Sin Spiral

 

    The sin spiral is when life is good and you let your guard down that you fall for temptation.  You do one small sin.  It takes the good life and makes it bad.  Then you continue to sin and your life continues to get morally worse and worse.  You may not see the consequences until it has piled high, but there will be consequences.  

    The sin spiral is the sin progression from giving into one small temptation and making it an action.  It all starts in your mind.  What you think about and meditate on is what you will eventually speak or act upon.  The sin spiral will even have you use the gifts that God has given you use for evil.  It can be one good truth twisted to feed your pride or ego turning it into sin.  Satan just needs to get your attention, from there you either run or self destruct.

    The spiral is when you have taken one step, then two, and before you know it you are completely off of the path that God designed for you.  You may wonder so far that you can't see it and feel completely lost.  The good news is if you are willing to put in the work and repent to God, then He will direct you back to your path.  

    Temptation and desire is your own evil desires.  They come naturally as part of living in the fallen world.  When you give into temptation you are sinning.  When you sin your abandon your relationship with God and defile yourself for something temporary.  It always leads to consequences that you will not like.  It will always cost you more than you are willing to pay.

    Once you give in to temptation it becomes normal very quickly.  You silence the Holy Spirit to normalize and tell yourself that what you are doing is okay.  It is the lie you feed yourself.  You don't need Satan for that.  You will fight relentlessly to defend the sin lifestyle that you are creating and you try to make other people be okay with it too.  If they are not, then you reject them because in your mind they are the problem.  It could not possibly be you.  This is how you rob yourself of the life you were always meant to have.  It is the path that leads to eternal death.

    The only way to break the sin spiral is to face yourself and your sinful nature.  Admit that you have gone down a path of sin.  You have to desire to be close to God again or for the first time.  Then you repent and start to hate the sin that caused you to get so far from God.  You have to destroy your idols to put God where He belongs: on the throne.  

    Faith and your relationship with God is the only way out of the sin spiral.  You will never be able to do it on your own.   You have to trust and rely on God.  You have to start listening to the Holy Spirit who will reveal what habits must be broken.  Follow Jesus and listen to the Holy Spirit is where you find restoration and forgiveness.  Then you are mentally able to stand guard again evil of all kinds.  Be patient and wait for the promises of God.  They are coming.

Exodus 32:1-5, Judges 6:25-26, 8:22, Romans 1:24-27, 6:20-23, 1 Corinthians 10:12-13, Colossians 3:5-11, James 1:12-15, & 1 John 1:8-10

Only God Part 2

 

    The first commandment is to have no other gods.  That commandment means to put God first.  He comes before your spouse, children, job, church, friends, activities, enemies, and everything else.  To be honest it takes work to put God first.  Life is full of distractions and that is not an accident.  Human nature is to embrace making yourself the god of your life.  Then you have Satan.  If he can't make you sin, then he will make you busy where you don't put God first.  

    You have to be intentional to keep God first in your life.  You have to prioritize time with Him.  You have to prioritize prayer in the good times and not leave it to when it is hard.  You have to invest into the relationship or it will become stagnant.  If you allow the relationship to become stagnant, then you have broken the first commandment.  

    God's commandments are not a list of rules.  They are boundaries for you lifestyle.  They reveal how much you really need God.  Jesus came into this world to teach you how to apply them to your life.  How they all set you up for a Christian lifestyle because to sum them up everything you do you do in love.  It is your love for God that allows you to live like Jesus.

    Take inventory of your life.  What do you occasionally or constantly put before your relationship with God?  Do you put desires, habits, people, activities, or needs before God.  You are in your head 100 percent of the time.  It is hard to push your inner thoughts to the side to listen to the Holy Spirit unless you are practicing listening and obeying.  

    It takes intentional practice to silent your thoughts and the distractions of life to hear the Holy Spirit directing you in your decisions and keep you on God's path.  It is your choice to destroy or remove permanently any distraction that the Holy Spirit convicts you of putting before God.

    Your relationship with God is personal.  Your path is personalized according to that relationship, but it always starts the same way.  You have to believe in Jesus, declare your faith, and decide to follow him no matter what.  Your discipleship training will be according to what you need to work on, surrender to God, and learn.  God will place people in your life that will walk through it with you and help you in your journey, but it is your journey.  

