demon and what He says.
Luke 11:14-20 (KJV)
"14 And he was casting out a devil, and it was dumb. And it came to pass, when the devil was gone out, the dumb spake; and the people wondered.
15 But some of them said, He casteth out devils through Beelzebub the chief of the devils.
16 And others, tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven.
17 But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth.
18 If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because ye say that I cast out devils through Beelzebub.
19 And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges.
20 But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you."
Now let's take a look at believers who tried to cast out a demon. The demon says "Jesus I know, Paul I know, but who are ye?" This is showing that just because you are a believer doesn't mean you can cast out demons, you have to be walking the walk of your faith.
Acts 19:13-18 (KJV)
"13 Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the LORD Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.
14 And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so.
15 And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?
16 And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
17 And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.
18 And many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds."
Let's now take a look at what Jesus tells some people who cast out demons in His name.
Matthew 7:21-23 (KJV)
"21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."
We see that some people cast out demons in the name of Jesus. We know Satan will not split up his kingdom by casting out demons. We also see that you have to be living your life for Christ to have the authority to cast out demons. Therefore, if someone cast out demons in the name of Jesus, and you had to have Christ's authority to do it, how is it possible for the Lord to tell them "I never knew you: depart from me..." if you believe in "Once Saved Always Saved." It's not possible, you have to start living your life for Christ.
Now I don't know the point at which people change there eternal destination, and I think the Bible doesn't want us to know. I know it's not super easy to lose your Salvation because I became Saved at a young age and had 6 years of rebellion indulging in all sorts of sin, and Christ brought me back with open arms. If we knew, almost all of us would be right above the line that if we fell below would send us to hell. This is how our fleshly, human, nature is. The picture below illustrates exactly where most would be if we knew the "line to cross" from our eternal destination changing from Heaven to hell.
Satan Is Welcomed In Our Churches And Lives
Psalm 101:5 (NLT)
"5 I will not tolerate people who slander their neighbors.
I will not endure conceit and pride."
Proverbs 16:28 (NLT)
"28 A troublemaker plants seeds of strife;
gossip separates the best of friends."
Hebrews 10:24 (NLT)
"24 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works."
We are called to love, and by following the two greatest commandments will in return automatically let us follow the rest.
Matthew 22:37-40 (NLT)
"37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’
38 This is the first and greatest commandment.
39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
As Christians we are called to be considerate of other people, we should watch out what we do so we don't cause other's to stumble. Something that we may not consider a sin or feel conviction over, someone else might. We should be considerate of not doing these things when around the people who consider them wrong.
Romans 14:13-23 (NLT)
"13 So let’s stop condemning each other. Decide instead to live in such a way that you will not cause another believer to stumble and fall.
14 I know and am convinced on the authority of the Lord Jesus that no food, in and of itself, is wrong to eat. But if someone believes it is wrong, then for that person it is wrong.
15 And if another believer is distressed by what you eat, you are not acting in love if you eat it. Don’t let your eating ruin someone for whom Christ died.
16 Then you will not be criticized for doing something you believe is good.
17 For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
18 If you serve Christ with this attitude, you will please God, and others will approve of you, too.
19 So then, let us aim for harmony in the church and try to build each other up.
20 Don’t tear apart the work of God over what you eat. Remember, all foods are acceptable, but it is wrong to eat something if it makes another person stumble.
21 It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything else if it might cause another believer to stumble.
22 You may believe there’s nothing wrong with what you are doing, but keep it between yourself and God. Blessed are those who don’t feel guilty for doing something they have decided is right.
23 But if you have doubts about whether or not you should eat something, you are sinning if you go ahead and do it. For you are not following your convictions. If you do anything you believe is not right, you are sinning."
This is taken from my every man's Bible (NLT).
"At times, we may be tempted to do things that are not necessarily wrong but will lead us toward a fall. We know such activities are dangerous, but it is hard to turn away, especially if our friends are involved. We need to learn that when we feel something is wrong for us, it is wrong for us. It may not be wrong for someone else, but that is not our concern. We are responsible for our own lives. We must accept this responsibility, which includes keeping our own consciences clean. We must not only avoid sin, but we must also avoid the path that leads toward sin. This is where the people who know us can help, by holding us accountable not to follow the paths that have led us to sin in the past. God wants us to show consideration for others. Our spiritual pursuits should never cause us to be selfish. Rather, true spiritual growth will be characterized by our willingness to take others into account and show care for them. Christ, who is our highest spiritual example, came to serve others, not himself. We, too, must learn to be patient with one another. This does not come naturally. Therefore, we must seek God and ask him to help us develop the attitude of Christ when dealing with others. This will motivate us to nurture our personal relationships, showing consideration and deference toward others."
