Posts Tagged ‘Christian Living’

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Articles about Christian Living

Thursday, November 3rd, 2011

articles-about-Christian-living

Here are some articles about Christian living from my own life:

Church

 

Prayer

 

Anger

 

Death

 

Walking in the Freedom of the Lord

 

How to Be Saved / Conversion

 

Parenting

 

Finding a Mentor

 

Proverbs 31 Woman

 

The Power of Words

 

Using Time Productively

 

Spiritual Warfare

 

Suffering

 

Thankfulness

 

 

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Feed My Sheep

Thursday, October 27th, 2011

feed-my-sheep

Many years ago I took an Old Testament class given by my pastor. We studied one book of the Old Testament per week, and it took a year to get through the Old Testament. I turned in Charlotte Mason summaries for each book of the Bible as it was presented. (Right before I took this class, I had read the six Charlotte Mason books and was enthralled with the idea of written narrations for personal Bible study.) I tried to think of every detail I could remember from each book, and I wrote it down in tiny print in pencil on blank sheets of paper.

Well, study for the class took between 2 to 10 hours a day. (Ten hours only happened once, the day I did Genesis.) I loved splashing into the Word of God and surrounding myself with it. It was my food and my breath. I felt like I was inside the stories.

When the class was over, I asked my pastor to please hand back my papers, because those were my only copies. He said the reason he kept them was so that his secretary would type them up for him, because the summaries gave him a fresh perspective on Scripture. I was honored that a pastor could actually learn anything from me.

After that last class was over, I heard a sermon on prayer. I realized that my prayer life was almost non-existent, and I committed to God that I would learn how to pray. Since I already had at least 2 hours for studying the Bible (usually during nap time for my tiny kids, or during an hour of outdoor play time where I would study my Bible outside on a swing or blanket), I decided that I would set aside one hour to pray before I would be allowed to read the Bible. (You can see how hard that was by reading “The Beginning of a Prayer Warrior.”)

After the month was over, I had no obligations, but I had built a new spiritual discipline into my life, and I considered it highly valuable. Well, my godly mentor rebuked me one day for spending too much time in the Word of God. I needed to spend more time being “present” with my children. She was right.

As I drove alone in the car one day to run an errand, I asked God, “So how much time do You want me to spend in Bible study?” I opened my heart to God and expected an answer. I heard (it was not audible, but an impression on my mind), “Do you love Me?” I said, “What the heck. That’s not an answer.” Then I heard it again, “Do you love Me?” “Of course I love You, Lord. What a ridiculous question.” Again I heard, “Do you love Me?” By this time I was nearly in tears. I was hurt. How on earth could He ask me if I loved Him? And then the words came, “Feed My sheep.” I sat there stunned. The Holy Spirit had confirmed what my godly mentor had said. What I needed to do was abide, and spend more time imparting to the children what I already knew. Yes, I would spend time in the Word, but that was no longer my focus. My focus was to pour the Word of God into my children.

At that point, when I studied the Word of God, it was to prepare to teach my children. (God taught me personally from what I was preparing for my children.) Many years passed this way before God gave me permission to study the Word of God for myself again.

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It was for Freedom that Christ Set Us Free

Monday, October 24th, 2011

christ-set-us-free“It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1)

The Pharisees were people who made up rules that were based on the Bible so that the rules themselves would keep people from sinning. People couldn’t be trusted to do the right thing and follow their conscience. We all know how Jesus felt about all those rules. He was violently opposed to them.

The Pharisees continually criticized people for things that they felt convinced were sins. Jesus called the people who kept the rules and looked down on the people who didn’t “brood of vipers,” “whitewashed walls,” and “tombs of dead men’s bones.” Jesus was venomous towards people who made up rules that were based on the Bible. He didn’t want those rules in place. He wanted us to yoke ourselves to the Spirit of God, and where the Spirit of God is, there is freedom. (2 Corinthians 3:17)

Well-meaning modern-day Pharisees, especially in the homeschool movement, have been putting more and more anvils on people’s backs, so much so that walking by the Spirit no longer is the main thing. Here are some of the rules:

  • Get rid of your TV.
  • Have the largest family possible, even when it means defying your husband.
  • Don’t wear clothes that draw men’s attention. Wear frumpy clothes, even if your husband is not pleased with the way you dress.
  • Don’t play any video games.
  • Alcohol is sin, even if Jesus drank it.
  • You must have family devotions, or the husband is not godly. There is no other way to lead spiritually besides this dictated, approved form.

