It is mid-autumn as I write, and another year is dying before our eyes. The greenery of June has faded and changed into the colors of decay. At the merest breath the leaves loosen and fall to the ground like rustling rain. The wind gathers them in circles on the lawn, or scatters them in the clouds, or drive them along the open road. Helpless and worthless-the remains of the glory of summer soon to be buried out of sight-the withered leaves affect one with sadness and sympathy. They are a parable of human life, which also has its fleeting seasons and its final disappearance. First comes the spring-time, when the buds burst on the the branches, and life is a boundless possibility; then follows summer, when life rises to its fulness and strength; by-and-by autumn checks the flow of sap, and begins to detach us from life; and, last of all, winter, with a timely kindness, covers our lives and our faults beneath the cold pure snow. For a day our neighbours speak of us; for a short while man who served with us in the great enterprise of life miss our presence; for a longer time our friends will recall us; and all her life, till the faithful heart grows cold in death, a woman will keep our memory green. Then the last who knew us will also be covered by the snow, and our remembrance will cease the earth.
While we was in Grand Rapids, we visited a store called "Bakers". It is a wonderful christian book store that I could easily get lost in and not mind one bit,there are books apon books, the best part is the used sections. As I was checking out all the authors, I came across a book Called "The Life of the Master", by John Watson. The book is 100 years old and still in pretty good shape. I paid $8.50 for it, Thank You Lord!
What I posted above is from the book and I wanted to share with you all. As I read it, I thought to myself that I guess I am in the Autumn, of my life. I have fewer days ahead of me, then I do behind me and realizing this, I have fewer days ahead of me to share Christ Crucified, fewer days to be that example that Christ wants me to be, fewer days ahead before I meet my Maker, my Lord, My Master. When it is time for the winter to come, I want to be the child of God that the Lord will say Well done my fine servant, well done. I would like to have folks that knew me, know that I knew Christ and know that I loved Him with all my heart.
Thank you Lord for taking this wretched soul and making me your child. May I honor you for the Season, I have left in my life.
Cristina
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
TRUSTING
Lord I need thee every hour...
I think we all have a time or times in our walk with Christ where we have a hard time trusting in the Lord. I hope I am not coming across like I am looking for attention, or any pity, I am not…
I have to be honest about my prayer life, I use to have a hard time asking folks to pray for me because I felt I was seeking attention, when the truth is Attention is the last thing I ever enjoyed. I have always been shy, the funny thing is my husband is the total opposite of me, he is very out going…anyway back to praying and trust. There has been a lot going on in my families life this past 6 months with illness and it has been hard on the family. We are a close family and when one is hurting, we all hurt. As far as I know I do not think anyone in my family knows the Lord, my youngest sister says she does but I am not 100% sure.
Also, my husband and I have been feeling a lot of stress with our jobs in the past year, my husband is a Traffic Manager for a Medical company and also the Facilities Manager. Also when the Warehouse Manager is away from the office (Vacation, out of town, on courses etc) my husband is expected to fill his position. In the past year my husband is getting more stressed and tired and it worries me. My job has got stressful this past year because one of my families is a single parent family and the father, who has the children, had to go on Afternoon shifts and so I have his children from 12 noon Monday until Friday each week. And I have to be honest I am really feeling so tired. I am doing this because the mother of his children is not in the picture very much. I finally had to tell him today that I can not do this anymore come September and that was so hard to do because I've had these 2 children in my care since they were babies. The boy is almost 10 and the little girl is 6.
With all this going on, my husband and I are starting our vacation this Friday and we had planned to go Grand Rapids for 4-5 days and we really do not know what to do? It is so hard to go away with problems happening at home. I know my family and friends tell us GO, GO, but I am going to be honest, it is so hard to go…..I know I have to trust the Lord, but in situation I am really finding it hard to go and enjoy myself and not worry.
Please pray for me and my family and about our time away, Jim and have not been away together since we were first married, 24 years ago, I know we both really need this so much..and the trials that have faced my family this past week have made me realize How much I need to draw strength from the Lord..I am so tired.
