What's Happened??

Dear James,
This is not a waste of time for anybody here.I sense your frustration.I think the kind of fire you are looking for will come when you bath your concern in much prayer.It also does a soul good to be a witness and bring others to Christ and then disciple them.We CAN change the world and turn it upside down one soul at a time.

I will keep you in my prayers my brother.

 

Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Matthew 9:36-38 But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Then saith He unto His disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He will send forth labourers into His harvest.

I believe that too many Christians have conformed to this world which in turn causes there to be few labourers in the harvest fields. So many Christians today are not wiping the dust and cobwebs off their cross and off their bible. To some Christians, being a Christian is nothing more than a game & America has suffered because Christians have not stood up to sin. I believe Jeff Steele pretty much describes America in his song We Want America Back http://www.nightscribe.com/Religion/we_want_america_back.htm (that page has the lyrics to it)

 

Posted by james mason: I know I'm "scum", but I also felt thatway when I was trying to live for & depend on the Lord.

James,
One more thing...I felt the same way the first 20 yrs of being saved. I kept trying to live a good christian life only to let the Lord down again and again. I had alchohol and drug issues and each and every time I would quit, I did it in the name of Jesus and was as sincere as anyone could be. Then I would fail.

I got tired of feeling like such a failure. That is when I went on my 10 year stint with the world. I figured I would go back to my old life and finally get some peace.

I was like a car spinning it's tires. I got no where. I cried out to God many many times begging Him to let me know why some could live the life, walk the walk and etc. Why was I a failure as a christian AND as a backslider?

I decided to go back to church even though my heart wasn't in it. I figured I needed to at least expose my heart to His word in the hope He would have mercy on me.

It took a little while but then a light bulb came on and it was truly a revelation from on high.

God pressed on my heart that the reason I couldn't walk was because I kept trying so hard. It was like He was saying: If YOU couldn't do it when you were unsaved, what makes YOU think that YOU can do it now?

At that moment I realized I was in a cursed body that could never completely stop sinning. I went to God and told Him that I sinned because I loved to. I loved my sin! Thats why we do it right? We may hate it spiritually but our flesh loves it. The flesh is not weak. It is the most powerful thing you will ever come up against.

Then I realized that I had to tell God that I couldn't stop and would probobly continue unless He intervened. I told Him that if He was against it and He was willing to cleanse me of it, that I would be willing. I knew for the first time that my only part in it was fessing up and seeing my helpless estate. As soon as God saw my remorse and I cried out to him to really forgive me He lifted me out of the muck!!!

God wants us to stop trying and allow Him to do it. If you had been a successful Christian without this happening to you, you would be able to boast to yourself and not to God because YOU achieved it. GOD WANTS THE GLORY!

He is breaking you in order to use you! Recognize it and learn from this Christians experience. Once you empty yourself of you, God will fill you up with Him. He doesn't want to take anything away from you. He just wants you to set some things down so He can give you something better.

God bless!!
Soulman

 

A few days of fasting and praying to God and talking with Him are excellent ways of finding your answers and rekindling your relationship with God and getting back that first love.

 

Soulman... Even though that was for James, you don't realize how much it is helping me when I read it because I myself am undergoing a sin battle like you did where you try to give it up yourself, but you can't until you let God intervene. Please pray for me

 

James: This is my first post in a long...long time, other than in the more secular sections of the site. No offense intended.

Gina: You and Aggie are much loved. I was glad to see your name on the board tonight, it make an otherwise dreary night seem brighter!

Now, I'm not teaching, I'm sharing my thoughts, otay?

James: My question is what's happened to christianity?
I know some would say it's alive & going strong...but is it? Really? Espically in this spoiled country?

Gina: In some ways and in some people it IS alive and strong.
However, it can be hard to see. Here's a few thoughts on it.
The focus of Christianity, for so many, and very strongly in the area you're in, became the things that honestly don't count for much but that people cling to because it feels right and makes a really good sermon and gets people up to the altar feeling guilty so they think it MUST be right! For example: issues of hair length, bible versions, music styles, even right down to whether or not you're a hoochie mamma if ya wear a toe ring.
Load of garbage, all of it. Half the church is too busy trying to look right, the other half is too busy condemning the other half.

