Have you ever wondered why life has trials and tribulations and we wonder why and how they keep coming our way? Have you ever looked back for an instant in your life and seen where you came from and what God has saved you from? Have you ever shared your life story (in a series of flashes) to someone who wants to know what's different in your life and why you are the way you are? And then see them to come to know the Lord?
Have you ever wondered what God requires from you? Have you been frustrated in your daily walk because there are temptations (sin) that you cannot escape or that you continue to do over and over? Have you ever asked aloud what does God require of my life? What does the Lord want from me? How can I conquer these temptations? The apostle Paul gives us a snapshot of the new life in Christ in the New Testament. At one point, he tells us (the reader) that what he knows he should do, he doesn't. He also states that what he should not do, he does. He let's us in on a life of a believer (a disciple of Christ) and tells us that when we come to know the Lord immediately there is a war within us: The old self (sin nature) versus our new self (we are a new creation in and through Jesus Christ). The beautiful thing about this is that God knows that we are human and knows that we sin daily (and some of us hourly or even by the minute), BUT God in his infinite wisdom gives us a Helper (The Holy Spirit). Our bodies (those that confess, repent and believe in Jesus Christ as Lord) become a temple of the living God (the Holy Spirit resides in us).
How can we live in such a way that we are in God's will daily:
- Proverbs 16:7 (ESV) 7 When a man's ways please the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.
- 1 Timothy 2:3-5 (ESV) 3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man[a] Christ Jesus,
- Ezekiel 18:23(ESV) 23 Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live?
- Micah 6:8 (ESV) 8 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness,[a] and to walk humbly with your God?
- Romans 13:10 (ESV) 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
- Hebrews 12:14 (ESV) 14 Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.
- Galatians 5:22-25 (ESV) 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.
- Romans 12:1-2 (ESV) A Living Sacrifice 12 I appeal to you therefore, brothers,[a] by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.[b] 2 Do not be conformed to this world,[c] but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.[d]
- Colossians 3:15-17 (ESV) 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
God doesn't want us to be religious, He requires us to seek His Kingdom daily. He tells us to put to death the earthly things in our lives daily. PUT TO DEATH! The Scripture doesn't ever say continue to wallow in unrepentant sin, to try to justify to a Holy God that sin is okay to continue to do and then call yourself a disciple of Jesus Christ. The Bible tells us to renew our minds, put to death sin in our lives daily, to pursue holiness, to share His gospel and to love and serve those who are in need: Widows, orphans, our neighbors and those that persecute us. The Bible calls us to choose God daily and to submit and obey to His will.
If you are living in sexual immorality and trying to call yourself a disciple of Christ something is seriously wrong. From www.Gotquestions.org, we read the following definition: "Question: "What is sexual immorality?" Answer: In the New Testament, the word most often translated “sexual immorality” isporneia. This word is also translated as “whoredom,” “fornication,” and “idolatry.” It means “a surrendering of sexual purity”, and it is primarily used of premarital sexual relations. From this Greek word we get the English wordpornography, stemming from the concept of “selling off.” Sexual immorality is the “selling off” of sexual purity and involves any type of sexual expression outside the boundaries of a biblically defined marriage relationship (Matthew 19:4–5). The connection between sexual immorality and idolatry is best understood in the context of1 Corinthians 6:18, which says, “Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body.” The bodies of believers are the “temple of the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 6:19–20). Pagan idol worship often involved perverse and immoral sexual acts performed in the temple of a false god. When we use our physical bodies for immoral purposes, we are imitating pagan worship by profaning God’s holy temple with acts He calls detestable (1 Corinthians 6:9–11)."
We are called to one body to love our neighbor as ourselves and to purse holiness. We are called to be disciples (not just followers) of Jesus Christ and to look after widows and orphans and to turn away from the ways of this world (flee sin) choose God's ways.
What are some things in your life right now that the Holy Spirit is revealing to you that you need to confess, repent and to turn away from? What are some changes (degrees) that you can turn up or down to get back into God's will for your life? For some, it may be reading the Bible more daily. For others it may be getting some professional help (Good Christian/Bible based counselors) to help you forgive and cope with daily life struggles. For others it could be more - you need medical help to overcome certain disorders that can be destructive to your life and others. Whatever the change that needs to take place - don't wait. The Bible is clear to us that we must work out our salvation with fear and trembling.
Pray, ask, seek God's will in your life and surrender to His Will. If you think you are in His will (or you know that you are not) then examine your lives with Scripture and confess to things that you need to confess, repent of such things that you are called to do and share the good news with other Christians in your lives. And we you are freed from such sins (addictions and disorder and chaos in your life) Go and make disciples and share the Good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Blessings,
Dante