Cristina
I think we all have a time or times in our walk with Christ where we have a hard time trusting in the Lord. I hope I am not coming across like I am looking for attention, or any pity, I am not…
I have to be honest about my prayer life, I use to have a hard time asking folks to pray for me because I felt I was seeking attention, when the truth is Attention is the last thing I ever enjoyed. I have always been shy, the funny thing is my husband is the total opposite of me, he is very out going…anyway back to praying and trust. There has been a lot going on in my families life this past 6 months with illness and it has been hard on the family. We are a close family and when one is hurting, we all hurt. As far as I know I do not think anyone in my family knows the Lord, my youngest sister says she does but I am not 100% sure.
Also, my husband and I have been feeling a lot of stress with our jobs in the past year, my husband is a Traffic Manager for a Medical company and also the Facilities Manager. Also when the Warehouse Manager is away from the office (Vacation, out of town, on courses etc) my husband is expected to fill his position. In the past year my husband is getting more stressed and tired and it worries me. My job has got stressful this past year because one of my families is a single parent family and the father, who has the children, had to go on Afternoon shifts and so I have his children from 12 noon Monday until Friday each week. And I have to be honest I am really feeling so tired. I am doing this because the mother of his children is not in the picture very much. I finally had to tell him today that I can not do this anymore come September and that was so hard to do because I've had these 2 children in my care since they were babies. The boy is almost 10 and the little girl is 6.
With all this going on, my husband and I are starting our vacation this Friday and we had planned to go Grand Rapids for 4-5 days and we really do not know what to do? It is so hard to go away with problems happening at home. I know my family and friends tell us GO, GO, but I am going to be honest, it is so hard to go…..I know I have to trust the Lord, but in situation I am really finding it hard to go and enjoy myself and not worry.
Please pray for me and my family and about our time away, Jim and have not been away together since we were first married, 24 years ago, I know we both really need this so much..and the trials that have faced my family this past week have made me realize How much I need to draw strength from the Lord..I am so tired.
Cristina
Monday, July 16, 2007
SURRENDING TO GOD
When we surrender to God, we are are saying that what we "own" actually belongs to Him. By surrendering to God, we are saying, "He is in control of our every move."
We can not do it on our own.
Romans 8:7-8 "For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God's law; indeed it cannot, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God."
Every Christian faces two very deadly enemies each and every day. The first enemy is our carnal nature and the second enemy is the devil. Every day our carnal nature is a self resurrecting monster which begs for attention. And the devil knows this. Our carnal nature demands to be first and the devil preys on this. And this happens each and every day of our lives. That is why Paul said he had to put his carnal nature to death every single day.1 Corinthians 15:31, "I die every day." We can only do this by surrending to Christ.
1 John 1:5. "God is light, and there is no darkness at all when in union with him."
Psalms 85:13 "Righteousness will go before the Lord, and he will make a path for my steps."
I surrender all
Spurgeon, "Weak Hands and Feeble Knees"
Bring all you have and give it
entirely unto God, and say,
"There, Lord, I surrender all to you;
do with me as you will;
take away from me what you will;
give me what you please;
or withhold what you choose.
I leave all in your hand;
I can trust you entirely;
I know you will make no mistake;
I know you will not treat me harshly;
I leave all to you;
without word, or thought, or wish,
I surrender all."
Christians who love and obey the Lord will be led to the joyous certainty that, "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him."
For those that fully surrender, verses like Psalms 143:10 become very important. "Teach me to do Your will, For You are my God.
Isaiah 41:10 “Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”
Isaiah 41:13 "For I, the Lord your God, am grasping your right hand. I am the one saying to you, Do not be afraid for I myself will help you."
Andrew Murray quoted in his book "Absolute Surrender" ...separate from the world; we are called to come out from the world that hates God. Come out for God... given up... by divine grace... acknowledge that you have grieved the Holy Spirit by your self-will, self-confidence, and self-effort. Bow humbly before Him in the confession of that, and ask him to break the heart and to bring you into the dust before Him. Then, as you bow before Him, just accept God's teaching that in your flesh "there dwelleth no good thing," and that nothing will help you except another life which must come in. You must deny self once for all. Denying...Isn't that the truth..
John 5:30,states, "I can do nothing on my own".