Whoever does these things, boasts, making the people who don’t do these things feel like they are less spiritual, even if God has convicted them of the opposite. I’ve seen many people feeling deeply defeated after attending homeschool conferences, because so much is demanded of them, and the speakers have lost sight of the fact that Christ came to set us free, not to put us into bondage.

If God has actually convicted you of these things, you need to obey God. I’ve seen godly people on both sides of each of these issues. You are free to yield to God.

Modern-day Pharisees make up these rules because they correctly see idolatry in the general population in each of these areas. What they don’t understand is that when you yield freely to Christ, all the heart issues are taken care of. Seek first the kingdom of God, and all the rest will follow. We will be doing the right thing if we are led by the Spirit.

The sad tragedy is that all these rules bog people down and drive people away from God and to a form of self-righteousness where people list all the things they’ve given up and compare notes with other people. It gives people a false sense of superiority while pushing down people who so desperately want to follow Christ but give up because they feel continuously defeated.

“For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.” (Galatians 6:3)

“You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.” (Galatians 5:4)

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Is Jesus Lord of Your Life?

Friday, October 21st, 2011

is-jesus-lord-of-your-life“Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you– unless indeed you fail the test?” II Corinthians 13:5

Is Jesus Lord of your life? Many people think they’re saved when they’re not. That’s why we’re supposed to “work out our salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12-13) even though our salvation is secure (Romans 8:30). Knowing that Jesus died on the cross for your sin doesn’t mean you’re saved. Satan knows that Jesus died on the cross for sinners. He knows it for a fact. “The demons believe and shudder.” (James 2:19) So if you don’t care about sinning, if you sin on purpose and have no remorse, then Jesus is not Lord of your life.

Just in case you’ve been reading my articles and don’t understand the spiritual things that I’m saying, or if you’ve never truly given your life to Christ, I plead with you to open your heart to what I’m about to say, because it will radically change your life. When God lives inside of you, you have peace with God, and the Holy Spirit will begin to transform you. People who are truly close to God, you can see it in their faces. It’s almost like their faces are glowing. When Christ rules your life, you can be set free from the power of sin because He paid the price for it.

The first step in salvation is to understand your own depravity, the fact that you sin and are unable to stop sinning. You must recognize your own selfishness, because all sin really boils down to selfishness. You like to think of yourself as good, but you’re really not.

Then you must realize that God is holy. He has no sin. He radiates love, joy, and peace in all directions, and He is so spectacular that even the angels block their eyes in His presence. Ezekiel and John both describe rainbows coming out of Him. And anyone who stands in the presence of God gets struck dead, because God can’t endure sin.

Jesus Christ has an enormous love for you that is so huge, it can cover all the pain you’ve ever had. To know the love of Christ is so incredible, because you must realize that He died on the cross to pay the penalty for every sin you’ve ever committed. He died, was buried, and rose on the third day. This is the good news.  God is coming to judge the earth, and if Jesus is Lord of your life, this will be a time of joy. If not, it will be a time of terror.

If you would like to make Jesus Lord of your life, just start talking to God, even if it sounds weird. Blurt out whatever prayer comes out. Be honest with God, and He will meet you where you are. You don’t need a formula prayer.

“If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9

Then grab your Bible and start reading. It will come alive to you and be so exciting. I think I like “Luke” the best if you’ve never read your Bible, because “John” is too surreal for a beginner. You also need to ask God to help you find a church, or you will never grow. If you’ve been a believer for years and you’ve stopped going to church, I’m slapping you upside the head (verbally) and telling you that God requires you to go to church or you will stagnate like a cesspool. (Hebrews 10:25)

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