For thought and meditation

[rl69]

The Death of ProgressBut if we would examine ourselves, we would not be judged by God in this way.—1 Corinthians 11:31 (http://harvest.us3.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=4f108f827aed8d503b5fca9fa&id=1b310fc843&e=3dd732485b)It has been said that self-satisfaction is the death of progress. Any Christian who really knows what it is to follow Jesus always will realize there is a long way to go. We want to keep moving forward spiritually. We have to keep growing and learning.

And if we want to see a revival, then we need to humble ourselves and pray. In 2 Chronicles 7:14 (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/x-apple-data-detectors://4) God says, "Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land."

Of the twelve Hebrew words employed in the Scriptures to express the verb pray, the one used here in 2 Chronicles 7:14 (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/x-apple-data-detectors://5) means "to judge self habitually." We are so quick to judge and criticize others habitually when the Bible says we actually should be judging ourselves.

Simply put, to judge ourselves means that we recognize we have a long way to go. Are you satisfied with where you are spiritually? After years of walking with the Lord, the apostle Paul said this:



I don't mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. (Philippians 3:12–14 (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/x-apple-data-detectors://6))
If we were to spend less time criticizing others and spend more time examining ourselves, then maybe we would experience a revival.

[DerekP Houston]

Simply put, to judge ourselves means that we recognize we have a long way to go. Are you satisfied with where you are spiritually? After years of walking with the Lord, the apostle Paul said this :

I don't mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. (Philippians 3:12–14 (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/x-apple-data-detectors://6))



I've found it to be a long road from sinner to salvation, just keep thinking left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot....even baby steps forward is making progress for me. Might take me longer than most but I'll make it to the end eventually. I ain't satisfied with where I was or am now, but life is a journey.

[Boaz]

You have a realistic concept Derek , us that have believed since childhood are still discovering and taking baby steps also . There is much to learn and much to live . Doesn't do you any good to learn it if you don't try to live it .

Thank you rl69 , good lesson .

[buckwheatpaul]

Once again a lot to think about....the road to salvation is not a road to gamble with....too much at stake....thanks. Paul

[Pine Baron]

Thank you. rl. When we stumble and fall, fall forward!

[GhostHawk]

Amen brother!

This is one I struggle with.
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?"

Or

"Luke 12:27 (http://biblehub.com/luke/12-27.htm)
Consider how the lilies grow: They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory was adorned like one of these."

Well all I can say is that even the Lily's can freeze to death in North Dakota.
You go into winter unprepared and you may not see spring.
My parents were good Christians, but they always planned ahead, grew a large garden, had 2 freezers to hold the gatherings plus bought half a beef and a pig every year.

Now I don't worry much about what I look like, all my clothes come from the second hand store and have for years. But experience has shown me that those who fail to prepare fail to survive long.

Lots to think about there. Lots of progress to be made.

[Blackwater]

What a great and timely post, RL! Thanks!!! And Derek, one surprise you have coming is the simple fact that they're ALL "baby steps!" We progress slowly, but if we're diligent, and don't falter and lose faith, we'll get to the finish line and hear those wonderful words, "Well done, good and faithful servant." That has to be our goal in this life. It's a training and proving ground, not a 2nd version of Heaven, just because we come to faith and the simple realization of the Truth.

And Ghost, you make some very salient points, and illustrate how and why we can never take a single verse or segment, and expand it outward indefinitely. God gave us good common sense, I believe, and expects us to use it diligently, insofar as we're able to see or project ahead of us. Still, even so, people have, from time to time, found themselves in survival situations, and those who lose faith, simply ball up and die, often, while those who just keep plugging away, even in the face of a lack of promise, often discover some little something that makes the difference between life and death for them, and they live through it. Life's just like that. If we stay diligent, and keep our noses to the grindstone, even when tired and beset by seemingly insurmountable odds, if we keep going anyway and keep the faith, it's often met with the simple Grace of God, and our salvation shows up right when we least expect it, and have the least reason to suspect it might be there. We simply don't know nearly as much as we often think we do, and effort and diligence and a tough-minded faith is what often makes the difference in life for us all, whether we're dealing with a survival situation or just daily life. We so often take the simple activities and events of everyday life so lightly, that we forget how important they really are. We who know God intimately, have a great advantage there. We are so full of awe and wonder that everything takes on a new light, and for once in our lives, we see even the little things as they really are, which is significant and consequential, and full of meaning.

And our nation NEEDS a real revival today, and for the entire forseeable future! And nothing short of a real and sincere revival throughout the land will, I believe, result in our return to our once great standing in the world. If we don't have that revival, I'm convinced we'll wind up on "the dust heap of history," and if we fall, evil will reign throughout the world. How so many can't or won't see this is a cause of great concern for me. But I'll never give up hope until the last breath leaves my body. Never!