Romans 6:13 Nor must you surrender any part of yourselves to sin to be used for wicked purposes. Instead, give yourselves to God and surrender your whole being to him to be used for righteous purposes
...humble ourselves. ...There is deliverance. ...death was the path to glory for Christ... --death to self, and fellowship with Christ
Cristina
Thursday, July 12, 2007
JUST A LITTLE HUMOR
THE PAINTERThere was a painter named Wayne who was very interested in making a penny where he could, so he often thinned down his paint to make it go a wee bit further.
As it happened, he got away with this for some time, but eventually the Baptist Church decided to do a big restoration job on one of their biggest buildings.
Wayne put in a bid, and, because his price was so low, he got the job.
So he set about erecting the scaffolding and setting up the planks, and buying the paint and, yes, I am sorry to say, thinning it down with turpentine.
Well, Wayne was up on the scaffolding, painting away, the job nearly completed, when suddenly there was a horrendous clap of thunder, the sky opened, and the rain poured down washing the thinned paint from all over the church and knocking Wayne clear off the scaffold to land on the lawn among the gravestones, surrounded by telltale puddles of the thinned and useless paint.
Wayne was no fool. He knew this was a judgment from the Almighty, so he got down on his knees and cried:
"Oh, God, forgive me; what should I do?"
And from the thunder, a mighty voice spoke...
(you're going to love this)
"Repaint! Repaint! And thin no more!"
Cristina
Saturday, July 07, 2007
DO YOU SEE A DIFFERENCE?
John Angell James (June 6, 1785 - October 1, 1859) wrote this.I look at the church today and think, this is what is needed to be heard, today.
"For I have given you an example that you also should
do just as I have done for you." (John 13:15)
It has long been my conviction, that there is a great
deficiency in evangelical churches--of the practical
enforcement of Christian duties in detail; especially of
what may be emphatically called the Christian virtues
--the passive graces of the Christian character, the
exercise of brotherly kindness and love.
It is not so acceptable to have all the special and difficult
duties of the Christian's life, or man's conduct to his fellows,
set clearly before the understanding and enforced upon the
conscience. Men do not like to be followed through all the
labyrinths of the heart's deceitfulness, beaten out of every
refuge of lies, and made to feel the obligation to love where
they are inclined to hate; and to forgive where they desire
to revenge.
And we ministers pander too much to this taste. The pulpit
has not done its duty. We have preached to the intellect, to
the imagination, and to the taste--but not enough to the
heart and to the conscience. In our endeavor to please, we
have not been sufficiently intent upon the greater object--to
profit. We have not preached justification too much--but
sanctification too little. We have urged faith--but not love. We
have descanted upon the evil of licentiousness, and falsehood,
and dishonesty, and covetousness--but have said far, far
too little about malice and bitterness. We have urged men to
zeal and liberality--but not enough to humility, forbearance,
and forgiveness. We have rightly led men to view the cross of
Christ--but we have not sufficiently urged them to take up their
own cross. We have properly entreated them to view Jesus as
their Righteousness--but not sufficiently as their Example.
O, Christians . . .
study that wondrous character,
contemplate that illustrious pattern,
dwell upon that beautiful model,
until the frosty incrustations of your cold, hard
heart have all melted, like icicles before the sun!
How wonderful and how ennobling is the conception, and what an ambition should it raise in the mind of the Christian, to consider and say, "Men may see something of God in me!" Yes, we
can teach them what God is, as to His moral character, and let them see in 'our merciful disposition' a ray of the infinite sun of His own glory.
These sweet relentings of our nature, these soft and genial currents of our soul, these effusions of love--these, we can remind them, are but the overflowings of His goodness, His own love, into our hearts, and the reflection of His infinite mercy to us.
"The one who says he abides in Him should walk
just as He walked." (1 John 2:6)
"Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example,
so that you should follow in His steps." (1 Peter 2:21)
"For I have given you an example that you also should
do just as I have done for you." (John 13:15)
It has long been my conviction, that there is a great
deficiency in evangelical churches--of the practical
enforcement of Christian duties in detail; especially of
what may be emphatically called the Christian virtues
--the passive graces of the Christian character, the
exercise of brotherly kindness and love.
