A good question – if a person repents from their sins and God forgives those sins than how can Christians still struggle with sin? The answer is simple; we still live in the same sinful bodies as we did before we were Christians. We were born into sin and when we become Christians our sins are forgiven. So when we die and we stand before God, He can say that we are without sin, you may enter heaven. For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal (sinful), sold under sin. For that which I do I allow not; for what I would, that do I not, but what I hate, that I do. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwells in me. Romans 7:14-15; 17 Paul, who wrote these verses, was frustrated that though he hated sin he found himself sinning. And the things that he should do, he found it difficult to do. To be honest, some Christians are lousy at being Christians. Sometimes Christians are spiritually lazy, and don’t care if they sin. Sometimes Christians don’t understand that they can tap into God’s power in their lives and say no to sin. Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil and he will flee From you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. James 4:7 There are new Christians who don’t know how yet to be Godly. Sometimes it takes a few years to be good at being a Christian. Some new Christians miss the sinful world that they left and want to “play around” with that sin. All Christians should have a desire to live a life that honors God. They should have knowledge of the Bible well enough to know what to do and what not to do in most situations. They should have a relationship through prayer that gives them power through God’s love to say no to sin. They should hate evil and love what is right. That is a lot of “shoulds”, but to be honest, living an upright life is hard work and Satan loves to mess up our Christian life so that we will be an ineffective witness for Christ. Christians will always struggle with sin until they are in heaven.
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The defense of Christianity is based on the defense of who Jesus was and what he did. This cannot come by means of science because it can’t be observed and tested. You have to search for the truth by way of history. Are the claims of Jesus historically accurate and true? And that depends on the reliability of the historian. Luke wrote the gospel that bears his name and the book of Acts. He was detailed and factual in all his writings. Read what Luke himself tells us of his methods. Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus. Luke 1:1-4 What Jesus did, He did in public for all to see. He did not get some revelation from God in a secret cave or go to some secluded mountaintop to attain the wisdom of the universe. Everything that Jesus taught, the miracles He performed, was done for all to see and refute if it was not true. Jesus claimed to be God and to prove that He was, raised the dead, healed the blind and made the lame walk again. The other gospel writers, Matthew, Mark and John also wrote of Jesus’ life and even though they emphasize different details of His they life, confirm the truthfulness, historically speaking, of what Jesus did and who Jesus claimed to be. Jesus also said that He would die on a cross and rise from the dead in three days, and that is what history confirms. Seeing what was ahead, he (Peter) spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that He was not abandoned to the grave, nor did His body see decay. God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. Acts 2:31-32 As we can trust the true history that there was an Alexander the Great who conquered much of the known world in his day and that Henry VIII became king of England in 1509, we can also trust the true history of who Jesus Christ was and what he did. Prayer starters are simply ways to start your prayers. We all prayed the same kind of prayers: be with grandma in the hospital, help Johnny with math, thank-you for my salvation. While those are all good things to pray for, we need to “step up”, or increase the quality of our prayers. Sometimes our prayers are only what we want but they fail to glorify God for who he is. Great people of the Bible prayed prayers that gave God the standing that is rightly his. These are examples of prayer starters. Jeremiah said this as part of his prayer: No one is like you, O Lord, you are great and your name is mighty in power. Jeremiah 10:6 Moses and Miriam prayed this in front of the people of Israel: Who among the gods is like you O Lord? Who is like you – majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders? Exodus 15:11. Nehemiah prayed: You alone are the Lord. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens and all their starry host, the earth, and all that is in them. You give life to everything and the multitudes of heaven worship you. Nehemiah 9:6 These are examples to help you understand how to pray a better prayer. Think about how you would start your prayers. You won’t find the word dinosaur in the Bible because dinosaur was first used in the 1800’s to describe huge bones of reptiles that were being discovered. The King James Bible was translated 200 years earlier and used another word to describe this animal; that word was dragon. The dragons in the Bible was not a mythical beast but a real animal viewed by people in real time in actual places. ----------------------------------------------------- Speak and say, thus saith the Lord God; behold, I am against thee Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which hath said, my river is mine own and I have made it for myself. Ezekiel 29:3 ---------------------------------------------------------- Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength, thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters. Psalm 74:13 ------------------------------------------------------------------ Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord awake as in the ancient days in the generations of old. Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab and wounded the dragon? Isaiah 51:9 -------------------------------------------------------------------- The Bible also uses the name of Leviathan for dinosaurs. ----------------------------------------------------------- Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook? Or his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down? Job 41:1 -------------------------------------------------------------- Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness. Psalm 74:14 ------------------------------------------------------------- In that day the Lord with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea. Isaiah 27:1 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- There are sources outside the Bible that shows the historical truthfulness of God’s Word. There are historical records from Europe in the 1500’s of dragons in their science books and in China at the time of Jesus having written records of dragons, even royal dragon keepers. The Greek philosopher, Aristotle wrote that during his own life there were common reports of winged serpents in Ethiopia. The Jewish historian Josephus also wrote of flying serpents at the time of the Exodus from Egypt. The Bible is The Word of God and can be trusted historically. Yes they can. Remember David and Bathsheba? One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, and David sent someone to find out about her. 2 Samuel 11:2-3a You know the story. David ended up having Bathsheba’s husband killed so he could have her as his wife. This is the same man who years earlier wrote in the book of Psalm praises to God. We are all born into a sin nature and as Christians we still wrestle with that sin nature. Most (if not all) Christians are ashamed and saddened at the thoughts that sometimes come into our minds. The best thing is not to become obsessed with those thoughts and to clear our minds when they do occur. Our priority in life is to please an almighty God with what we do, say and think. So I say, live by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. Galatians 5:16-17 Treat impure thoughts as they are, sin. You need to repent and ask Jesus to forgive those sins when they happen. This asking Jesus to forgive you is not the same forgiveness you asked for to go to heaven, but is a sin that prevents an ongoing relationship with Christ. He will forgive you and your relationship will be stronger. Asking Jesus to help and reading and thinking about Bible verses that focus on the greatness of God, will help our minds stay on thoughts that will please God. Recognize that there is a battle in all of us, Satan on one side and God on the other. Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Ephesians 6:10-12 In this life we will never be free from impure thoughts. We can, however, control their influence on our lives. With disciplined resistance we can rid ourselves from the habitual, willful sin. Yes, that can be confusing. I did not eat the fruit off that tree, why should I be part of the blame? I was not even born. You need to see mankind as God does. Let’s take football. When a player on the line crosses over that line before the football is hut, it’s called offside and the penalty is 5 yards back. The referee does not send the player that committed the penalty back 5 yards but the whole team. The referee does not look at the one player but the team as one unit. God does the same thing, he looks at mankind as one unit that sinned when Adam and Eve ate the fruit.
Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man (Adam), and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned. Romans 5:12 You have accepted the Lord as your personal Savior but you still have the same problems. You thought having Jesus in your life would make your life better. Even though Jesus forgave you of your sins, we still live in a sinful world are still enduring the consequences of us bringing sin into this world through Adam. What Christ does give us is the peace, joy and strength to live in a sinful world that is full of problems. What a wonderful God we have – he is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the source of every mercy and the one who so wonderfully comforts us in our hardships and trails. And why does he do this? So that when others are troubled, needing our sympathy and encouragement, we can pass on to them this same help and comfort God has given us. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 The key benefit of Christianity is after death, when we spend eternity with Christ. And if being a Christian is of value to us only now in this life, we are the most miserable of creatures. But the fact is that Christ did actually rise from the dead and has become the first of millions who will come back to life one day. 1 Corinthians 15:19-20 The sins that you have done keep coming back in your mind. The guilt lingers in your soul; you can’t forgive yourself so you are sure that God will not forgive you. But you need to ask yourself, just because I don’t feel forgiven does that mean that I am not forgiven? Do you believe that a holy, righteous God who has claimed in his Word that he will forgive you if you ask will lie and deceive you? Forget the former things; do not dwell in the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more. Isaiah 43:18-19;25 Study this Bible verse, memorize it, think about it. Believe what God has said. When you doubt God’s love and promises, study those verses again. Satan loves to stir up the guilt that is in you. God’s forgiveness washes that guilt away. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. Ephesians 1:7 Word meaning Redemption: root word redeem – to buy back; repurchase; to get or win back; to free from what distresses or harms; to free from captivity by payment of ransom; to free from the consequences of sin. There is a fundamental reason that heaven will never be boring: God is not boring! God is the most exciting, adventuresome, creative Person that you can imagine – multiplied a thousand times over. We can’t even comprehend a morsel of the excitement that is resident in the Triune God with whom we are going to spend eternity. You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. Psalm 16:11 When we get to heaven, when we are in the presence of God, everything we do will bring about perfect satisfaction and reward. We will never engage in anything that leaves us feeling even a tad bit empty. Everything we do will bring us absolute and total fulfillment and joy, because that’s the way God has created us. He (God) has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. Ecclesiastes 3:11b God has built us, as believers, with a space within us that can’t be satisfied with anything except heaven. And that’s the reason we will not be bored in heaven – it’s everything our hearts long for! In Paradise, we will finally feel the completeness that we were created to enjoy. You remember when you were younger; big sister took too long in the bathroom and you got angry and kicked the door and yelled. And now that you are older, when someone says something that offends you, your temper flares, you get angry, you lose control, and loud hateful words come pouring out. Two hours later you regret what you said and wondered why do I get so angry all the time? The root problem with anger is selfishness. Someone says something that offends you or embarrasses you in front of your friends and you are worried about how you might look in front of other people. Your ego took a hit. You’re afraid that people might not respect you anymore. Bottom line… you are worried about you. When someone says something or does something that makes you angry, stop, stay in control, ask questions about the statement, listen, try to understand the comment. If they are wrong, calmly explain why they are wrong; if they are right, thank them for their honest insights. Remember big sister taking too long in the bathroom? If you were honest with yourself, the problem was that you were hungry and wanted to eat breakfast. The situation was more your impatience and your stomach than your sister in the bathroom. Think honestly about why you get angry. When the men were returning home after David had killed the Philistine (Goliath), the women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs and with timbels and lyres. As they danced, they sang: “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.” Saul was very angry; this refrain displeased him greatly. 1 Samuel 18:6-8a Did you notice in those verses that King Saul was not thankful about how God used David but Saul was concerned about Saul. How do you stop being angry all the time? Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 1 Corinthians 13:4-5 Added note: This article is not talking about righteous anger where there is a sin committed and you are angry; example, news story showing protesters throwing rocks through store windows. Big sister taking 20 minutes in the bathroom is not a sin, although at the time you probably thought it was. |
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