The unbelieving of Christ, and/or mutated conspirators of Scripture, do have strong walks of deception, why can’t we have strong walks of truth?
It's difficult to understand this “Christian" nation—we call on God when we see fit. We cry out with prayers when things are rough, but when everything is good, we take the credit.
“There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgement of God in the land. There is only cursing, lying and murder, stealing and adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed” (Hosea 4:1a-2)
America is in a rut of retaliation against God.
Christians are too underdeveloped to stand their ground for Jesus . We are like frightened children and dogs in a thunderstorm. One loud noise of opposition we seek shelter, run, and hide shivering in hopes the trouble will go away.
Where are the mature Christians? Why are only handfuls standing up for our Brother, our Savior, our King and Lord? Christ stood in defiant opposition to political, religious, social, and spiritual attackers; why are so many professions of Jesus followed up by a refusal to stand for Him?
We are a nation of carnal Christians.
The lascivious Christian serves the flesh (Romans 8:5), feeds upon milk and therefore is immature (1 Corinthians 3:1). Their walks are unreliable (Romans 7:19), they are unfruitful (Matthew 13:22), they have lost their joy in Christ (Psalm 51:12), and all their rewards will be stubble in the fire (1 Corinthians 3:15). All this does not mean salvation has been lost; however, it does entail a weak, fearful walk.
We as a nation have become flesh bound. We do not live in the Spirit. We have been preoccupied with the here and now. Life is but a vapor. We exist only for a short time on this earth, and what do we do? We lust after prestige, power, possessions, flesh, and money.
We purse the name of Jesus on our lips because we recognize His saving power, yet we do not walk in His light. We either forget His commandments of love or we modify His teachings to suit our fancy. We are too afraid to stand for Jesus in the face of opposition, because we are terrorized by the reactions of the world.
Christ Jesus suffered for us and we should accept His call to be like-minded with Him.
What does this mean? To stand with conviction of truth against those who vehemently oppose or desire to kill us. We should count it joy, and an honor, we can return Christ’s favor by bearing up under their rage and venom.
Each of us is guilty of falling by the wayside and not participating in Christ’s kingdom. We idly stand by and watch false ramblers of faith march on, while we do nothing to refute their lies.
Why are we so afraid? I cannot speak for you, but I will tell you of myself. I speak loudly, but at times I leave the big stick at home. This happens when I get sidetracked by desires.
For instance, I rationalize my occasional smoking, by saying it’s just a cigarette, God will forgive me when I ask. Yes, He will, but my devotion to Him wanes each time I decide to fire up another cancer stick. I defile His temple and grieve His Spirit living inside me. I choose to disobey and I suffer the consequences of mounting decisions contrary to God’s will.
Cigarettes are an overflow from my old self and I have yet decided to hand them over to God. I clinch them tightly, in turn placing them in a higher status than God.
True, each time I ask for forgiveness, but I show no sign of change, no effort toward actual repentance. This eventually creates a barrier between me and the Holy Spirit, who is my source of power, my source of strength, comfort, and counsel. Without Him by my side, I am nothing. I tremble at the thought of standing against those who can tear me down.
When I fail to keep in step with the Holy Spirit, I’m all alone in each battle. No wonder I lack the backbone. Each decision to disobey lays another brick on the wall between Jesus and myself. Before long, I can’t even see Him. This doesn’t happen overnight, it is a process of time. It’s a day in, day out walk of disobedience.
Of course, this is me. But, I do know this is how the mind and soul work. I’ve spent many a year in darkness, and I know the particulars of sinful decision-making. So my vice may not be yours, but the same principle applies. Whatever your brick and mortar are on the wall of disobedience, these are the causes behind a carnal life.
We must, and I stress we, pursue a godly life through the ever-present Holy Spirit. We must stand for Jesus. We must spend time in prayer. We must study Scripture. To know Christ is to spend time with Him. This is only accomplished by offering ourselves up as living sacrifices (Romans 12). This is done by relinquishing the grip we have on ourselves, and devoting our hearts and time to Him.