It is not so acceptable to have all the special and difficult
duties of the Christian's life, or man's conduct to his fellows,
set clearly before the understanding and enforced upon the
conscience. Men do not like to be followed through all the
labyrinths of the heart's deceitfulness, beaten out of every
refuge of lies, and made to feel the obligation to love where
they are inclined to hate; and to forgive where they desire
to revenge.
And we ministers pander too much to this taste. The pulpit
has not done its duty. We have preached to the intellect, to
the imagination, and to the taste--but not enough to the
heart and to the conscience. In our endeavor to please, we
have not been sufficiently intent upon the greater object--to
profit. We have not preached justification too much--but
sanctification too little. We have urged faith--but not love. We
have descanted upon the evil of licentiousness, and falsehood,
and dishonesty, and covetousness--but have said far, far
too little about malice and bitterness. We have urged men to
zeal and liberality--but not enough to humility, forbearance,
and forgiveness. We have rightly led men to view the cross of
Christ--but we have not sufficiently urged them to take up their
own cross. We have properly entreated them to view Jesus as
their Righteousness--but not sufficiently as their Example.
O, Christians . . .
study that wondrous character,
contemplate that illustrious pattern,
dwell upon that beautiful model,
until the frosty incrustations of your cold, hard
heart have all melted, like icicles before the sun!
How wonderful and how ennobling is the conception, and what an ambition should it raise in the mind of the Christian, to consider and say, "Men may see something of God in me!" Yes, we
can teach them what God is, as to His moral character, and let them see in 'our merciful disposition' a ray of the infinite sun of His own glory.
These sweet relentings of our nature, these soft and genial currents of our soul, these effusions of love--these, we can remind them, are but the overflowings of His goodness, His own love, into our hearts, and the reflection of His infinite mercy to us.
"The one who says he abides in Him should walk
just as He walked." (1 John 2:6)
"Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example,
so that you should follow in His steps." (1 Peter 2:21)
Thursday, July 05, 2007
HOPELESSNESS WITHOUT CHRIST
There is so much pain throughout the world and hopelessness-without Christ.When I open up the Newspaper or go to the New's Site on the internet, all I see is hopelesness. Wars, Famine, Murder, Forest Fires, Floods, Earth Quakes etc.
There are so many folks wondering why is this happening? What am I going to do if it happens to me? Who is going to help me? Christ is the only answer, in HIm we will find comfort and safety, only in HIM will we not feel all alone, Only in HIM will we find Eternity.
There is so much happening all around us, so many folks suffering and are in need of Hope....only found in Christ.
Psalm 46:1, "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble."
When darkness veils His lovely face, I rest on His unchanging grace.
In every high and stormy gale, my anchor holds within the veil.
His oath, His covenant, and blood, support me in the whelming flood.
When every earthly prop gives way, He then is all my Hope and Stay.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand; all other ground is sinking sand.
My heart broke watching this clip, there are so many hurting people...
Cristina
Monday, July 02, 2007
I was thinking of doing a Post on self-reliance and the effect it has on a believer, when I came across this and thought how appropriate....I encourage you to read this, it is very, very good.
Disappointment With God
Many church people seem to be saying with their actions what they would never admit with their mouths. Even the expressions on their faces suggest that they are unhappy and bored. Their behavior makes it difficult to believe that their faith gives them any real satisfaction. How can others be expected to trust a God who hasn't lived up to the expectations of His followers? One answer offered by the Bible is that some who claim to be followers of Christ are not authentic. For a while they look genuine. But they are not (Matthew 7:21-23; 13:24-30; 1 John 2:18-19). The infiltration of impostors, however, is not the whole story. The Bible does not hide the fact that real people of faith also have been disappointed with God. Both Old and New Testaments give examples of people who were distraught and even angry with God because He allowed them to suffer circumstances they expected Him to protect them from (Numbers 14:1-4; Psalm 73 ).
Distraction
Under pressure, and even in times of prosperity, real Christians can be distracted from the confidence that their ultimate well-being doesn't lie in the hands of other people or circumstances. Because of ever-present diversions and distractions, the Bible urges the people of God to renew their minds continually by remembering what God has done for them (Romans 12:1-2). The Scriptures urge believers to keep their hope and faith alive by stirring up the memories of what they already know (see 2 Peter 1:1-15). The reason is clear. A lack of basic Christian behavior can often be attributed to a critical lapse of memory (Deuteronomy 6:10-12).
