Are you a "couch potato" spiritually speaking?

[MyrtleTrees]

Are you a "couch potato" (spiritually speaking) - and wishing to be put on an automatic process, so that it will require no effort on your part - to be pleasing to God in daily life? It's true that no works for God are possible, without your first having accepted Jesus as your Savior and Lord. And it's true that we should daily pray for His help and enablement for pleasing Him in daily life. However, it's a mistake to think it's just a completely automatic process. Picture yourself as being an automatically - powered thing, such as an electric appliance, or a car. Without figuratively - "plugging yourself into the Lord" - it's true nothing spiritually good is going to happen. Or without getting into a car (spiritual picture) - and turning the key in the ignition - that car simply isn't going to start or go anywhere!
I can think of some occurrences mentioned, in which God's will was completely automated. Think of how Philip was carried by the Spirit to Azotus.

Acts 8:39-40

39 And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.

40 But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea.
KJV

And think of how the angel of the Lord killed the Assyrians - so that no effort had been required of the Israelites, in winning that battle against them!
2 Kings 19:35
35 And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the LORD went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.
KJV
But this kind of "automation from God" is rare - you'd have to wait an awful long time for that kind of "automaton" to happen in your life, in anything!
Furthermore, God's Word - very often indeed - tells us to do many things. There is no way to do things for God, aside from prayer. But prayer alone - won't make anything happen, in most cases in your life. We are responsible to prayerfully make ourselves do our best to obey God in all things in daily life. If we don't do that, we will be under God's disciplining.
Heb 12:5
5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him
KJV

 

[throughfaith]

Are you a "couch potato" (spiritually speaking) - and wishing to be put on an automatic process, so that it will require no effort on your part - to be pleasing to God in daily life? It's true that no works for God are possible, without your first having accepted Jesus as your Savior and Lord. And it's true that we should daily pray for His help and enablement for pleasing Him in daily life. However, it's a mistake to think it's just a completely automatic process. Picture yourself as being an automatically - powered thing, such as an electric appliance, or a car. Without figuratively - "plugging yourself into the Lord" - it's true nothing spiritually good is going to happen. Or without getting into a car (spiritual picture) - and turning the key in the ignition - that car simply isn't going to start or go anywhere!
I can think of some occurrences mentioned, in which God's will was completely automated. Think of how Philip was carried by the Spirit to Azotus.

Acts 8:39-40

39 And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.

40 But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea.
KJV

And think of how the angel of the Lord killed the Assyrians - so that no effort had been required of the Israelites, in winning that battle against them!
2 Kings 19:35
35 And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the LORD went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.
KJV
But this kind of "automation from God" is rare - you'd have to wait an awful long time for that kind of "automaton" to happen in your life, in anything!
Furthermore, God's Word - very often indeed - tells us to do many things. There is no way to do things for God, aside from prayer. But prayer alone - won't make anything happen, in most cases in your life. We are responsible to prayerfully make ourselves do our best to obey God in all things in daily life. If we don't do that, we will be under God's disciplining.
Heb 12:5
5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him
KJV

Many are couch potatoes when it comes to going out and preaching the Gospel and doing what Paul did .

 

[Corban]

Are you a "couch potato" (spiritually speaking) - and wishing to be put on an automatic process, so that it will require no effort on your part - to be pleasing to God in daily life?

...

There are "couch potatos" in abundance. Their fate is sealed. Matthew 25:24-30;

24 "Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:
25 And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.
26 His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:
27 Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.
28 Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.
29 For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.
30 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

Notice, his status as "servant" is not changed. As a "servant" he goes to a place void of Christ. "Outer" means "exterior". The theme and context is the Kingdom, so the servant is cast out of the Kingdom. But the Kingdom is also the "JOY" of the Lord. So the servant is robbed of his Lord's JOY. "Darkness" in parable shows two things; (i) God's judgment, and (ii) the absence of light. Since it is a parable, the Light must mean Jesus - the "light of the world" and the "light of men". The man is cast out from the presence of Christ. Matthew 28:20 will not help a wit. Being cast out happens in the NEXT AGE.

"Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the AGE. Amen."

 

[MyrtleTrees]

There are "couch potatos" in abundance. Their fate is sealed. Matthew 25:24-30;

24 "Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:
25 And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.
26 His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:
27 Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.
28 Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.
29 For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.
30 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

Notice, his status as "servant" is not changed. As a "servant" he goes to a place void of Christ. "Outer" means "exterior". The theme and context is the Kingdom, so the servant is cast out of the Kingdom. But the Kingdom is also the "JOY" of the Lord. So the servant is robbed of his Lord's JOY. "Darkness" in parable shows two things; (i) God's judgment, and (ii) the absence of light. Since it is a parable, the Light must mean Jesus - the "light of the world" and the "light of men". The man is cast out from the presence of Christ. Matthew 28:20 will not help a wit. Being cast out happens in the NEXT AGE.

"Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the AGE. Amen."

You're right! There are no "couch potatoes" - who are truly saved! I made a mistake by mentioning the passage about the fact that God chastens sons. Since as I agree - any person who thinks he's saved - and yet makes no effort to live a holy life towards God - isn't saved - he only thinks he is! I overlooked the mistake as I was so busy. I plan to correct the mistake, as soon as I find it in here.

Many professing Christians think they're Christians and are not - I've heard many pastors say so, and can see it's true. It's common to think that all one needs to do is to pray the sinner's prayer - and then to think one can get away with all kinds of sin - without repenting of it - and yet end up in heaven. Such people might be more likely to come to full repentance if they were under preaching that made it clear the great necessity of repentance and that without it - no one can be saved or stay saved. But there's a great shortage of preachers willing to preach about that.

Those were very good verses you posted on the subject!

 

[MyrtleTrees]

Many are couch potatoes when it comes to going out and preaching the Gospel and doing what Paul did .

That's true, I've heard many pastors say! But if they don't repent of it - God is going to judge them for it.

I don't think God has given all people - by the way - the same spiritual gifts. We are all to use spiritual gifts - Romans 12 and I Corinthians 12. I don't think all people have outgoing personalities, as God has made many kinds of people. But we are to be diligent in doing whatever we are good at doing - for the kingdom of God. And when we get lazy at that - of course, we need to repent of it. And it takes time to change one's habits. But with prayer and effort, there's always improvements.

Another way to share the gospel - that even shy people can do in modern times, is to post spiritual things online. Never before has it been so easy to communicate with other people as these modern times!

Other ways to be a good witness to others is by how we live - and by how we talk. And by how kind and helpful we are to people. Love is an important theme in the Bible. It is a very useful witness to others.

 

[Magenta]

@MyrtleTrees where did you get this picture? You have blown my cover

On a more serious note, I find it somewhat disturbing that anyone would assume to know the full extent of one person's "work" and the impact they have on others in carrying the message. We each play different roles within the Body of Christ. In John 15:5, Jesus says, “Apart from me you can do nothing.” I trust in Him to bring His good will to fruition... not just for/in me, but others as well, if they are His

 

[MyrtleTrees]

If we don't do that, we will be under God's disciplining.
Heb 12:5
5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him
KJV
I don't know how to correct the statement above. The passage about God chastening his sons - is not one proper for what I talked about in this post. If anyone is truely "a couch potato" in that he thinks he's saved, and yet doesn't bother to obey God in his daily life - he's sadly mistaken about his assumption that he's saved. No - such a one isn't yet saved! He needs to come to complete repentance first, and become willing to accept Jesus as both Lord and Savior of his life. There is no way to be saved without doing that. And failure to do this - will result in being surprised by being regarded as 'a goat" on Judgment day!

 

[Lanolin]

You put your potatoes in the ground, not the couch, they are not going to grow on the couch.

Some people seem to have no idea how potatoes grow. Or they havent seen the christian movie faith like potatoes. Potatoes dont just come in a plastic bag from the supermarket, someone had to dig them up to harvest them.

 

[Lanolin]

Potatoes need darkness, and warmth, and water, but not too much, dont drown them.

Harvest them when the tops have flowered and are dying down. You can have early or late potatoes, plant them in spring. You can plant them in a bale of straw they will grow they dont necessarily need much soil. Mound them up as they grow or plant them in mounds so they can spread.

One seed potato can give you many many potatoes.

Keep a few back to grow on for next season dont eat them all. The fun part is digging them up to harvest them, like digging for treasure.

 

[Corban]

You're right! There are no "couch potatoes" - who are truly saved! I made a mistake by mentioning the passage about the fact that God chastens sons. Since as I agree - any person who thinks he's saved - and yet makes no effort to live a holy life towards God - isn't saved - he only thinks he is! I overlooked the mistake as I was so busy. I plan to correct the mistake, as soon as I find it in here.

Many professing Christians think they're Christians and are not - I've heard many pastors say so, and can see it's true. It's common to think that all one needs to do is to pray the sinner's prayer - and then to think one can get away with all kinds of sin - without repenting of it - and yet end up in heaven. Such people might be more likely to come to full repentance if they were under preaching that made it clear the great necessity of repentance and that without it - no one can be saved or stay saved. But there's a great shortage of preachers willing to preach about that.

Those were very good verses you posted on the subject!

