Keeping It Authentic.

[Kooper]

So, how would one go about keeping the faith in God as true and authentic as possible without dropping that passion?

I only ask because I'm not all I want myself to be as a single man trying to serve God. I have my idols, my worldly distractions, and then some. I often wonder if Christ will deny me if I die in this current state. And this is one fear that keeps me humble... But still, I wonder if it's even good enough. Jesus asks of us to lose our lives in order to gain it eternal. He places all these ten ton blocks infront of us, and expects us to follow through. Well, not to make it sound impossible, but it does seem strangely invigorating to the "faith" muscle.

To allow Jesus to be our one and only. To be our only passion, and our only reason for being.

 

[zeroturbulence]

One must become pure of heart. This means removing all worldly distractions and making oneself a living sacrifice to the Lord by serving others selflessly and by treating everyone with love and kindness and forgiveness. No backtalking, no slander, no coarse joking. Imagine how the apostles and the prophets conducted themselves. That is how you must conduct yourself if you want to truly honor the Lord with your faith and follow him as a truly dedicated disciple.

 

[Virtue1]

Kooper,

We will be a working progress until we leave this earth. The only way that you can keep your heart pure and authentic is by relyng on Christ . God knows that we cannot live our lives depending on our own strength 2 Corinthians 12:9. We have to continuously seek our Father. Our heavenly Father knows your heart. If you accepted Jesus into your life, then you are written in the Lambs book of life (Romans 10:9). It's also important to know that as a child of God, you need to know the love of our Father. It's easy for the Satan to get you into the spirit of condemnation and fear. The life of Christ is supposed to bring you peace and you should not feel condemned or burdened. If you are in fear then you know that it's not from God 2 Timothy 1:7. Jesus died on the cross and took ALL of our sins on the cross (past, present, and future sins), therefore you are not made righteous because of what you have done, but because of who HE is. This doesn't give you a license to sin, but know that if you should miss the mark (which you will), repent and keep on going.

 

[Suzie2family]

I guess I've lived long enough to positively state that you don't ever arrive at being the epitome of Christ 24/7. It will be a struggle as long as we are on this planet.

2 Corinthians 5:4 "For truly, we who are in this tent do give out cries of weariness, for the weight of care which is on us; not because we are desiring to be free from the body, but so that we may have our new body, and death may be overcome by life."

and
2 Corinthians 4 "Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal"

The way I think God wants us to live is as friends with him. If I am friends with another person I still make mistakes and they accept me (if they are really my friend). Just because I mess up now and then doesn't mean they won't just call me up the next day and say, "Hey, let's go hang out or go hiking!" They see past my humanity. God is like that--only more so. Yeah, he calls us to strive for perfect holiness but if Jesus says he has "called us his friends" (John 15:15) then that's all I need to know.

 

[Jullianna]

I agree, Suzie. We do go through dry seasons in our lives. Hopefully, we learn and grow from them.

Maintaining the line of communication with God is key for me, along with getting rid of as many distractions as possible. Easier said than done most of the time..

Maintaining an attitude of praise is helpful too by surrounding ourselves with godly things rather than the things this world has to offer: praise music, encouraging books and spending time with fellow believers. Spending time in prayer and in the Word is surely a given.

I commend you, Kooper, for recognizing this need in your life. A lot of guys your age haven't a clue in this regard. You are truly blessed.

 

[phil36]

Hi Kooper,

Thans for being frank and open about this. We all go through these stages, one way or another, and as brothers and sisters here hoepfully we can help each other...and we'l keep you in our prayers.

A book that helped me, may be of help to you:

"When I don't desire God - How to fight for Joy", John Piper.

Anyhow, as Julianna has said ..keep the lines of communication open.. Prayer is one of those essentials, once we let our prayer life go everything else tends to follow.

Anyhow, If you get the book, I pray that it helps.

 

[rainacorn]

Like others said...keep at it. We should be getting better and better, even though we're not going to be perfect.

Also, there isn't even one person on this forum that is totally focused on God. If we were truly focused, we wouldn't be here. Take everything here with a grain of salt.

 

[Jullianna]

If we were truly focused on God, we wouldn't be here talking with/encouraging/learning from fellow believers??? hmmm....

 

[rainacorn]

If we were truly focused on God, we wouldn't be here talking with/encouraging/learning from fellow believers??? hmmm....

I don't think you would. I think you'd be off the computer and out of the house doing God's work instead of seeking out people online who think the same things you do.

We can make ourselves feel like we're doing good and positive things, but does that mean we are doing our absolute best? I don't think it does. This site is mostly for preaching to the choir or fighting with people who aren't listening. I don't think it really serves the Lord in the way some people pretend it does.

I'm not trying to make this all about you...you're just the one that responded to it lol

 

[Jullianna]

I understand. Maybe I'm reading the wrong Bible or something, but I thought praying for believers, sharing the word and encouraging one another WAS being about the Father's business. But that's just me... *shrugs*

We probably shouldn't assume that those who post here aren't active in the Kingdom: Pastors, teachers, worship leaders, Sunday School teachers, missionaries, musicians, etc...... because I know MANY people who come to CC who are, myself included. Not to mention the number of friends, family, co-workers, strangers on the street we witness to on a daily basis in the "real world". Just sayin...

 

[rainacorn]

I understand. Maybe I'm reading the wrong Bible or something, but I thought praying for believers, sharing the word and encouraging one another WAS being about the Father's business. But that's just me... *shrugs*

We probably shouldn't assume that those who post here aren't active in the Kingdom: Pastors, teachers, worship leaders, Sunday School teachers, missionaries, musicians, etc...... because I know MANY people who come to CC who are, myself included. Not to mention the number of friends, family, co-workers, strangers on the street we witness to on a daily basis.