Deuteronomy 4:35-38, 6:4-9, Judges 6:25-26, 8:22, Isaiah 44:6-8, 45:1-7, Mark 12:29-31, Romans 1:21-23, 1 Corinthians 8:4-6, Ephesians 4:5-6, 1 Timothy 2:1-7, & James 2:19-20

Faith Momentum

 

   Faith Momentum comes from preparation.  You spend time in God's Word, you pray, you meditate, and you put your faith into action.  As you start seeing God work and your part in it, it makes you want to be fully invested.  Your faith in action is your ministry.  It may not be what you expected, but it is where God is using you now.  It could be in a blog, being a parent, teacher, boss, cafe owner, dog walker, and so many other avenues.  

    You allow God to build you up through scripture and trails.  You become strong enough to show other people the way through because you did not give up on your faith.  When you get through your trial or tribulation you will probably need a rest.  After a rest you should be energized and this is when God places responsibility upon your faith to press forward showing people the way.  The momentum helps you persevere while your focus is on Him .  This is a season of blessings.

    You build momentum in your faith in the preparation.  You follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit to put your faith into action.  It is in the small things you do daily.  All this prepares you for something big in your life.  Think about a wedding.  A couple will spend months doing things that no one ever sees for several month.  The wedding only happens for a moment, but it took months to prepare.  Your faith momentum is the same thing.  You spend months preparing, enduring, persevering for something that you may not even be aware of until it is over.

    Once the ball gets rolling everything happens very quickly, but you are okay because you prepared.  When it is all over you can take a step back and see how God worked through you.  If you do not prepare with the Holy Spirit the experience could be very different.  For an example if you don't study in school, then you will not be prepared for the test.  You very well may fail the test.  The same thing happens with your faith.  If you do not spend time in prayer, God's Word, or reflection then you will not be ready for spiritual attacks.  You are not as likely to endure to see the benefits.

    If you do not build momentum to succeed in your faith, then Satan will build momentum to make you fail and probably publicly.  His goal is to kill, steal, and destroy.  He would love to destroy your testimony, steal your blessings from you, and kill your passion for Jesus.  What he leaves behind is a shell of a person.  Even if you find yourself here, it is not too late.  You can turn to Jesus, confess where you went wrong, and allow Him to help build yourself back up.  As long as you live you have the opportunity to build a relationship with God.  

    The faith momentum for God looks like this.  You are going through something and you turn to God.  You allow Him to comfort you and get you through it.  Your faith grows as you see God come through for you.  As your faith becomes stronger your sinful nature starts to burn away.  By the end you have become a stronger version of yourself that looks more like Jesus.  

    The faith spiral is where you do not lean on God.  You go through something and you get mad at God or ignore Him.  You get weary and worn through.  You can't handle it on your own, but you become more isolated.  Your attitude becomes angry, bitter, or entitled.  You become more worldly and further away from God every day.  Slowly you are making yourself your own god by saying I got through this on my own or something that puts you in the place that belongs to God.  Even at your worst, you are not alone.  God is there with you and He can change your story.  He is the missing link in your battles.  He can renew or change your path.

Judges 8:13-19, Proverbs 3:5-6, Isaiah 40:26-31, Zechariah 4:6-7, Mark 1:35-39, Galatians 6:7-10, Philippians 3:12-14, Hebrews 12:1-4

Getting Weary

 

    Christians get tired and weary.  You are facing the world head on everyday.  You are dealing with reality of life and fighting spiritual warfare.  You are not ignoring it, but you are trusting God to fight all the unseen things in your life.  

    You grow weary and need a break.  You know this because fear, anxiety, stress, and other factors are starting to get to you.  He is where you trust God on when and where to rest and when to keep pushing to grow endurance.  You will never overcome fear, anger, anxiety, worry, or other things that pull you away from God unless you learn to lean on Him and push through it.  You have to get through issues instead of avoiding or redirecting or you will never find the rest you need.  You will not find the victory.

    God understands that you are human and that you have limits.  He ask you to trust Him, listen, obey, and let go of anything you don't need to try to control.  He will take care of you.  He will bring you comfort, renew your spirit, calm your mind, and give your body rest.  Ignoring God will lead to burn out and self-destruction.

    When you are getting weary trust that the rest you need is just around the corner.  It is always darkest before dawn.  The same goes for you.  When you feel like you can't go another step the victory is just a couple steps ahead.  When you feel frail the strength is about to come.  Get through it.  Allow the pain to work through your body.  The spiritual shower is going to be ready when the enduring faith gets you through the hardest part.  

    Do not feel guilty when you get tired.  Do not beat yourself up if you can't go on.  God will meet you where you are.  He will give you what you need to finish this trial, tribulation, or season well.  You won't do it perfectly, but your faith will get stronger if you don't give up completely.  

