For the word of God is living and powerful,
and sharper than any two-edged sword … and is
a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Hebrews 4:12
Does God's Word ever cause you discomfort? When you read the Bible, does what you read make you uneasy? When you listen to sermons, do the Scriptures seem aimed directly at you? You are experiencing the reality that the word of God is alive and can read your thoughts and judge your intentions.
When God's Word speaks to you, it is always for a purpose. God knows your heart and knows what you need to do to bring your life into conformity to Christ. If you have a problem with sinful talk, the word that comes to you will address the tongue. If you are struggling to forgive, God's Word will confront you with His standard for forgiveness. If pride has a stronghold in your life, God's Word will speak to you about humility. Whatever sin needs addressing, you will find you are confronted by God's Word on the matter.
One way you can escape the discomfort of conviction is to avoid hearing God speak to you. You may neglect reading your Bible and stay away from places where it is taught. You may avoid those whom you know will uphold the truths of Scripture. The best response, however, is to pray as the psalmist did: “Search me, O God, and know my heart” (Ps. 139:23). Regularly allow the word of God to wash over you and find any sin or impurity (Eph. 5:26). Always make the connection between your life and what God is saying to you through His word. Make a habit of taking every word from God seriously, knowing that it is able to judge your heart and mind.
- Blackaby Experiencing God Day by Day
Both Christians and non-Christians can and will do the same thing. Avoid the Word of God. There's only one significant reason to. Because it is alive. Because it is alive it can bring grief, sorrow, conviction. It will show you that your way probably isn't the right way.
I see so many Christians who's mouths state more clearly than they realize, that they spend no time in God's Word.
If your physical body cannot go through the day without sustenance, why do people try to go through a day by not feeding their soul?
Why is bitterness, rage, anger, sorrow, grief, and all other forms of negativity moving like a tidal wave across the world?
It's what happens when souls do not get fed. It's what happens when the sin nature is allowed to flourish. Not having anything to keep it in check by way of a strengthened soul. In the world the restrainer is the Holy Spirit. In the body of a believer it is the same. Only in our bodies it's up to us to feed it.
In the last days, we read what manor of people will live in this world. We see what becomes of people who have pushed God out of every part of their lives. Telling Him we don't need Him. And yet blaming Him when disaster strikes. Calling out to God when the nation is attacked on 9/11 and quickly forgetting Him soon afterwards. For four years we finally had a President who couldn't be bought. Who worked for free. Who brought back the economy unlike any other time in the history of the country, yet people attack him. No this isn't a post about politics, it's an example. God can use anyone or anything to bless the life of a believer. Yet all too often we see believers attacking the person or the way God provides.
Both believers and unbelievers can be the same way towards God.
To claim the name of Jesus is to represent Him to the people around you. You are to present Jesus to those He brings your way. Honestly, I hope God KEEPS people AWAY from many of the so-called people calling themselves Christians today!
A great many Pastors are willing to preach on the love of God, yet neglect to preach on the other aspects of God. Like His Judgment. Like His sacrifice. Like the REQUIREMENT to be Holy as He is Holy. It wasn't a suggestion. No where in Scripture does it say if the moment is right, and it feels good, be good to others.
This world is being divided alright. Only the blind, with their heads in the sand, do not see the rage building against Christianity. The Church today has been infiltrated by the world. It is being pressured into running it like a worldly business. It is NOT a worldly business, it is to be the household of God. Yet Churches do not come together to push back on this. No where in Scripture are we to be cowardly. We have armor to put on for war. We have the power of the Holy Spirit. That same power that raised Jesus from the dead. We have the Bible, God's Word, which is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword. Too many so-called preachers teach that you mustn't fight back. Yeah, Elijah didn't fight back alright. The Spiritual war today goes all the way to every room in your house. Suicide is on the rise because people lose hope. Hope is found only in a right relationship with Jesus Christ. People who should be living the Christian life are being silent due to fear of the rest of the world. It's easier to fit in with the world than it is to live the Christian life.
Uncomfortable yet? I sure hope you are.
Until I was made uncomfortable, God couldn't change me. As long as I saw nothing wrong there was nothing to change.
By no means have I arrived. God is still changing me. Little by little areas of my life are being turned over to Him to do with as He sees fit. When the Rapture happens whatever is left will be done all at once.
We should not be fitting in with the world.
We should be the candle on a candlestick lighting up the world to see the sin they try to hide and need to turn away from.
If people can't see the difference in you, you need to make sure you are saved.
Elijah prayed and the sky withheld rain for 3 and a half years. He prayed again and it did. Prayer changed the course of human events in the late 1700's. Prayer is what began the United States of America. Not politics. God was at the center of the lives of the founding fathers.
Are you at all in your Bible? Quit avoiding it. Quit fearing the changes that the Spirit is trying to do in you. Within every believer is a battle between the sin nature and the Spirit. We either give in to one or the other. The fence is owned by Satan. God is expressly clear that He is against those Lukewarm people in the middle.
Today take stock in your life. Jesus is about to be returning. What will you try to say about your life? Because you will try.
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