No need to get defensive or whatever. It's really just my opinion.

I never meant to imply that fellowship or praying for believers is bad which is why I said nothing of the sort. Please don't put words in my mouth. I never made the assumption that people here never do anything for God. I said that being here and being totally focused on what God wants you to do in your life aren't necessarily the same thing.

But getting online and hanging out on a Christian forum shouldn't be considered your good deed for the day or whatever lol Maybe God really does call people to hang out online... what do I know? It just seems that lots of people spend hours and hours reading threads on here or hanging out in the chatroom when we could be out helping the homeless or sharing the word with our neighbors who don't already know Christ.

By the way, I convict myself with these statements...not just others. Please take that into consideration.

 

[zeroturbulence]

I actually agree with what rainacorn said, but then again because of my particular faith I look to those who live in a convent and to the monks and friars as examples of those who have dedicated their lives to God. That means no worldly luxuries. No tv, no personal computers, no radios, no girlfriends or boyfriends. Its just you, your work, your neighbors and God (and your bible too).

 

[Jullianna]

I suppose my response was a bit defensive, but not for myself. I was concern about the number of individuals I know on
CC who are homebound or nursing home bound for reasons they can't help. They use CC to do the work God has called them to do. They might read this and be hurt by it. I pray they are not.

 

[zeroturbulence]

I suppose my response was a bit defensive, but not for myself. I was concern about the number of individuals I know on
CC who are homebound or nursing home bound for reasons they can't help. They use CC to do the work God has called them to do. They might read this and be hurt by it. I pray they are not.

I think it would be hard to do that here. Anytime someone posts something, someone else disagrees with it and it often turns into a bickering contest and the OP often never even returns to see what was written. And I have also seen the best advice get ignored while bad advice gets applauded. In my opinion, forums like this are really for entertainment and anyone trying to make a ministry of it is in for a lot of frustration and agony. I tried to be the "I'm here to edify only, and to help people with their walk with God" guy, but I soon found that even when you post scriptures to help people, some insensitive, self-righteous person will quote you and basically call you stupid for posting what you posted, so so much for that approach!

 

[Jullianna]

I suppose anytime we attempt to present Christ to someone, there is always a chance that it won't be received well, whether online or off. For me, it's always worth the risk. If they reject it or get ugly, it's not ME they are rejecting. And the times when they DON'T reject the Truth and you can actually lead someone to the Lord on here, it's beyond awesome. Being a part of the Great Commission feels like a high five to your heart.

And when you go into the prayer room with someone who is broken and in tears, but they leave with a calm spirit and peace of God, I have to believe the Father is pleased.

Some of the people I've met in chat are among the most faithful prayer warriors I've ever met. They are precious beyond words.

 

[rainacorn]

I suppose anytime we attempt to present Christ to someone, there is always a chance that it won't be received well, whether online or off. For me, it's always worth the risk. If they reject it or get ugly, it's not ME they are rejecting. And the times when they DON'T reject the Truth and you can actually lead someone to the Lord on here, it's beyond awesome. Being a part of the Great Commission feels like a high five to your heart.

And when you go into the prayer room with someone who is broken and in tears, but they leave with a calm spirit and peace of God, I have to believe the Father is pleased.

Some of the people I've met in chat are among the most faithful prayer warriors I've ever met. They are precious beyond words.

I've experience Spirit-filled moments on the internet... I think that's why I keep coming back. But we can't force it. The Spirit has to guide us to do this, even online.

However, I am becoming quite aware that it is in my arrogance that I come to Christian sites trying to conjure a powerful spiritual experience. I falsely believe that if I sit here long enough, something truly positive and Godly will happen.

Well believed. I don't really come here for that anymore, which allows me to be pleasantly surprised when it happens.

I confess that I come to this site and sites like these because it satisfies my mental and emotional desires, not my spiritual needs. That admission isn't an easy one, but it is freeing. Recognizing that we are not the pure and righteous online warriors for God that we want to be is the only way to ever become that or anything close to it.

I say this on here because I know I am not the only one. In flashes of honesty, others have confessed something similar. There is something about being online that blurs the lines between our will and God's will.

Anyway, has this thread gone way off topic? I can't tell.

 

[Jullianna]

I've experience Spirit-filled moments on the internet... I think that's why I keep coming back. But we can't force it. The Spirit has to guide us to do this, even online.

Anyway, has this thread gone way off topic? I can't tell.

I wholeheartedly agree with this. That's one of the things that helps me not take it personally when someone isn't ready to receive Christ. The Spirit AND the bride say, "Come". It's not all on us. If the Spirit isn't drawing them, wooing them and their hearts are not ready to receive the Truth, it is what it is. We simply plant the seed and allow God to do what He does best.

Off topic? Hmm...maybe not. Leading folks to Christ and sharing His love is about as authentic as we can get.

 

[zeroturbulence]

I've had those moments too online but they are about as rare as a meteor shower. I come here because I like teasing you all with my silly posts. Sometimes though I post something serious because someone needs direction or counseling, but then it usually gets ignored.

 

[Jullianna]

Gabe, trust me when I say it's not ignored.
As for the laughs: A cheerful heart does good like medicine, but a broken spirit makes one sick. Prov 17:22
You may be doing far more good than you think. I've seen you do it.

 

[zeroturbulence]

Gabe, trust me when I say it's not ignored.
As for the laughs: A cheerful heart does good like medicine, but a broken spirit makes one sick. Prov 17:22
You may be doing far more good than you think. I've seen you do it.

Thank you, Diana. You are a blessing.

I want to post proverbs 24:26 in reply, but I don't want to give people the wrong impression.