    There is physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual fatigue.  You can probably handle one of them on your own, but you don't need to.  If you are fatigued in more than one area or all then you are at risk of complete burnout.  This is dangerous because it can take a long time to get strong.  This is where you try to do too much on your own and do not give God control.  He ask little of you.  He wants you to give Him the heaviest load.   He never grows weary.  He can handle whatever the load is that you give Him.

    It is okay not to always be in motion.  It is good to be still.  It may just take a little work and discomfort for a while.  Once you learn this, then understanding your role in your spiritual life becomes a lot easier.  Being still with God enables you to hear His voice more clearly and you learn self-control.  It helps you see your life more clearly and gives you a better opportunity to be grateful.  It helps you hold onto your passion for God to keep pushing through your weariness because you know that God will tell you when to rest.  

Judges 8:4-12, Isaiah 6:8-10, 40:28-31, 41:8-10, Jeremiah 31:23-25, Matthew 11:28-30, Galatians 6:1-3, Philippians 3:12-14, & Hebrews 12:1-4

Facing Yourself

 

    Facing yourself is taking in account who you are and judging your life Biblically.  If you were standing before Jesus today how you explain some aspects of your life. Instead of facing Jesus you are looking at yourself like in a mirror to explain to yourself honestly on your thought process, decisions, and actions.  You are reflecting on your life to see if you are maturing, being stagnant, or declining in your faith.  It is not necessary good or bad, but it does allow yourself to really take in account who you are.

    When you face yourself it is easier to live a life of integrity.  You are able to acknowledge success, hills you overcome, and celebrate the wins of other people.  Victory or success makes you feel good, but it is import to remember that the glory of it belongs to God.  Part of being humble is to makes sure you don't make yourself your own god.  You see your value that comes from God, not yourself.  Everything good about you was designed by Him.  You just get to reap the benefits.

    Do not criticize yourself too harshly.  Learn from mistakes, failures, and sinful nature.  Do not criticize others too harshly either.  You don't know what their struggles are.  If they are not a Christian, then you can't expect them to act like a Christian.  If they are, then correct, guide, or disciple them if they allow you to.  If they refuse to listen to wise counsel, then leave them to be judged by God.  Exercise church discipline, but remember that God is the judge.

    When your feelings are hurt or anger flares, take a moment to question why.  Are you allowing pride to reign or get a foothold in your life?  Or are you observing sin that is being ignored?  Both will cause passionate feelings.  It is your job to identify them and control them, so you can allow God to work through you in that place.  When you allow your feelings to have control then your life turns to chaos.  It doesn't matter if people see your value as long as you know that God values you.  Do not allow other people to control your feelings or actions.

    When you are proud, self-centered, or controlling you become irritable, critical, and hold a sense of entitlement.  This can silence your witness for God quickly.  It is part of what give the church a bad name.  We all struggle with this in some aspect, but the people that do not face themselves allow the negative to influence them more than God.  Do not allow anger, resentment, or sin to control who you are.  

    Take all the negativity in your life to God.  Pray over it and remove it from the focus of your mind.  I am not saying it is easy because it isn't easy.  You have to learn self-discipline and mental control.  As you learn these you are actively learning how to control your feelings and sometimes hormonal reactions.  The more you lean on God in the problem areas the more you start walking like Jesus in life.  You learn to turn criticism into encouragement and blessings in people's lives.  You change from a self-centered fool into a wise person used by God.

Judges 7:23-8:1, 12:1-4, Psalm 44:17-22, 139:23-24, Proverbs 15:1-5, Lamentations 3:40-45, Matthew 7:1-6, Romans 12:9-13, 2 Corinthians 13:5-6, Galatians 6:4-5, & Philippians 2:3-4

Enduring Faith

 

    Faith is not a one time choice. It is a part of your life.  You are called to endure when things are uncertain, scary, or quiet.  When faith gets hard turn to God in prayer.  He may tell you to trust Him.  When He does, then go to God's Words.  Read His promises.  Remember all the times He has come through for you.  Remind yourself that you are not alone in this and that He will come through again.  Remember the end game goal.  You are living life now that is flawed and hard sometimes, but your faith is working to have eternity with God in perfection.

    Your faith is like a muscle.  You have to work it out.  When things are hard that is when you find your limits and then you start working to be more faithful in those areas.  Your are working to be steadfast under every trial and find renewed strength in the Holy Spirit.  Your faith is where you find strength, hope, and the ability to endure.

    Faith is often compared to athletic training, especial cross country running.  It gives you a visual of what is happening in the spiritual.  The path has ups, downs, unseen holes, heat, cold, and other elements that make it unpredictable.  The secret is to stay focused on the end goal so that you can remember what you are living for and fighting to have a close relationship with God.

