It is not unusual for our Bible study group to disagree or discuss a particular subject for a length of time.  Is it possible for a person claiming to be a Christian to be rejected from heaven?  The group believes once you are accepted as a Christian, no matter what you do, you are guaranteed a spot in God’s kingdom.  I always disagree and we go on.  Since I can’t change their thinking maybe you will agree with me that I have a point.

Many in Las Vegas live similar lives as people living in ancient Ephesus.  A tremendous amount of evil exists in both cities.  In Ephesus evil was done in the open and the population accepted it.  At Las Vegas, in most instances, it is hidden and not considered good moral behavior by those residing here.  The Apostle Paul writes from prison a letter to the Ephesians concerning their spirituality and behavior.

Ephesians 5:1 – 7 – “Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.  But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.  For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient.  Therefore do not be partners with them.”

Our church’s mission is to evangelize Las Vegas and beyond.  We reach all types of people and some come from various backgrounds.  Many have had little or no religious background.  On occasion, we will have 40,000 attend a weekend service.  When you have more than 7,000 in a year accept salvation it takes time, for many, to mature spiritually.  As Paul wrote, the Ephesians as well as new converts in Las Vegas most often had no example of how a Christian should live.

During Paul’s time sexual promiscuity was taken for granted.  Most everyone indulged and it was an acceptable lifestyle.  Paul writes to those who have grown up in an atmosphere found in Asian countries today where it was acceptable for a man to have a mistress, visit houses of ill repute and didn’t bother with marriage.  These practices were considered normal and not immoral.

I picked up a financial newspaper Friday, September 29, 2011 and read similar situations in the United States.  The University of New Hampshire finds that: “From 2009 to 2010 one million more children entered into poverty, raising the total to 15.7 million poor kids, nearly a quarter of whom are below the age of six.”  Most of these children are from unwed mothers.  Their mothers often have more than one child and each child could be fathered by a different man.  It is said that 27% of these children are living with their mother and a live-in partner.

The article states that what should happen is: “A marriage should orient men and women toward the future, asking them not just to commit to each other but to plan, to earn, to save and to devote themselves to advancing their children’s prospects.”

Scripture tells us it was God’s idea to create the family. Satan hates the family and family values and we have a number of organizations that are trying to destroy family life as we know it in order to change America.  They realize that if they can break up the family they will be able to change the morality of our society.  Paul says that sexual immorality or any kind of impurity or greed is unthinkable for a Christian.  If a Christian wants to be an example for Christ, he/she must not grieve the Holy Spirit and must refrain from obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking.  He goes on to say that any person who is immoral, impure or greedy has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

I asked the group: “If you were saved as a young person and then began living the life Paul says you must not live, will you inherit the kingdom of God and Christ?  I believe Paul was writing to new converts that had accepted Christ but continued living the immoral lives they had previously lived.  Or at least he was saying that anyone living this way would not be accepted into God’s family.  A true child of God can not compromise when tempted in taking part in immoral behavior.

Whether they were saved or not those who continue in these types of sins; their profession of faith was probably insincere.  I cannot believe a person can receive the Holy Spirit and not be so convicted that they stop living such a self-centered, immoral lifestyle.

Of the 7,242 converted last year in our church I would suppose some continued to live their life as the world lives with little repentance or changed behavior.  We have approximately 750 in our recovery group that meets weekly at the church.  There are reformed prostitutes, convicted felons, drug addicts, etc.  What mature Christians must “not do”, is to be judgmental and write them off.  A mature Christian will set an example, pray and help them to study Scripture and start a new lifestyle.  They need lots of Christian love and encouragement.  This is exactly what Paul was doing in his letter to the Ephesians.  As he was condemning their life style he was not condemning them, but giving them hope and encouragement.

As we do what we can to teach and share Christianity to these uninformed converts we continually are criticized for being a church that is just too liberal. We are in some very good company because the Apostle Paul was continually criticized for being too liberal teaching grace and not works.