You might be shocked to know that I agreed with you. They are Christians! A "couch potato" does not have to be an active sinner. It is somebody who won't move their a... for any cause. When the Lord asks for a testimony, they could not be bothered. When he asks for service, they say, "later". And when He asks for sacrifice, the couch potato says; "me? No thanks!" I think you know some such Christians yourself. The Moabites, a tribe from Lot's incest, is set forth as a type. Jeremiah 48:11 says;

"Moab hath been at ease from his youth, and he hath settled on his lees, and hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity: therefore his taste remained in him, and his scent is not changed."

I know some Christians like this, .... and I have to "watch" that I don't become one myself. We all like our "ease".

 

[MyrtleTrees]

You might be shocked to know that I agreed with you. They are Christians! A "couch potato" does not have to be an active sinner. It is somebody who won't move their a... for any cause. When the Lord asks for a testimony, they could not be bothered. When he asks for service, they say, "later". And when He asks for sacrifice, the couch potato says; "me? No thanks!" I think you know some such Christians yourself. The Moabites, a tribe from Lot's incest, is set forth as a type. Jeremiah 48:11 says;

"Moab hath been at ease from his youth, and he hath settled on his lees, and hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity: therefore his taste remained in him, and his scent is not changed."

I know some Christians like this, .... and I have to "watch" that I don't become one myself. We all like our "ease".

Well, it's true that a Christian may unintentionally be a "couch potato" in some matters - I can agree with that. But anyone who intentionally puts up with this sin without repenting of it, doesn't have a right relationship with God. If he's a believer and failing to repent of it - there's hope for him if he eventually repents of his sin. But I don't believe anyone can get to heaven without having arrived at full repentance of all sin - to the last moment of one's life.

Read Hebrews 12, which warns against failing to repent of sin.
Also see this verse, which shows the importance of repentance of all daily sins:

1 John 1:9-10

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
KJV

 

[MyrtleTrees]

You put your potatoes in the ground, not the couch, they are not going to grow on the couch.

Some people seem to have no idea how potatoes grow. Or they havent seen the christian movie faith like potatoes. Potatoes dont just come in a plastic bag from the supermarket, someone had to dig them up to harvest them.

True - it's just a figure of speech. And represents laziness - an unwillingness to take more than minimal effort on one's own part.

 

[Duskey]

No

 

[MyrtleTrees]

@MyrtleTrees where did you get this picture? You have blown my cover

On a more serious note, I find it somewhat disturbing that anyone would assume to know the full extent of one person's "work" and the impact they have on others in carrying the message. We each play different roles within the Body of Christ. In John 15:5, Jesus says, “Apart from me you can do nothing.” I trust in Him to bring His good will to fruition... not just for/in me, but others as well, if they are His

I just found the picture online - it's easy to find pictures to illustrate any subject online.

No one knows people's hearts to the extent that God can - that's true. But knowing that God knows everything about oneself - if a person is sincerely seeking to please God in this life - will result in "fruits" or in other words - "works" of the kind that can be seen - will be seen - if true repentance has taken place in a person's life. Being different from the world - in a righteous way - not engaging in sins the world commonly indulge in - is one way to tell if a person might know God or not.

Matt 7:16-17

16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
KJV

Aside from just looking like a good, nice person (even some unbelievers can be described in this way) - it's true that God always knows one's hearts better than oneself. And good to keep that in mind. But the way one speaks, acts, etc. is one way people can tell if someone might be likely to know God or not.

Below is a passage that demonstrates how a true believer often looks different - strange - to unbelievers:

1 Peter 4:3-4

3 For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries:

4 Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you:
KJV

 

[Hevosmies]

Potatoes dont just come in a plastic bag from the supermarket.

Looks like we got ourselves a person who aint been to the grocery store. Thats exactly where potatoes come from. Just like all other FOOD items.

 

[Lanolin]

Looks like we got ourselves a person who aint been to the grocery store. Thats exactly where potatoes come from. Just like all other FOOD items.

they dont grow there sorry looks like someone has never seen where they actually come from.

also, they shouldnt be in plastic bags they go green that way and inedible. they are meant to be kept in the dark.

Potatoes arent inherently lazy they just need certain conditions where they can thrive. They cannot grow on a couch,

 

[Lanolin]

food items dont come from a supermarket. Those are only packaged products that are sitting there at their distribution point. There is an ENTIRE load of work involved to get an item to that market!

 

[Lanolin]

The bible doesnt not say fruit comes from a supermarket. It comes from a tree. lol

do you know what it takes for a tree to grow?

Some people dont they think the fruit just got there lol

 

[Hevosmies]

food items dont come from a supermarket. Those are only packaged products that are sitting there at their distribution point. There is an ENTIRE load of work involved to get an item to that market!

I know I know hahaha. I was just joking. You are absolutely correct.