    You are not able to endure on your own.  You need the Holy Spirit to help you.  He is your spiritual guide.  He will lead you through the danger and hard times.  He wont lead you around, but He will get you through safely if you trust Him.  As you go through things He will provide you understanding and wisdom.  It can take what feels like a really long time (years) to get through some things, but in the spectrum of eternity it is not that long.  It is for your benefit that you go through it.  It will burn away things that put distance between you and God leaving your more pure than when you began.

    Faith is a life journey.  It is not a one time event of declaring your believe in Jesus.  It is deciding to walk with Jesus for the rest of your life.  This path is not always understood by people, but you are doing as God commanded and that is what matters most.  

    Enduring faith is learning how to love like Jesus, confront sin, and be angry without sinning.  You learn grace, mercy, kindness, and more.  You shed preconceived ideas of what being a Christian is like a pushover, doormat, or being perfect.  You learn how to judge according to God's standards.  You do not judge people, you judge sinful behavior.  This takes time and maturity.  This does not happen over night, in a year, of even a few years.  Your maturing will look different from other people.  Some areas will come easier for you and you will have to work harder in other areas.  

    The things to remember is that you will never be done in your journey in faith until the day you meet God face to face.  When you enter Heaven you will finally be the perfect version of yourself.  You will be ready to worship and live with God without any distractions.  All the things that tear you apart, hurt, or confuse you will be gone.  This is what you are working toward.  In heaven you will no longer have to be strong or courageous because there will be nothing to fear.  You will be your truest self without any defenses, walls, or need for security because you will have everything your need and more.

Joshua 1:6-9, Judges 6:33-35, 7:23-25, 8:10-12, Psalm 46:1-3, Isaiah 40:28-31, Romans 5:3-5, 15:12-13, 2 Corinthians 12:8-10, Galatians 6:7-10, Hebrews 12:1-4, & James 1:12-15

God's Weapons

 

    Christians are spiritual warriors for God.  Our battlefield is unseen.  It manifest in the world, but the front line of battle is in prayer and spending time in God's Word to understand better how He fights the battles.  If you are a Christian, then you are a weapon to be used to show Jesus to the world.  You are not called to be nice, but you are called to be loving.  Telling the truth is not nice, but it is kind.  If you do it in love, then it can change the things happening around you.

    Like it or not you are in spiritual warfare.  You have a few options.  First, you can try to run away, but turning your back on the enemy only makes you vulnerable   Second, you can pretend it is not happening or ignore what is happening.  This will not change things for the better and eventually it will affect you.  Third, you can face it your way and burn out quickly.  Fourth, you can face the enemy with God doing it His way.  This is the only way to find victory and see the change that will honor God.

    There is no place for the apathetic or lazy Christian.  If you accept all the perks of being in God's family, then you are called to be in it with everyone else to honor God.  Love is is an action word.  Sometimes you have to fight for love to thrive and grow.  When you fight with God then you will have less battle scars or spiritual or emotional wounds to heal from.  When you fight with God then you will see victory where it was impossible.

    Your weapons are the armor of God.  You trust your commander not to lead you astray. Unlike human battles you will never be a pawn.  Things may happen that are unfair, but you live in an unjust world.  The difference is that God is right there experiencing it with you.  He will not abandon you.  He has given you everything you need to succeed.  You just need to learn how to use the armor of God to be successful and glorify God.

    Being God's weapon is not fighting a common battle.  You are fighting for what is good, just, and will glorify God.  You fight because you love Him which makes you passionate.  You are not called to be passive or a pushover.  You would not stand by and allow someone to hurt someone you love.  The same rule applies, but the battle is faced spiritually.  When you are facing the spiritual warfare you can see God fight for you.

    God will use your strengths and weaknesses, your talents, reasoning, resources, and reputation to fight His battles.  He gives your the Holy Spirit, ability to pray, His Word, faith, humility, truth, and wisdom to fight for Him.  You are valuable to God and have what it takes to fight with Him.  Where the world broke you is where you can be used the best to reveal who God is.  That is your battlefield (aka ministry).  

Exodus 14:13-14, Judges 7:15-16, 9:50-55, 14:5-7, 15:14-17, 2 Chronicles 20:21-24, Psalm 31:9-13, 83:9-18, 149:6-9, Isaiah 9:2-5, 10:24-26, Jeremiah 51:20-23, Matthew 15:13-14, Romans 6:12-14, 2 Corinthians 4:5-7, 10:3-8, Ephesians 6:13-17, & Hebrews 4:12-13