Dangerous Relationships
Jesus was known by the company He kept. He ate and drank with people other religious leaders wouldn't think of associating with. But Jesus did not eat and drink with such people because He was attracted to their way of life. He did it to be the best friend a sinner ever had. With the wrong motives, the relationships He cultivated would have been dangerous. Without His strong and loving purposes, the accusation that He was a "friend of sinners" would have been more damaging. His own apostle Paul would later write, "Do not be misled: 'Bad company corrupts good character.' Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning" ( 1 Corinthians 15:33-34 NIV ). Even the wise King Solomon paid dearly for such forbidden relationships ( 1 Kings 11:1-13). The resulting confusion caused him to act like someone who had never known God ( Ecclesiastes 1-12).
Unchanged Tendencies
Genuine Christians have made decisions of faith that signal a change of direction in their thinking about God and themselves, but they have not overcome their struggle with self-centeredness. Neither are they morally superior to non-Christians. Their capacity to be self-centered remains unchanged (Romans 7:14-25). The downward pull of desire remains as predictable as the law of gravity. When real Christians stop living under the influence of the Spirit and the Word of God (Galatians 5:16-26), it becomes as natural for them to revert to self-interest as for a kite to drift slowly to earth when the wind stops blowing.
Self-Reliance
The God of the Bible asks His people to trust Him on His terms rather than their own. He urges them not to rely on their own understanding but to use their best judgment and sense of reason to rely on Him. He invites His children to let Him live His life through them. Those who forget this principle of God-dependence fail in practice to distinguish themselves as genuine Christians. Even the original disciples of Christ learned about the danger of self-reliance the hard way. On the night of Jesus' arrest, one of His closest followers, a tough-minded fisherman named Peter, announced that he was ready to follow his teacher to prison or to death (Luke 22:33). But within a few hours, he found himself denying repeatedly that he even knew the man from Galilee.
Prayerlessness
His mistaken confidence was recorded for our warninLook-alikes have a reputation for being hypocritical in their prayers (Matthew 6:5-8). People of genuine faith use prayer, not as a means of impressing others but as an honest means of giving thanks, confessing sins, and asking for direction and help. They know that prayerfulness is not optional for anyone who wants to develop a personal relationship with God. When followers of Christ do not show their dependence in prayer, they can end up acting like anyone else (James 4:1-6). Jesus warned His disciples about this likelihood on the night of His arrest. Pausing from His own struggle in prayer, He urged, "Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak" (Matthew 26:41). They didn't understand. They slept instead of praying, and within a few hours all had abandoned Him.
Carelessness
King David was a man of authentic faith. By his love for the law of God, he distinguished himself as someone committed to avoiding moral and spiritual failure (Psalms 1; 119:11). The Bible itself acknowledges that he was a man after God's own heart (Acts 13:22). His record of spiritual accomplishments, however, did not keep David from becoming an adulterer and murderer. One night, as others fought his battles, and as he stood in apparent security on his own palace rooftop, David used the power of his office to pursue another man's wife. In an unguarded moment, David discovered the meaning of the statement, "Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall" (1 Corinthians 10:12).
An Unexamined Heart
As a teacher of the heart, Jesus reminded us that unexamined motives can result in complicated forms of self-deception. Many years earlier, the prophet Jeremiah acknowledged the dangers of "inner darkness" when he wrote, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?" (Jeremiah 17:9). Modern psychology has confirmed our tendency to avoid emotional pain through subtle forms of transference and denial. It has documented habits of the heart by which we attempt to blunt the pain of real or false guilt. Psychology, however, cannot change the heart. We all have reason to join King David in his prayer: "Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting" (Psalms 139:23-24).
An Unseen Enemy
The people of Christ have a spiritual enemy who is attempting to confuse them and neutralize their impact. This adversary is fighting a war of attrition. There are many casualties. Countless numbers of real Christians are rendered ineffective by one who is far more subtle and clever than they think. While he can't make Christians sin, he and his demons are constantly looking for weaknesses that give him an inroad into the lives of genuine believers (Ephesians 4:27; 6:10-20). Like a predatory animal, he looks for vulnerable prey (1 Peter 5:8).