For more information see my blogs: A mega church’s purpose and mission and A Christian must stop being so critical.  Search Google, yahoo, etc. or http://www.agodthing.wordpress.com

I am fortunate to have been a Christian for over fifty years.  Experience can be a very profitable teacher.  We have all heard of people going through trying times.  I know an individual who had a heart attack and by-pass surgery a few years ago.  He later developed prostate cancer. It was treated with radiation and in remission for about ten years.  For the past three years it is no longer in remission and growing.  In addition, he had two more heart attacks. He was not expected to live and had another by-pass surgery.  In March 2009 his home’s value had decreased by 60%, his investments by 40% and his business by 30%. Many of his friends lost even more.  As the Apostle Paul shares in Philippians 4:10 – 12 you can be content in every circumstance.  It may not be enjoyable but I agree with Scripture, we can become content in all things no matter how bad they appear.

I consult with many people regularly and they share that they are having many sleepless nights over relationships, finances, health problems or jobs.  For those of you facing these difficulties I hope to share what I have learned through my and others experiences.

The first thing I have learned and believe is God is in control of everything.  I know whatever I am going through God has allowed it to happen.  Why did He allow it if He really loves me?  It is because of His love for me that He allowed it to happen for He knows what I needed to learn.

My own health problems have taught me how to better take care of myself.  The Jews had a Temple to worship in and it was destroyed.   Christ came that our bodies could become a temple that God’s Spirit could reside in.  In the Jewish Temple only the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies once a year to approach God.  We can approach Him every second since within us is the temple that houses the Holy Spirit.

Once we accept Christ as our Savior and our bodies become the temple, I believe we are to treat it as God’s property.  If you were given property that you believed belonged to God, how would you treat it?  I have learned to take better care of my body by what I put into it, through exercise and by what I read and listen to.  My faith, my beliefs, feelings and emotions, my attitude and how I think affect my body spiritually and physically.  In what kind of a body or temple are we allowing the Holy Spirit to live?

What made it acceptable and allowed me to be content as I see many clients and my own net worth dwindle, was knowing that all of it was God’s in the first place.  It was never really ours.  Try as I might to be a good steward there are things that occur that cannot be controlled.  Probably the value of my home, my investments and my own business was tremendously overvalued. Prior to the recession, one’s belief was you can have had anything you wanted on credit and people did.  In four years the value of our home had doubled.  As most values became over-inflated and the recession hit, many lost their homes, businesses and other values. I and many others are now back to where we were financially eight years ago.  Did any of us learn a lesson similar to those who lived through the 1930’s depression?  Many of us now live more frugally and more carefully in what we purchase because we have accepted being more content with what we have.  Some of us have placed more emphasis on our giving, savings and investing as a result of our experiences.

Matthew 6:33 – “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”  Put God first and focus on Christ.  Get your mind off how bad things are and think of how much better the future will be.  Be continually reminded that the Holy Spirit is with us to guide us through each experience. God will not allow us to have more than we can handle.  Romans 8:28 – “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”  God has a plan for our present future and maybe in the real future, He is preparing us for heaven.  Trust Him and stay content through it all!

When a person has a health problem maybe God wants them to take better care of their bodies in the future.  If you have financial problems maybe you haven’t been a good steward of what He has allowed you to have.  If it’s a relationship problem maybe He is teaching you to be more tactful or how to kindly react to others.  If you are having a job problem maybe you need to look at who or what is causing the problem.  It may be that God has something better for you or you are the one causing the problem.  Anytime you find yourself in a difficult situation always ask God what He wants you to learn from that situation.   He doesn’t allow bad things to happen to punish you only to make you better for the future.

Philippians 4:4 – “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!”

Is there anyone who does not believe that very soon Israel will be attacked?  Their enemies tried to destroy them in 1967 and couldn’t.  Will they this next time?  The Bible says in the last days they will be attacked.  Many of us think there will be three wars.  The first war is covered in Ezekiel, chapters 38 – 39; the second will be the War of Armageddon coming from the east and the third in Revelation 20:8 after Christ’s 1000 year reign.  The first war that we believe Ezekiel writes about comes from Russia, Iran, Turkey, Ethiopia, Libya and others.

