How To Practically Live The Christian Life

So many believers in Christ Jesus are having problems living the christian life on a real, practical, day by day basis. They are struggling with all kinds of bad habits, insecure mind-sets and attitudes, and hurts and wounds of past relationships and friendships. Maybe you are one of them. We are facing a very, very challenging time. Evil seems to be abounding on every hand. The world has changed, and the person who does not see this simply does not want to see it. The world's system is getting worse and worse. Problems abound and governments seem clueless as to the solutions necessary to turn the downward trend of civilization back to an upward trend of success and achievement. While this is going on, it appears as if we who follow the Lord Jesus Christ are being constantly bombarded with temptations of lust, fear, and unforgiveness, and many are succumbing to the pressures of the enemy, lured away because of the weakness of the flesh. Some of us are actually failing the fight for our very souls and we are praying and hoping to God that He can send a word, send a move of His Spirit, send someone who can show us how to rise above our flesh and bring our bodies under subjection to the Will of God, once for all. One of the most alarming and at the same time, understandable things that I have had to encounter is those of us who know we are having a hard time, but would not confide in another believer for help, counsel and wisdom. After all, if we Christians admit that we need help, we would be putting ourselves out there for scorn, rebuke and mockery, right? WRONG. If we need help, then we need help. And if we are in need of help, we are simply joining the rest of us, for we all need help in growing and developing in our walk with God. To see weaknesses in ourselves is a part of the process of growth. When we see those weaknesses, then we can learn from God's Word, and one another, how to handle them, and walk in victory over them. If you are struggling in your walk with the Lord Jesus Christ, please realize that your situation is not unique. You are not alone. Others of us have been there, and some of us (if we are honest) will tell you that we are still having to learn how to bring the flesh under control in various areas. Even the great Apostle Paul tells us in the Holy Bible that he had to keep his body under and bring it into subjection in order to reach forward and apprehend that call for which he had been apprehended of the Lord Jesus Christ. If he was going to amount to anything in God, and attain the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, it was going to cause something, the yielding of his body to God as a living sacrifice. If Paul had to make his flesh a slave to the will of God, if he had to control his body, and discipline it by hardships, as one translation of the Holy Bible says, (The Amplified Bible), in order to reach his Divine destiny, then you and I will have to do the same thing in order to get to our own as well. I have been walking with the Lord Jesus Christ for over thirty years now, starting my precious walk from the age of thirteen. I have faced storm after storm and challenge after challenge. I have had to go through suffering and I have had to learn about the body and how the enemy of man's souls, tries to lure us away after things which oppose the Word and Will of Almighty God. Sometimes I succeeded. Sometimes I did not. Thank God for His grace which enabled me to win and thank God for His mercy and forgiveness at times when I missed the mark. It has been and continues to be my experience that He will always forgive us and work with us if we are determined to never quit. I just want to encourage you to hold on to God, draw closer and closer to the Lord Jesus, and never ever give up. God loves you. I know. Some may be saying, "How can God still love me after how many mistakes I have made?" Maybe some are even attempting to get back into favor with God, trying to get Him to love us again. My friend, God loved you before you ever came to Him. He loved you while you were still a sinner, a miserable mess. Yet, He saw you as a treasure. If He loved you then, He loves you now. You are His child. You will never be able to earn God's love on the basis of good works anyhow. So, do not let your obedience to Him be for the purpose of getting God to love you. Rather, obey Him because you love Him. He already loves you. If you have missed it, ask God to forgive you and help you not to miss it in that area again. Then get into His Word and affirm over and over that because the Son has made you free, you are free indeed. Say that to yourself on the basis of God's Word until the power of that truth becomes alive within you and change your mental image to one of victory rather than failure. You can live this life. YES YOU CAN. You can make it. YES YOU CAN. You can fulfill your God-ordained purpose. YES YOU CAN. You can be all God desires for you to be. YES YOU CAN. You can get past every bad and negative habit. YES YOU CAN. You can FORGIVE and learn how to love yourself and love others who may have wronged you, even if they are in the church. YES YOU CAN. YOU AN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHICH STRENGTHENS YOU. (Philippians 4:13, King James Version of The Holy Bible). Believe what God's Word teaches. You can. YES YOU CAN. SAY IT, YES I CAN. Say it until you believe it. Then rise up and conquer your giant.