All in Christian
Are you a humble person before God? Do you relinquish your will to Him in every aspect? For some of us humility is a bitter pill to swallow; we are filled to the brim with pride and see no reason to kneel. Yet scripture is adamant regarding this point... we are to be humble, and as a matter of fact we are told to be humble before God, and men, alike.
Are your eyes fixed on the things of heaven, or do you still chase after those of this world? Do you long for kingdom treasure, or the gold, silver, and riches of an earthly existence? It is so tempting for us to set our priorities incorrectly. If we see ourselves as a physical being that contains an imbedded spirit, rather than a spirit wrapped in an earthly body then we are lost. How do you envision yourself, and how do you live your life?
Do you ever wonder if you are effectively serving the Lord? Can you look at your life and see the fruit of your faith, and smell the sweetness of it as it ripens? It is wonderful when this happens and we can see our impact on the kingdom, but more often we serve Him in secret and without causing a ripple on the surface of life to show for it.
Do you find yourself longing for God? Are you at a place in your life where you feel separated from him and sit in darkness waiting on His light to shine on you once again? Maybe you have asked for His Holy Spirit to fill you, and are waiting expectantly for it, or you need an answer to some other prayer that is yet to come. However you wait upon God remember that He is already with you; that your realization of His presence is what you truly await. Remember also that you are not alone, even in this feeling.
Are you unsatisfied in your prayer life? Do you ask in prayer, and yet feel unfulfilled when you rise from your knees? Do you recite scripture in your prayers and cry out, yet leave your prayer closet feeling as though God might not have heard you? Well, perhaps you are missing a key lesson that was taught by Jesus. Maybe you need to listen as he teaches us to pray in spirit and truth.
Is the Word of God alive to you? Is the gospel of Jesus Christ breathing within your being? If we really desire the Word to come alive and to infuse us with the life that only God can provide, then we need the Holy Spirit moving within us. It is the difference between a grade school child reading “The Charge of the Light Brigade”, (the work of poet Lord Alfred Tennyson), and sitting at his feet while Tennyson himself reads the verse. The Spirit brings life to the Word for us.
When we look at our children, what do we see, and how do we see it? We look on them with our eyes, and see their physical characteristics, we observe their actions, and come to know by studying them with our minds, their character. We go further, and see their heart through the eyes of our own, and come to know their love as it mixes with ours and grows, but there is one other way we should look at our children... one that many neglect, we should see them spiritually.
Do you have a desire to be Holy? Are you on a quest for sanctification, or is just leading the life of a believer enough? We can exist on the margins of faith by simply believing God to be the one true God, and Jesus to be His Son, but if we want to move past this milk toast existence, we must fully open ourselves up to them. We must become all that Jesus teaches us of the nature of God, and we must allow God Himself to make us Holy. Holiness, this is God’s true desire for us.
What is the state of your faith today? Is it strong, well trained, and ready to run the race; or does it become winded, and lose stamina during the long marathon of life? Do you tell yourself that your faith is able to withstand anything, but lose hope at the least of life’s difficulties? If you find your faithfulness lacking, let’s talk about selecting a coach, and placing ourselves in spiritual training.
Have you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, but continue to sin? If so, how is it that you sin; is it in the midst of great regret, remorse, tears, and sweating, or freely as if you hold the king’s pardon in your hand and feel immune to penalty? How does Jesus expect us to treat sin once we have come to Him and been healed of it?
Has Jesus called you to the mountain? Have you travelled there but still have doubts about who He truly is? If this is true, then don’t feel alone. Jesus will reassure you, and He has a mission for you as well. Today we will look at the eleven original disciples that He called to the mountain, but more specifically... those that doubted once they arrived.
You read your Bible, you teach Sunday school, or you might even preach sermons, but does this make you spiritual? Are you a spiritual Christian, or are you a carnal Christian at heart? So many who follow Jesus Christ do so motivated by a worldly desire; they seek Him with their minds, and intellect... much more than relationship, and meekness, not with a spiritual inclination. Which are you, and do you even know?
Are you a practicer of the Spirit? Do you do those things of faith by utilizing spiritual gifts, and then once complete set those gifts aside, to be used another day? Or, do you possess Spiritual Grace, a state in which the gifts of the Spirit have become who you are?
You have heard of the gift of the Holy Spirit, And you see the results of it in believers around you, but despite your desire for it, you remain barren and unfilled. Perhaps you have been a Christian for a long time, and in all those years have not received the Spirit. You may have consoled yourself by saying that it will never be yours and that you will suffer on without it, but listen as God tells you to take heart, and that it is your gift as well.
Have you ever been anointed with oil? Has a Pastor, or elder, prayed over you as they took oil, and applied it to you? Did you understand what was happening at that moment, or did you think it was merely an aromatic balm, or lotion; symbolic? Anointing is a sacred practice and is Holy; in so doing the one being anointed is being made Holy, Consecrated, and being set apart. Let’s look at this further.