Many would have tried to defeat Israel but were concerned they could have been destroyed by America.  Scripture says that no one will come to Israel’s rescue this time, because God will intervene through natural disasters as they begin to invade from the north.

Keep in mind, it is my belief that God controls or allows all events to occur.  We elected a president who appears to be not as much pro-Israel as he is pro-Palestine.  We have spent ourselves into a position that we can no longer support one more war because of Iraq and Afghanistan’s costs and an administration believing only stimulus spending will grow the economy.  Thus, a $15 trillion dollar debt limits are further participation in wars.

Let’s go back to the beginning.  Beginning in 1880 Jews very slowing started coming back to Israel.  Jews coming from Russia trickled in at first.  Then came World War I and in 1917 many more Jews returned.  After World War II and the Nazi Holocaust hundreds of thousands of Jews fled to Israel.  Then came May 1948 and Israeli people were attacked by surrounding nations.  The war ended with Israel’s independence.  For the next 23 years there was continual fighting.  Next came the six day war of 1967 and Jerusalem was united with Israel.  There has been continual skirmishes ever since.  The problem has been over Jerusalem and the Temple Mount.  At one time 1/6 of Jerusalem included the Temple.

A major reason Israel will be attacked is because they have allowed themselves to become a secular nation and no longer do they worship God as He has required.  II Chronicles 7:14 – “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”  Throughout history Israel has paid dearly for their rejection of God.  Yet, had Israel worshipped God as He commanded they would not have had to incur the wrath of the world.

As we look at current events we see the “Arab Spring” take out dictators who accepted Israel and were not planning war.  These current nations appear to be taken over by radical Muslims who want to provoke their people into destroying Israel.  Iran continues to work on nuclear weapons and threatens to wipe Israel off the face of this earth.  You have Egypt that will likely reject its peace treaty with Israel.  Turkey brags about what they will do because of Israel stopping the naval blockade of Palestine in which they were a part.  Even if Europe were to support Israel they are in worse shape financially than the U. S.  Yet, because of the world’s demand for oil we and many others have supported these enemies of Israel with tremendous amounts of money.  Otherwise, they could never have financially supported attacking Israel.  Does it appear God knew what was going to happen and has planned for Israel’s survival to prove to all that He is God?

The Bible tells us from the very beginning, Jews hated Gentiles and the Gentiles hated the Jews because of their religious hypocrisy.  Jews refused to eat with Gentiles and Gentiles ridiculed the Jews.  Christ came that He might united Jews and Gentiles into His church so that they could be united as both in Christ willing to spread the gospel throughout the world.  Generally Christians accept Jews and Israel as God demands and non-Christ believers often are anti-Jewish.  The United Nations almost in total are anti-Israel, anti-Christian and are separated from God as the Bible teaches.

Ezekiel says they will be attacked and God will be their only protector.  Ezekiel 38:21 – 23 – “I will summon a sword against Gog on all my mountains, declares the Sovereign LORD. Every man’s sword will be against his brother.  I will execute judgment on him with plague and bloodshed; I will pour down torrents of rain, hailstones and burning sulfur on him and on his troops and on the many nations with him.  And so I will show my greatness and my holiness, and I will make myself known in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am the LORD.’”

Look at the very last sentence in the above Scripture.  It says: “Then they will know that I am the LORD.”  Do you think everything that is happening is just a co-incidence?  When will people start believing there is a God and natural disasters, times of hardship and times of prosperity can occur just as Jesus Christ calmed the Sea of Galilee when a storm came up and He was in a boat with His disciples?  The more the world separates itself from God the worse things will become.  But in the end, everyone will realize there is a God.  Israel, in spite of their sins, will survive just as Scriptures states because it is God’s plan to reveal Himself to many nations.

And if God was to break any one of His covenant promises to Abraham and the prophets, His enemies would use that to state the Bible is meaningless and God cannot be trusted.  What if Israel was attacked, defeated and completely destroyed?  How much credence would you place in the Bible?  God has used the Jewish nation and history to prove that He is Who He says He is.  Eliminate God’s relationship with Israel, from Abraham until today, and you might as well throw out the Bible.  If God allowed Israel to be destroyed our faith and trust in God and the Bible is shattered.

