Changed Hearts and Lives

How is your heart and spiritual life and I don’t mean is it healthy physically, no I am talking spiritually?  God wants our hearts and lives to be right with Him, so how is yours doing?

I am reading a book that I would recommend that every believer should read if you really want to change.  When you examine yourself, do you like what you see or do you see where you have allowed some things to creep back into your lives that you stood against five or more years ago?  Are there things there that you have never dealt with that have to be removed so that you can grow and have a closer relationship with the Lord?  I pray many times that the Lord will keep me from being deceived and then I realize that I have allowed myself to be deceived.  I have heard these verses many times and even used them in my Tidbit’s and on other occasions without realizing that a person can be deceived and conform to the world in many ways.

This is what it says in Romans 12:1-2, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

I spend a lot of time studying and reading and listening to the Word and I spend time in worship and praying so that I can renew my mind but I have come to the conclusion that it takes more than that.  One of the things I have been confronted with is the time I spend watching TV, even though I try hard not to watch PG 13 or R rated things or watch nudity or hear foul language or anything demonic or that I think hinges on it, there are things that I see and hear that are far from godly.  It is one thing to have to hear these things when I am not home but another thing to allow them to take place in my home.  A believer is in the world to be a witness and an example to others not to mimic their behavior but far too often we conform because we use the excuse that we don’t want to offend anyone or some other excuse.  I have been a believer most of my life as far as believing there is a God, but I haven’t lived it consistently except for about 34 years now and there are things that I allow to take place in my Christian life now that I would not have twenty or even ten years ago.  Sometimes believers may call other believers legalistic because of their stand against sin which can cause intimidation, but I think God may call it holiness.

Read what it says in 1 Corinthians 3:18-20, “Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, ‘He catches the wise in their own craftiness’; and again, ‘The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.’”

The problem with many is that they are worldly wise and not spiritually wise.  The Lord wants us to be spiritually wise so that we will know His good and perfect will.  If we sit down and watch PG 13 and R rated movies and a non-believer walks in they will see no difference in us than the world.  I have even watched G rated movies that I thought were questionable at times.  

How many of us are into materialism, aren’t we just like the world?  What about the other entertainment we allow ourselves to be entertained with and the way we seem to idolize sport figures and movie and TV stars, are we not conforming to the world?  Yes, we are supposed to be in the world for a witness and testimony to others, we are not supposed to be of the world.  Or are we trying to make the Lord jealous?  

We wonder why our prayers are not answered the way we would like them to be.  This Tidbit is not about judging anyone else, I will leave that up to you and the Lord, it is a heads-up message and believe me this is talking to me also, I have already started repenting and I have already started to make changes in my life.  I know this message and the message in the book will not be easy to accept but if you want to change it is a good read and so is the Bible, but if you read either and not put what you read into practice by living what you read, you are deceiving yourself.  The book is called “A Heart Ablaze Igniting a Passion for God” written by John Bevere who is also the author of the bestsellers “The Bait of Satan” and “The Fear of the Lord.”  I haven’t read those two books but I think I will, first I want to finish the one I am reading.

Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit if we are born-again and we need to be careful that we don’t defile it.  After reading this, if you feel like you need to repent and are ready to change your old sinful habits I suggest you pray the prayer King David prayed in Palms 51.  The Word says this in 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  When we confess and repent and act on changing our lives, God will forgive and cleanse us from all unrighteousness, praise the Lord!!  Enough said I have given you something to think about and I hope you will.  May the good Lord bless you and yours and may you have a super day!!