Anyone running or in power in the church, are you allowing Satan to sneak in undetected? Satan is hijacking our churches through greed! All financial as well as any other decisions MUST BE taken prayerfully before God, EVERY single decision. They aren't your churches, they are God's! The money and power are His and His ALONE! Make sure you don't allow Satan to creep in by following your own will over God's will!
Let us also stop moaning and groaning over our prayers not being answered. Before praying, pray that anything that would cause your prayer from being heard by God to be bound in the name of Jesus Christ. Than instead of complaining and praying the bad (I.E.- Jesus why is my kid still rebelling, are you ever going to bring him back to You!?) and pray the good into their lives (I.E.- Jesus thank you for what you plan on doing in my kids life, thank you for the changes you are going to make and the Godly person (s)he will become!). Use these types of prayers to speak the change into your children's lives (or friends, or your own) , our tongue can speak blessings and curses. are you actually speaking curses into their lives? Also if you tell someone you are going to pray for them, keep your word and pray for them! Don't encourage someone by saying something your not going to do.
It's not going to be easy overcoming these things, its impossible to overcome by our own will, but through prayer and admitting your problems Jesus Christ would love to help you out! Let's spread the love of Christ and show people that being a Christian can be fun and awesome and a joy that can only be achieved through Jesus Christ!
My End Thoughts
We have to realize, we could die at any second, and it's to late to change our ways and turn our lives to God once our eternal destination is chosen. Don't let Satan blind you by showing you the "sinful pleasures" and make you forget that you are here for a limited time. This small time on earth is not worth risking your Salvation for eternity. Not to mention none of us know when the Rapture will come, but as sure as the sun sets it will come! Don't be caught with your pants down! Create the personal relationship with Jesus Christ that He wants from you and spread the Good News whenever you get a chance! You never know if the people you come into contact with might only be able to hear the Gospel from you before they die. Take advantage of every opportunity!
I am not perfect and here to point fingers. I also have people keeping me accountable, for I am not and never will claim to being sinless. A few weeks after I re-dedicated my life I caught myself constantly researching what is evil in this world. Some stuff is clearly evil, but we need to stop giving Satan so much credit. Yes, he is smart and knows what he is doing but he isn't omnipresent and God has set limits on him. I noticed instead of creating a closer relationship with Christ myself, I wanted to point out other peoples flaws. We are allowed to teach others, but make sure you do it lovingly and not condemningly; we are not Pharisees and we all sin!
Also, a couple times I allowed Satan to catch me off guard while I was vulnerable with some lustful thoughts, and let my mind dwell which lead me to looking at porn. Since than I have added the x3watch accountability program to my computer. I fasted Friday 13,2012 all day and have kept in prayer over it and have been fine since thanks to God! (I will be honest I was called by some of my Godly Family to help do something quick and I ended up eating a mint, the small hard ones without thinking. Oopsie lol! It was my hearts desire that mattered.) I have been learning when we fail to not let guilt overtake us and change the direction on God's path. You can be just as close to God before sinning as you are after when you ask forgiveness and repent. There doesn't have to be days or hours of guild, but Satan loves when we think there does! Don't use this to keep indulging in sins, because indulging in our sins whenever we want leads to spiritual death!
I am not broken of being judgmental and gossiping. That is what I am praying about in my life right now. Anyone who wants to keep me in prayer over lust, my judgmental heart, and gossiping I would greatly appreciate it! Let us all learn to love each other and look out for each other!
In conclusion, let me ask you a personal question (revised from my daily devotional Prime Time With God)! In Hell is there a "Wanted: Dead or Alive" poster with your name and face on it? Does Hell consider you to be a danger? Do you cause havoc and problems for Satan and his legion of demons? Is Satan's agenda on earth being pushed back by you? Make it your prayer that you would grow closer to Jesus Christ and stand up and spread His Good News and get your own "Wanted" poster in Hell! Let the Lord have your heart! God Bless!
Note: Blog Entry published on 4-17-2012.
| Daily Devotional Thought | Challenge of the Month |
| Articles | Short Inspirational Stories | Site Updates |
To contact me for any reason please email me at:
[email protected]