It is my belief Israel could have stopped all of this from occurring had they turned to God as He has asked.  But they and billions of others feel they do not need God.  What about you?

If you are a sports fan you will watch most games of your favorite team from the stands or on TV.  If you are a follower, you will attend each game and follow them when they go on the road.  I have heard of followers who have not missed a single game in twenty-five years and longer.  These same people you may see attend practices.  They know the coaches and the players.  They may have a personal relationship with some.  They remember the past history and who holds the records.  There isn’t much they do not know about their team.

Fans don’t get as involved.  If they miss a few games it’s because they have other priorities.  They just like watching people excel and enjoy being able to be attached to a particular team.  There is a certain feeling when your team wins, kind of like hitting a small jackpot or lotto.  It often gives you an opportunity to invite like-minded fans to go with you to watch a game or come to your home to watch on TV.

Some Christians are fans and others are followers.  It doesn’t matter where you have lived as I have lived in six different states and there are followers of Christ and there are fans.  As Christ followers they know a lot about Him because they have studied their Bibles and allowed the Holy Spirit to guide them.  They are as intense about being followers as are those who deeply follow their sport’s team.  They have a personal relationship and have tried to be as much like Christ as they can. They may even wear a sport’s jersey with “forgiven” on it. Like the sport’s followers who never miss a game you will find them consistently at church services and volunteering wherever needed.

Fans of Christ may attend most services unless another priority is more important.  They might get just as excited as anyone during a church service but when it is over their thoughts go back to living as the world lives.  Many times it is because they do not have the knowledge as to what a follower is expected to do.  But if they have the Holy Spirit it won’t be long until they are convicted that maybe they should be changing who they are.  They may get out the Bible and just happen to turn to Ephesians 4:17 – 21 – “Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned Christ!—assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus,”

The behavior of a follower is to be radically different from a person who has not been converted.  No knowledgeable Christian should allow a false teacher influence what he believes or how one is to behave. Many Christian fans simply cannot think straight on moral and spiritual issues.  Man’s thinking alienated from God is vanity.  They can believe in parts of all kinds of religions and philosophies and think they are right. It is so easy for Satan to blind a person’s mind so that they have a shallow thinking of what Christ taught and expects a follower to practice.  Some fans can think lies can be truth and immorality can be moral.  Some accept that they are good and are able to deal with moral problems and end up taking the wrong course of action.

Scripture says that people who believed they are saved yet have never accepted the Holy Spirit into their hearts are told in Scripture that they are spiritually dead.  They are not truly capable of thinking straight in matters of faith and morals.  It is God’s intention that humans are to have the Holy Spirit indwelling in their hearts and that is not a head religion.  We are not meant to live by the world’s standards that have been established by Satan.  Scripture makes it very clear, we are not to live by the same standards that we lived by prior to conversion.

Ephesians 4:25 – 27 – “throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.”

To change from our old selves to becoming a new person requires a choice and a determined behavior.  If given a chance, the Holy Spirit will change a true believer into making a complete change in one’s life style.  At least that is my experience and it is Scriptural.  We who were sinful and self-centered with deceitful desires that produced corruption must change our minds and attitudes.  This is exactly what the Holy Spirit will do if we will allow Him.

We are all given a choice.  Are we going to be a fan of Christ or are we going to be a follower and disciple?  One takes discipline and self-control.  The fan just requires showing up when it’s convenient.

Most normal people have to deal with guilt in their lives.  Guilt is an emotion and can be one of the most damaging emotions we can have.  The greater our guilt the more harmful it can be to our health, relationships with others and our daily performance.  Guilt can impair any positive thoughts and develop in one’s self, a very low self-esteem.

Guilt does not necessarily result from something bad we have done, but it can.  It may be from failing to meet expectations we or others have placed on us.  It may be a result of a poor family relationship or a misunderstanding in which we blame ourselves.  Blaming ourselves takes on guilt.  Guilt, not controlled, can develop into the belief that we do not deserve the better things in life and that may result in establishing a low self-esteem into the future.

