Please start at Human Being vs. Human Doing - Part I"
As I was saying in Part II, to be an effective Christian as God planned, you MUST spend time talking with your Heavenly Father in prayer...get to know His Son through the Word...let the Holy Spirit move in your life guiding you daily. To be a victorious Christian in your daily walk, you must be armed with the armor of God to defend yourself against the wiles of the enemy.
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints." Ephesians 6:10-18
If you are not being armed with the armor of God by doing reading and studying of the Word, how do you plan to defend yourself against the enemy? What is your plan of attack? Or are you still being a being still resting doing nothing?
Does any of God's Word seem to indicate that we are to be "resting" while God is doing all of the work? NO! This requires active participation on your part! I challenge you today, to stop being a lazy Christian and get busy getting to know God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit!
O God, how I love You, and thank You that your transforming words are sweeter than honey to my mouth, and life to my bones!
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Welcome to "A Heart of Worship!" This is where I post things that have impacted my life spiritually. When we embrace the concept of worship as a lifestyle, we have an opportunity to see God reveal Himself in ways we'd never dreamed possible! Although this site was initially designed for my sweet "Sisters," my dear "Brothers in Christ," I encourage you all to feel free to respond to any of my posts or to start a new thought too. God's Word applies to all of us! Blessings!
2 comments:
I am absolutely not offended and welcome the discussion. I hope that you will not be offended by my words, and even though written, I hope they come across in love.
I am one of those people who have said I am a human being and not a human doing. However, that in no way excuses bad behavior. I don’t need to believe this or anything else to behave badly. I do quite well on my own.
I also don’t believe saying I’m resting in Christ is an excuse to behave badly. The issue to me has nothing whatsoever to do with good or bad. The issue is life and death. We are either spiritually dead (NOT born again) or spiritually alive. (born again) Our behavior is only an issue to other human beings.
God judged me at the cross. I was found guilty and he paid the penalty. That doesn’t mean I won’t have earthly consequences from my choices and judgments (as to good and bad) from other people.
In part one, the last paragraph I agree with your definition of relationships. I’m not sure why you would think (or assume) that a person who depends on God, instead of self effort doesn’t desire that intimate relationship with God?
Comments for Part II & III
Absolutely the Bible is more than a book and words on a page. Its does come alive unexplainably. However, I can make a concerted effort to do the things you speak of, and have it become a meaningless ritual, where I put in my time to feel or look like a “good” girl.
I’m not saying all reading/study/prayer will be this, but could become that if we make it law. At the same time God’s spirit lives in me and is capable of speaking to me through nature, people, TV, music, things the church would consider secular, and on and on and on.
Once I am spiritually alive, I am never still because Christ is active. Am I doing the things someone has labeled ‘spiritual’ or ‘Christian’? Maybe, maybe not.
One current example is, at this time I am reading a work of fiction entitled, “The Shack.” Lucy does NOT read fiction. PERIOD! However, this book was presented to me through 3 very different sources, so I bought it. I guess you could say buying it was doing something.
However, if I had not been directed by God, I would never have purchased it. Even more remarkable than me reading fiction, is that God is speaking to me through the words in this book. Ricky and I are both reading it, and we can’t read it fast enough.
In Christ, I have everything I need for life and Godliness. If a person is truly a Christian (spiritually alive) and not just a religious person, they will never be lazy because Christ will do the work through them. So I don’t think there is a term lazy Christian. Lazy religious person, maybe.
Love you,
Lucy
Hey Lucy,
Thanks for your comments! In response to your "book" I will try to address where you have questions. :-)
In your last paragraph addressing Part I, my words were addressing the people who do nothing, but talking about resting...not a person who depends on God instead of self effort.
I absolutely agree with all of your comments about Part II and Part III, with exception to this thought:
I am not sure what you meant by "Once I am spiritually alive, I am never still because Christ is active."
And I will concede and agree that your term 'lazy religious person' is much better than my term 'lazy religious person' as it is a much better depiction of what I am speaking about.
Love you...you know you are my girl!
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