Teaching Christ crucified, helping the poor, and discipling new believers turned into teaching Christ crucified and if you believe it you will throw away your bible and buy a KJV and teach others to do the same...
Helping the poor turned into directing them towards the nearest welfare office.
Discipling new believers turned out to be pushing them towards an altar call and doubting their belief if they didn't immediately sign up for nursery duty.

Christianity is pretty basic. Believe in Christ, teach others, help the needy. But...we're too busy trying to figure out who is and isn't *really* Christian to work with anyone on it.

That's not all of the church though. When we get depressed about the church, that's all we see. We forget about the missionaries going out, we forget about those that have helped us, we forget that God judges our lives and that giving up because we don't like what others are doing isn't going to hold water when we have some 'splainin to do.


James: I guess what I'm aiming at is this...where is the faith? The kind of faith that Paul, Peter, John, & others in the begining of the church had?

Gina: I believe that we tend to romanticize such strong figures of the past.
Have you truly not heard of any missionaries lately that have been persecuted or killed preaching the gospel message? There's plenty of it. A preacher who gets his car bashed up or gets jumped on the street or loses his house because he won't cheat on his taxes or loses his family because his wife leaves him because he's too religious is no less a hero than someone from the Bible who was whipped or had his possessions destroyed or his family taken away. Somehow it all just sounds much holier when we read it in "thees" and "thous" from the good book!

James: The kind that made folks give up the cares of this world & totaly devote themselves to Christ.

Gina: To a point, that's not as needed as it once was, in the United States anyhow. Unless you leave the country, you're not going to HAVE to give up everything you have and suffer a lot of consequences because Christianity is more accepted now, we can fly a plane to anywhere in the country within hours, we drive, we have tons of methods of communications. Someone can be devoted to Christ in the United States and not have to walk around in sandals and eat locusts, and still be devoted to Christ. I know it's not as highly visual, but I would hope that when people see my flaws or your flaws or that neither of us is living off locusts, they don't immediately assume we aren't devoted Christians.

James: I know I don't have it...though I believed I did at one time, and that can't help but make me wonder if mabey a whole lot of us are ,...mabey fooling ourselves when we think we're even saved.

Gina: No, I don't think we're fooling ourselves. I think the god of this world and his minions enjoy the doubt we can sink into though. God was, is, and always will be God, Christ was, is, and always will be Christ, and the blood has, did, and always will have covered our sins despite our doubts and misgivings and weaknesses and dependencies and to be devoted all we have to do is remember that and tell others. That's the focus.
We give up sometimes, then we get back on track, some of us more often than others, just like the heroes in the Bible.

James: The reason I say that is the things I've witnessed over the last few years, & I do retain enough of the word to know that something is bad, bad wrong with what people call christianity today. I know it was'nt perfect even in those first days, but still even the ones we would call weak christians, that are talked about in the word
are stronger in their faith than what I've seen nowdays.

Gina: I have nightmares about what I've seen. This world can be a nasty place. People who call themselves Christians and rape their children and lie and steal money from the church and hurt and abuse people...yeah it's bad. God kinda warned us about that.

It isn't gonna get better yet, it's going to get worse until the end. We have to stay strong for that.
Many Christians aren't prepared to deal with that. We're told that when we're saved life is sweet, God blesses us and we hug little lambs and thank him for our new puppy at Christmas, and before anything really bad happens we'll be wisped up into glory and floating on clouds up in the sky. That's unfortunate, because Christians need to be prepared for the battle that's ours spiritually and more physically now than ever, and we're simply not. It should be including in discipling, but like I said, that doesn't happen like it should.


James: Why?

Gina: Sin.

Just look at this very board and see how of the conversation is devoted to deep arguments over irrelevant matters. Can any army be united and effective when they all distrust each other and can't even look in the same direction without attacking their own selves? (that isn't picking on this board, it's one example of a vast problem in the Christian realm)

The focus is lacking. We need it back.
We also need people who realize good when they see it.

Etc.. etc...

BTW has the squirrel gone crazy yet from hanging around all those nuts?

 

There is a second part to this thread that is active and seems like a continuation. Should this one be closed??

 

Posted by IFBChristian: Soulman... Even though that was for James, you don't realize how much it is helping me when I read it because I myself am undergoing a sin battle like you did where you try to give it up yourself, but you can't until you let God intervene. Please pray for me.

I will definately be praying for you brother. I am sure many will be. It's a hard long lesson to give up self and turn the reins over to God. But it is one that He teaches us. Hang in Brother! God is good!