A person, regardless of their age, can carry the baggage of guilt and low self-esteem as they approach school, a job or a relationship with another believing they are not good enough to do well or excel. They may face life’s challenges with a low feeling of self-worth and a lack of confidence.   A person believing they have no right to be successful can develop a self-fulfilling prophecy and never meet the potential that God created in them.

Once we understand that guilt can affect our attitudes, our thoughts and even cause a negative mind-set or bad behavior we must recognize it must be controlled.  Many youngsters today come from dysfunctional families and end up in prison.

What is one to do to eliminate guilt?  If you were to ask Dear Abby she would tell you to get a good psychologist.  The one who knows you best and can provide the best advice is God.  How badly do you want to improve?

Ephesians 4:22 & 24 – “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”

God knows how important it is to overcome guilt in a person’s life.  God, through Jesus Christ, made it possible that all past sins and guilt can be forgiven.  Any person who accepts Christ as their Savior and accepts the promises of God can become a new person as Scripture states.  One, speaking from experience, a person can become a new person and the old can be erased.  It may not happen overnight but it occurs as soon as a person understands that God’s Spirit comes to live within them and through a process, continually changes them if they will allow Him to do so.

The Holy Spirit and Scripture teach us that God loves us, will guide us and give us a new mind-set that allows us to deal with guilt and low self-esteem.  As a believer and child of God who realize we were created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness, we should develop a positive pride, confidence in ourselves and a great self-image.  It may not be easy to accept this concept because Satan uses guilt to stifle us from reaching our full-potential. Therefore, we must be careful to whom we listen.  If you keep thinking you cannot be changed to what God meant you to be, you are listening to the wrong voice.  Much of it boils down to how much faith do you have? Do you believe God created you or anyone else to be a failure rather than to be successful and prosper?  But that is not the devil’s plan.  It is to deceive us, degrade us, distress us and destroy us. He would like nothing better than to defeat you through guilt and past sins. You have a choice as to who you listen and who you want to be.

Everyone has a choice: Do you believe Christ is the Son of God or just a religious teacher?  If you believe He is the Messiah and don’t accept Him as your Savior you are rejecting God.  Rejecting God is rejecting the possibility of Heaven.  If the only thing you look forward to is what can be gained today, your hope is based on material things and that gratification can be fleeing.  It cannot be taken with you when you pass on.

If you were taking a course in history and it shared that a man once lived who could control the weather and calmed storms by talking to them, would you believe history?  How many would have to witness these events before you would believe them?  If twelve people saw this happen and then told their families and friends, who believed them enough to accept it as actually happening, would you accept that as being an accurate part of history?  What if others could attest to being in a severe storm and suddenly it became calm, though they couldn’t explain it. Would that help you believe it happened?

About 2000 years ago a man wrote a book and he called it the Book of Mark.  In the fourth chapter he writes about a time when his friend Jesus and twelve of his friends were in a boat on the Sea of Galilee in Israel and a storm came up.  Let him tell you what happened in his own words.

“As evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.’  So they took Jesus in the boat and started out, leaving the crowds behind (although other boats followed). But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water. Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, ‘Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?’   When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Silence! Be still!’ Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm.  Then he asked them, ‘Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?’ The disciples were absolutely terrified. ‘Who is this man?’ they asked each other. ‘Even the wind and waves obey him!’

Those of us who have visited Israel know that the Sea of Galilee is surrounded by mountains and often sudden storms come up.  Down draft winds and a thunderstorm can cause waves as high as 20 feet.  The danger was real and it could easily swamp a fishing boat and especially those boats that were following in the boat Mark was in.  Mark writes that Jesus was asleep. He had to be exhausted.  Normally people don’t sleep through storms.  I was on a huge ship with 800 men and went through a typhoon on the Pacific Ocean and I don’t remember anyone sleeping.  That was the only time I have ever been seasick.

