The Defeated Christian Life
By Dustin "PRiEsT"
Christians believe, but is believing enough??
Even the Demons believe and they tremble..
We must not only believe but also RECEIVE.
Believing and being baptized in water(John's Baptism) is not enough, if you do these things but do not receive God, what have you gained?? Nothing...
As believers we asked the Lord to come into our heart and shortly after we get baptized
in water(John's Baptism) as an act of obedience. The second we ask the Lord to come into
our heart he does. But for a lot of people that's where it ends. They do these first few steps and
do not continue to learn and receive God. (I know I've been guilty) God no doubt remains in their heart
but their lives can seem unfulfilled spiritually because they do not pursue any further. The enemy can
use this to bring doubt and confusion.
In order to receive we must have a burning desire to please and love God. Our love for God means
we become mindful of our actions and words, it means we pray and seek him out by
wanting to learn and having him involved in all parts of our lives. To receive means
we don't just believe with empty words but we believe and put our words into action because we
desire to please him and love him more so than anything else.
When we first ask him to come into our hearts we seek forgiveness for the things we have done. We
realize we are sinners and are in need of a savior. Sometimes people come to the Lord because they
are broken and looking for answers and this is what God wants us to do. But some do this for selfish
reasons, they may think they are doing right but deep down they do not have the intentions of
changing their ways, they only want better things for themselves.
False Repentance is Repenting because we are concerned with personal consequences of our actions/sins that will come upon us. This is selfishness and it keeps us from God and his forgiveness.
True Repentance is repenting because a overwhelming sadness comes over us because
we have hurt the heart of God. In order to truly repent we must have a relationship with God and if you have a loving relationship with someone you do not want to hurt them. So when we have a heart for God and do not wish to hurt him we try much harder to turn away from our sinful nature. That means when we are about to cuss or when we are about to speak badly about someone else or steal or lie or when we give in to lust and watch pornography. No matter what sin or vice we commit when we receive God it changes the way we see the things that we used to indulge in.That is what it takes to truly turn from your sins. Will we be perfect?? Absolutely NOT, will we be better equipped to fight the flesh?? Absolutely YES..
Jesus said that Love is the greatest commandment of all, 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"(Luke 10:27)
If we do that, everything else falls into place on its own...
