DESPERATELY NEEDED!

 

Tuesday, August 16, 2022

 

DESPERATELY NEEDED!

 

Why are so many professed believers yet undecided regarding their Christianity? Each one seems to be two kinds of people and you can never be certain which you are dealing with. Their lives are what we commonly refer to as “compartmentalized.” One compartment holds work, another holds family, a large compartment holds recreation, and into a small compartment we stuff religion.

 

There are some reasons why this is so…

 

Ø Our culture of rapid change and easy access to everything has produced a restless desire for some unknown thrill or satisfaction. Like Goldilocks we keep sampling the porridge but can never find a bowl that is “just right.”

Ø We insist on deciding for ourselves what is right or wrong without restriction or accountability.

Ø We have a longing to be first and we seek the applause that ruins all our relationships because we are always manipulating others for our own benefit. Clinically this is Narcissism, which is a mental condition in which people have an inflated sense of their own importance, a deep need for excessive attention and admiration, troubled relationships, and a lack of empathy for others.

Ø Everything in our life passes through the “me” filter.

 

There are some things that we desperately need…

 

1. A quiet spirit! We must learn to give to each task our very best effort and then leave the results in God’s hands. The conventional effort results in nervous anxiety and a complaining spirit. Charles Stanley is always saying, “Obey God and leave all the consequences to Him.”

 

1 Thess 4:11-12…study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you;

12 That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.

 

2. Real purity inside and out! We must choose to live our lives unsullied by the filthiness that surrounds us in the world.

 

1Ti 5:22 Do not hurry to lay hands on anyone [ordaining and approving someone for ministry or an office in the church, or in reinstating expelled offenders], and thereby share in the sins of others; keep yourself free from sin. Amp

 

3. Simplicity! Simplicity brings freedom, joy, and balance. We lack a divine Center, our need for security has led us into an insane attachment to things.

 

4. Thrift!  Placing boundaries around our appetites will build self-discipline and character.

 

John 6:12

12 When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.

 

5. Modesty! The word is only used once and is found in First Timothy 2:9 and means “orderly or decorous.” Today it has come to mean a manner of dress and deportment that does not entice or lead to lustfulness.

 

6. Passion! Ours is an age absolutely defined by the word “casual.” Unfortunately, we have allowed informality to modify quality. A lack of quality in preparation hinders performance in every area. Choir members do not practice. Sunday school teachers do not study. Buildings and facilities are not well maintained. The result is a haphazard presentation of an urgently needed gospel.

 

Dear Father, I’m sure in many ways my behavior just wears you out! Forgive me for my sometimes-casual approach to Christianity and make me pleasing to Thee. AMEN