What a sight that must have been.  To see Jesus awake, standup and casually say: “Silence! Be still!”  All around them the sea became as calm as glass.  When I was in our typhoon and had someone stood up and said: “Ocean, be still!” If  I had seen that happen I too may have written a book.  But how could I convince people 2000 years later that it actually happened?  I guess there are just too many people who would say: “Unless I personally see it happen you will never convince me.”  I guess that is why millions will not accept what Mark and his friends witnessed that day.  Having just seen what Jesus did they too ask the question: “Who is this man?”  The majority of the world is still asking that same question.

Those who study history believe about anything history books tell them, unless it is about Jesus Christ.  That’s because His friends were “religious zealots” and they just made things up to promote their religious beliefs.  For those who question whether there is a God, they don’t believe He would have revealed His Son in such a way.  To them this is just a mystery story written to become a best seller and make the author money.  Besides, if they were to believe this story, they might have to change their beliefs and that would take all of the fun out of living.

Some day many of us who believe all that Mark and his friends wrote will be verified as true.  But it will be too late for those who had to actually see a supernatural event, so personal, that it convinced them Christ actually was the Son of God and the Messiah and He actually did as Mark described.  They then will become aware that calming the sea was just one of the hundreds of supernatural events that Jesus performed.  The greatest mystery was how He could come back to life and many seeing Him floating upward into the heavens above.  If they had personally witnessed that event would they still question or believe as His disciples did?

You can go on the Internet and find all kinds of reasons one does what they do.  I want to approach it from a Biblical perspective.  Have you ever thought:  It’s not what you do or how you do it but WHY you do it that counts with God?  I have often struggled with the following Scripture:

Matthew 5:27 & 28 – “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

Most men do not have a problem with committing the act.  How many men have a problem with their thoughts?  Where does sin begin if not in our thoughts?  My struggle has been If God is going to judge us by our thoughts, attitudes or even feelings then we must be careful what we dwell on.  Is it possible for a Christian leader who everyone would judge was going to Heaven being totally evil inside?  What will God judge them upon?  Will it be their inside beliefs and faith or outside works?

Should we not be more concerned by WHY we do what we do?  If we believe that the sin happens when our thoughts begin planning to do wrong, then we must control our thinking.  God created each of us with a spirit that could be reconciled with His Spirit.  The purpose was that people could be guided by the Holy Spirit in their thoughts, emotions, attitudes and decisions. The reason many Christians struggle with their thoughts could be they are not in constant communication and cooperation with the Holy Spirit allowing them to be guided in what they think and what they eventually do.

We often concentrate on what results we want and how are we going to do it to get there.  But shouldn’t we be putting the emphasis on WHY do I want a specific result?  An example may be a person over weight.  They may ask what must I do and how am I going to do it to lose so many pounds?  The key must be WHY I want to lose weight. Is it for a healthier life or to develop a relationship with a person of the opposite sex?  If we stay focused on the WHY, what must I do then how I will do it happens.

If Christ lives in us through the Holy Spirit and is there constantly to guide us should we not ask that God help us with our WHYs?  When an evil thought happens in our minds should we not ask the Holy Spirit WHY rather than dwelling upon it?  Therefore, does it not make sense to be very careful what we put into our minds?  We are told to study Scripture, spend time in devotions and develop a dedicated prayer life.  We are to develop the mind of Christ. The more spiritual information we put into our minds the less time sinful thoughts might appear.  Consider the following:

Galatians 5:22 – 25 – “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.  Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”

Scripture points out that sin comes from within and not from Satan or the world.  The Bible says that we inherently are corrupt.  Salvation forgives our sin but that self-centered nature remains.  We deal continually with a war between following the Holy Spirit’s guidance and our selfish desires to satisfy the lusts of the heart.  If we do not have self-control, our sinful nature permits idolatry, hated, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambitions envy, drunkenness, etc.

We must ask the question?  WHY are we Christians?  Is your motivation fear of Hell?  Is it because it’s the thing everyone should do?  WHY must be the first thing you build your relationship with Christ upon.  It is not necessary on WHAT must I do or HOW do I do it.  How about: He created each of us and has a plan that gives us a purpose and direction in life.  He loves me, wants what is best for me and will be with me forever to help throughout my life.  Therefore, I want to do everything I can to please Him and show my appreciation through love for Him and for others.  What about you?  Do you know WHY you are a Christian?

