I was reading Galatians with my wife tonight and God really spoke to my heart. I want to share a few things with you. Please pray and read these few verses out of the book of Galatians.
6 I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, 7which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. Galatians 1:6-8
As I read this I noticed that Paul marveled at people who walked away from Jesus so soon. It is sad to see the same thing happening today. People so badly want to follow Jesus because they understand that He is The Way, The Truth and The Life. People hear the gospel and they know that’s what’s been missing in their lives. I can go on and on. When the message is over, people make decisions or recommitments to follow Jesus. But it lasts only for awhile.
Before I was saved in November of 1998, there was a point in my life where I used to go to church every Sunday and hear the gospel preached. I would pray the sinner’s prayer and ask Christ to come into my heart almost on a weekly basis. But then I would leave church and go back to doing my own thing. Friends let me tell you that there was a spiritual war going on for my soul! God was competing with the things of this world and for me it was mainly baseball and girls. Now you can throw in other distractions such as there is a lot to do here in San Diego where the weather in 75 degrees 90% of the year, but there was a war going on. The bible says in John 10:10 “ The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”
It wasn’t until I surrendered everything over to Christ that I began to see my life change. As soon as I got saved in November 1998, I got plugged into a church and got discipled. I knew that I needed a foundation. I knew that for years God was trying to get me to stand up, go forward and get discipled. But I chickened out and never experienced God’s greatness in my life.
The Bible says in Psalm 34:8 “Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.” You cannot experience God and walk away. Once you have tasted and seen His goodness you will never walk away. Let me encourage you if you are going through a time of doubt, give God all of you. What do you have to lose? Give God a chance. Taste and see that The LORD is good! Try it!!! I double dog dare you!!!
Here is a forty day challenge:
- Go to a Bible teaching Church every Sunday
- Pray everyday (as you pray ask God questions and journal)
- Read a chapter of John everyday
- Go to a Bible study once a week
- Whatever church you are going to, do 1 community service project with them such as feeding the homeless
In His Mighty Grip,
Mark
It is true, that many Christians walk away from the Lord, the sad part is that many of us “think” that we are walking with the Lord, but doing the things that displease Him.
One of my favorites parable is the “Parable of the sower” because it tells us very clear, where the word of the Lord is in our lives.
Patty