A Lack Of Accountability
People don't develop into spiritually mature persons by doing what comes naturally. Neither do they grow in Christlikeness by being left to themselves. Even the strongest Christians were never meant to go it alone. Jesus taught His disciples not just to make converts, but to train them thoroughly in His ways (Matthew 28:19-20). A few years later, the apostle Paul likened followers of Christ to a human body where all members are dependent on one another (1 Corinthians 12). While many in our day have developed a spirit of independence, such an attitude does not reflect the original intent of Christ for His church. He made it clear that He calls people not only to Himself, but also to one another.
You're Not Alone
You're not alone if you doubt the genuineness of church people who do not act like followers of Christ. Keep in mind, however, that it's wrong to assume that people who claim to be Christians aren't authentic just because their current behavior doesn't measure up to their claims.
The good news is that God saves people by grace (undeserved kindness) on the sole condition of faith in His Son (Ephesians 2:8-10). While there is never a good excuse for any genuine Christian to live in sin, the fact that God saves people who sin against Him both before and after they believe in His Son is good news for all. If God can save people like this, He can save us as well. He offers forgiveness and eternal life to all who will acknowledge how wrong they have been to live independently of Him. He offers heaven to all who will believe that Christ died for their sins, and that He rose from the dead to live His life through anyone who believes (Romans 4:5).
RBC Ministries
Disappointment With God
Many church people seem to be saying with their actions what they would never admit with their mouths. Even the expressions on their faces suggest that they are unhappy and bored. Their behavior makes it difficult to believe that their faith gives them any real satisfaction. How can others be expected to trust a God who hasn't lived up to the expectations of His followers? One answer offered by the Bible is that some who claim to be followers of Christ are not authentic. For a while they look genuine. But they are not (Matthew 7:21-23; 13:24-30; 1 John 2:18-19). The infiltration of impostors, however, is not the whole story. The Bible does not hide the fact that real people of faith also have been disappointed with God. Both Old and New Testaments give examples of people who were distraught and even angry with God because He allowed them to suffer circumstances they expected Him to protect them from (Numbers 14:1-4; Psalm 73 ).
Distraction
Under pressure, and even in times of prosperity, real Christians can be distracted from the confidence that their ultimate well-being doesn't lie in the hands of other people or circumstances. Because of ever-present diversions and distractions, the Bible urges the people of God to renew their minds continually by remembering what God has done for them (Romans 12:1-2). The Scriptures urge believers to keep their hope and faith alive by stirring up the memories of what they already know (see 2 Peter 1:1-15). The reason is clear. A lack of basic Christian behavior can often be attributed to a critical lapse of memory (Deuteronomy 6:10-12).
Dangerous Relationships
Jesus was known by the company He kept. He ate and drank with people other religious leaders wouldn't think of associating with. But Jesus did not eat and drink with such people because He was attracted to their way of life. He did it to be the best friend a sinner ever had. With the wrong motives, the relationships He cultivated would have been dangerous. Without His strong and loving purposes, the accusation that He was a "friend of sinners" would have been more damaging. His own apostle Paul would later write, "Do not be misled: 'Bad company corrupts good character.' Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning" ( 1 Corinthians 15:33-34 NIV ). Even the wise King Solomon paid dearly for such forbidden relationships ( 1 Kings 11:1-13). The resulting confusion caused him to act like someone who had never known God ( Ecclesiastes 1-12).
Unchanged Tendencies
Genuine Christians have made decisions of faith that signal a change of direction in their thinking about God and themselves, but they have not overcome their struggle with self-centeredness. Neither are they morally superior to non-Christians. Their capacity to be self-centered remains unchanged (Romans 7:14-25). The downward pull of desire remains as predictable as the law of gravity. When real Christians stop living under the influence of the Spirit and the Word of God (Galatians 5:16-26), it becomes as natural for them to revert to self-interest as for a kite to drift slowly to earth when the wind stops blowing.