What I have learned is the more I try pleasing God the less time I spend dwelling on negative and sinful thoughts.  The real WHY is: I am looking forward to eternity where there is no sin, sorrow, pain or suffering.  It is where all of my needs are met and I will be secure forever and ever with love ones and friends to help share the joy.

P.S. The following is for young people.

Had it not been for sports I would have dropped out of high school.  Had I not joined the Navy I would never have gone to college.  There was such a difference between the life of an ordinary sailor and an officer that I went to college, just in case I was recalled, I could go back to the Navy as an officer.  It wasn’t until I had my WHY did my life and grades change.

Once I became aware of the importance of more knowledge and improving my abilities and had my WHY did I begin to set goals.  WHY should I get a good education? The more qualified I became the greater was my potential in life and the greater would be my rewards.  Did I want to be just an employee in the same category I had as a sailor or did I want to become an executive with more privileges?  Once I had my WHY I focused on it rather than on what to do or how to do it.  I realized from sports the more preparation you put in the greater are the results.  I didn’t study to take tests.  I studied to learn and be better prepared.  My C-pluses turned into A’s and B-pluses.  As I look past over many years, anytime I established a WHY am I doing this, it helped me to stay focused, persistent and productive.  God did not create failures.  It is something we choose regardless what we end up doing.  A friend in college with a very low SAT score graduated with a B average.  “No one” studied any harder.

You may think I am asking if you want to be rich.  No, I am talking about living a successful life with little stress as an achiever.  What is the difference between you and a highly successful person?  Probably the difference is: they wanted to be successful and you didn’t believe you could.  Or, at least you were unwilling to put forth the effort it took to become more successful.

What if God talked to you as He did to Joshua?  Would your life be any different?  This is what is recorded:

Joshua 1:7 – 9 – “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.  Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.  Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”

In the New Testament Christ is telling his followers the same thing.  Christ said to obey the principles and day and night live by them as He taught His disciples. Read and study daily your Bible and pray so that you can develop the mind of Christ.  Be strong and courageous and do not fear.  Never become discouraged because I have given you the Holy Spirit to go with you wherever you go.   You will then become prosperous and successful.

If you were to ask my family and friends, who know me best, they would tell you that I have been blessed with a successful life.  Had it not been for accepting Christ once I was discharged from the Navy, I would never have had the life that I have had.  The thing that made a difference was my acceptance of what the Bible taught and then I tried my best to follow Christ’s teachings. (I Peter 1:15 – “But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do;”)  Here are some of the things that changed me:

1. I was forgiven of all my sins. I died to that old person and became a new person in Christ.  I started to allow the Holy Spirit to make a new me.  That new person started to believe in myself and developed self-esteem.
2. I changed my attitude and became positive believing that all things were possible through Christ.  This convinced me that I could become a winner.  I developed a can-do attitude.
3. My character began to change and I became more honest, truthful with integrity. I practiced the “Golden Rule” to do unto to others as I would have them do unto me.
4. I became loyal to others and became more productive for my employers.
5. I learned to become self-disciplined, staying focused on what needed to be done.
6. I was always competitive but now in a more honest way.  It made me more ambitious and willing to accept whatever was needed to do my job.
7. Working to please my Lord, I wanted to do my best in anything I did.
8. I learned to set goals, put them on paper and then had the self-discipline to meet them.
9. I established a financial budget so I could tithe 10%, invest 10% and live on the rest.
10. The Holy Spirit helped me to never give up.  I made mistakes, I failed many times but I learned to become persistence.

I Corinthians 9:24 – 27 – “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.  Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.  Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air.  No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.”

I suppose having participated in sports and having been a high school coach for a couple of years helped in my self-discipline.  The above Scripture has been very important in how I approached life.  I wanted to be a winner as the Apostle Paul taught.  Once I read and studied the Bible many times, it became very clear.  Every believer can become a winner and be successful.  Keep focused on the Holy Spirit Who is within us to help us be courageous and prosperous as God told Joshua and Christ told His disciples. If only we could teach this to our youth and they would listen.  Most listen to Satan, the great deceiver.