When you first come to faith you have a lot to change and get used to. You need to find a church and get baptized to honor your vow of obedience in accepting God's invitation. However, how you supposed to know what church to go to. There are so many. How do you know which one teaches God's Word?
Take your time to get to know God's Word. Focus on your relationship with Jesus. Listen to the nudging of the Holy Spirit. They will direct you to the church that will help you become a strong and mature Christian. This a lifetime journey, so you will not know everything in the beginning. You do need to be intentional about your walk.
Focus your walk through prayer. Pray that God will give you a mentor, direction, and understanding. Pray that God put people in your life that will help you in your journey and that He removes the people that will hinder your walk. The focus needs to start with Jesus. That means you have to be willing to loose people that you care about and even love to be close to God.
You need the communal lifestyle of the Christian walk the way God intended it. You see the first church and how Christians were a community in Acts. That is how you measure a church. If the church preaches God's Word in the entirety, empowers the people to use their spiritual gifts, teaches, disciples, and are full of life and love then it is a Godly church.
Focusing on your relationship with Jesus will help you when things are not perfect. There will be conflict within the church just like there is in regular life. We are all new people in Jesus, but we all still live in this world. We all have issues and we are not always going to be understanding of those issues in other people.
Conflict can put you in a crossroads. How you handle it will define where you are in your relationship with God at that time. To handle conflict in a holy manner you need to be rooted in the foundation of God's Word instead of the world. There will always be cultural issues, but if you are led by the Holy Spirit you can come out without being burned.
Conflict can happen when there is a perceived injustice. This includes things that happen within the church. When expectations are unmet, then resentment can develop with will cause conflict. Sometimes it needs to happen and sometimes we need to pray through it. If God's expectations are not being met, then a confrontation is necessary. However, it does need to be done in love and not anger.
There is internal conflict as you fight your worldly nature to give space for your Christlike nature. That goes for difficult times, hardships, and other things that make you feel discord within your mind and heart. You need to focus on God's promises and thanksgiving for what He has done to over turn anxiety, stress, and emotional turmoil.
You can find clarity in focusing on the truth of God. When decisions are not easy, pray and wait until it you hear the Holy Spirit. Use God's Word to align your priorities to what will bring worship into your heart and empower you to walk in faith. Conflict is a collision of priorities, so focus and things will become clear.
Do you want to walk in life empowered by the Holy Spirit or a slave to distractions and unfulfillment? Focus provides clarity. It enlightens the truth. It can remove fear, discouragement, amd doubt by revealing spiritual strength. You can live victoriously even when you don't feel like a winner. The truth is stronger than feelings.
If you see a problem or a potential problem, do not grumble. Be the solution. Pray over it. Ask for guidance and then step up to be the leader to solve the problem. If you don't want to lead, then keep your mouth shut so that you are not part of the problem.
Do not hinder God's Word. Focus on what is good, honorable, true, pure love, and righteous. Put them into practice. Learn how to apply what you learn from God and you will live with peace in your heart. You will be able to sleep well without regret or fear because you have a clear conscience. You know you are living the life God wanted for you: kind, respectful, honorable, and loving.
Proverbs 16:1-3, Isaiah 41:8-10, Acts 6:1-7, Philippians 4:8-9, & 1 Peter 3:13-17
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