Self-Reliance
The God of the Bible asks His people to trust Him on His terms rather than their own. He urges them not to rely on their own understanding but to use their best judgment and sense of reason to rely on Him. He invites His children to let Him live His life through them. Those who forget this principle of God-dependence fail in practice to distinguish themselves as genuine Christians. Even the original disciples of Christ learned about the danger of self-reliance the hard way. On the night of Jesus' arrest, one of His closest followers, a tough-minded fisherman named Peter, announced that he was ready to follow his teacher to prison or to death (Luke 22:33). But within a few hours, he found himself denying repeatedly that he even knew the man from Galilee.
Prayerlessness
His mistaken confidence was recorded for our warninLook-alikes have a reputation for being hypocritical in their prayers (Matthew 6:5-8). People of genuine faith use prayer, not as a means of impressing others but as an honest means of giving thanks, confessing sins, and asking for direction and help. They know that prayerfulness is not optional for anyone who wants to develop a personal relationship with God. When followers of Christ do not show their dependence in prayer, they can end up acting like anyone else (James 4:1-6). Jesus warned His disciples about this likelihood on the night of His arrest. Pausing from His own struggle in prayer, He urged, "Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak" (Matthew 26:41). They didn't understand. They slept instead of praying, and within a few hours all had abandoned Him.
Carelessness
King David was a man of authentic faith. By his love for the law of God, he distinguished himself as someone committed to avoiding moral and spiritual failure (Psalms 1; 119:11). The Bible itself acknowledges that he was a man after God's own heart (Acts 13:22). His record of spiritual accomplishments, however, did not keep David from becoming an adulterer and murderer. One night, as others fought his battles, and as he stood in apparent security on his own palace rooftop, David used the power of his office to pursue another man's wife. In an unguarded moment, David discovered the meaning of the statement, "Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall" (1 Corinthians 10:12).
An Unexamined Heart
As a teacher of the heart, Jesus reminded us that unexamined motives can result in complicated forms of self-deception. Many years earlier, the prophet Jeremiah acknowledged the dangers of "inner darkness" when he wrote, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?" (Jeremiah 17:9). Modern psychology has confirmed our tendency to avoid emotional pain through subtle forms of transference and denial. It has documented habits of the heart by which we attempt to blunt the pain of real or false guilt. Psychology, however, cannot change the heart. We all have reason to join King David in his prayer: "Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting" (Psalms 139:23-24).
An Unseen Enemy
The people of Christ have a spiritual enemy who is attempting to confuse them and neutralize their impact. This adversary is fighting a war of attrition. There are many casualties. Countless numbers of real Christians are rendered ineffective by one who is far more subtle and clever than they think. While he can't make Christians sin, he and his demons are constantly looking for weaknesses that give him an inroad into the lives of genuine believers (Ephesians 4:27; 6:10-20). Like a predatory animal, he looks for vulnerable prey (1 Peter 5:8).
A Lack Of Accountability
People don't develop into spiritually mature persons by doing what comes naturally. Neither do they grow in Christlikeness by being left to themselves. Even the strongest Christians were never meant to go it alone. Jesus taught His disciples not just to make converts, but to train them thoroughly in His ways (Matthew 28:19-20). A few years later, the apostle Paul likened followers of Christ to a human body where all members are dependent on one another (1 Corinthians 12). While many in our day have developed a spirit of independence, such an attitude does not reflect the original intent of Christ for His church. He made it clear that He calls people not only to Himself, but also to one another.
You're Not Alone
You're not alone if you doubt the genuineness of church people who do not act like followers of Christ. Keep in mind, however, that it's wrong to assume that people who claim to be Christians aren't authentic just because their current behavior doesn't measure up to their claims.
The good news is that God saves people by grace (undeserved kindness) on the sole condition of faith in His Son (Ephesians 2:8-10). While there is never a good excuse for any genuine Christian to live in sin, the fact that God saves people who sin against Him both before and after they believe in His Son is good news for all. If God can save people like this, He can save us as well. He offers forgiveness and eternal life to all who will acknowledge how wrong they have been to live independently of Him. He offers heaven to all who will believe that Christ died for their sins, and that He rose from the dead to live His life through anyone who believes (Romans 4:5).
RBC Ministries
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