My greatest sin has always been loving THIS world TOO much, I think. But I honestly can't help it! I see the wonder and beauty and bounty that God has given us, and I marvel at it all. I've long loved really great art, but nothing, not the Mona Lisa, the statue of David, or anything made by the hands of man can equal what I see "out there." I believe God forgives me this sin, and maybe even smiles a little at my simplicity and innocence in it all? I can never forget where we're all headed eventually, but while I'm here, I think realizing what all God has truly given us, and how great and full of wonders it really is, is the best way to find the simple quiet time to get to know our Lord through his handiworks here. It's been said that in raising children, more is "caught" than "taught." I believe this, and just sitting "out there" in awe of what all God has given us, and just absorbing things that are beyond words, is still one of the best ways to get to know our Creator, our Mentor, and our Savior.

And the key element in this, when we get to do that, is exactly RL's point for the day. We have to USE what we absorb out there to evaluate ourselves. We can't change another in any way. We can only speak and reason with them, but once we do that, they can accept or reject whatever Truth we try to share with them. We have no control over them whatever. Only within our own selves do we have control, and that's a very easy thing to forget, and even abandon, especially today I think, when the prevailing attitude seems to be that we should never admit when we're wrong, but just come up with whatever excuses we can, as if excuses justified, somehow, our being wrong. When it comes to salvation, ours is the only one we have any real control over, but if we keep ourselves maintained and fit, we CAN at least share what we have with others, and in so doing, keep the faith going. Some will accept, and some will reject it, but we've done what Christ instructed us to do.

Such a very timely message, RL, with the election and the fate of the country hanging in the balance now! Thank you!!!

[claude]

I've found it to be a long road from sinner to salvation,

I see it differently, salvation is instant, the instant one believes they are saved, it is that simple.

(John 3:16) "¶ For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

However the road for the sinner (and we all are) is indeed long, and step by step until the day the flesh perishes, for in the flesh we all sin. That is the awesome beauty of what Christ did for us, He made it possible to maintain our good standing through atonement.

Luk 5:31-32 KJV And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. (32) I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

He didn't come to save us over and over, He came to save us once, and to let us repent, as often as we need to.


Mat 18:21-22 KJV Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? (22) Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.

[Preacher Jim]

Salvation is instant. Growing to what Christ wants you to be is a daily walk forward with the Lord. Never give up, never give in, never quit.

[DerekP Houston]

Ok, perhaps I worded it poorly. Thanks for the info and correction.

[Blackwater]

Yet another fine distinction that ultimately matters. These are the things that confuse some would be Christians, and it's SO hard for all of us to use the exact words in just the right places, but as long as love prevails among us, there's no harm, no foul. This is one of th ebest parts of Christianity, when it's properly and fully applied. We CAN talk among ourselves, and correct each other, and all that happens is everyone's glad! VERY different from what tends to happen out in the "profane" world! VERY different! It's one reason I'm so glad to be here among such great and knowledgeable folks! You guys are the best!

[Bzcraig]

It is indeed a way for us to have an 'iron sharpens iron' experience here on Cast Boolits. As Blackwater mentions its not really about 'correction' but about proclaiming the truth that salvation is a free gift from God and can in no way be 'earned.' If we are able in any way able to earn our way into heaven, then Jesus' going to the cross meant nothing and was in vain.

The other point that came to my mind while reading this thread and honestly a point that I believe to be very important, is how we identify ourselves. Once I claim to be a follower of Christ (I often avoid using the word Christian because it has come to have meanings I don't want to be associated with), I have a new identity. I am no longer a sinner, the Bible calls me a saint, a child of the Most High God, coheir with Christ and many more but never a sinner. I once was a sinner because that is what/how I was identified, but no longer. But don't think for an instant that I no longer sin, I do! it just no longer identifies me. Now having said all that, here is the big point: if you identify yourself as say a 'sinner saved by grace' guess what? You will continue to act like a sinner because that is what you claim you are. Once you have confessed Jesus as Lord over your life, and accepted His death, burial and resurrection as your own (as in baptism) you have in an instant become a King's kid and just need to begin the process of learning (discipleship) how a King's kid acts. As Christ followers we are all in process, all continue to sin, all say and do things unbecoming and struggle not to bring harm to the cause of Christ, but it doesn't change who we are. I am still a co-heir with Christ in His Kingdom along with each and everyone of you.

[Boaz]

It is indeed a way for us to have an 'iron sharpens iron' experience here on Cast Boolits. As Blackwater mentions its not really about 'correction' but about proclaiming the truth that salvation is a free gift from God and can in no way be 'earned.' If we are able in any way able to earn our way into heaven, then Jesus' going to the cross meant nothing and was in vain.

The other point that came to my mind while reading this thread and honestly a point that I believe to be very important, is how we identify ourselves. Once I claim to be a follower of Christ (I often avoid using the word Christian because it has come to have meanings I don't want to be associated with), I have a new identity. I am no longer a sinner, the Bible calls me a saint, a child of the Most High God, coheir with Christ and many more but never a sinner. I once was a sinner because that is what/how I was identified, but no longer. But don't think for an instant that I no longer sin, I do! it just no longer identifies me. Now having said all that, here is the big point: if you identify yourself as say a 'sinner saved by grace' guess what? You will continue to act like a sinner because that is what you claim you are. Once you have confessed Jesus as Lord over your life, and accepted His death, burial and resurrection as your own (as in baptism) you have in an instant become a King's kid and just need to begin the process of learning (discipleship) how a King's kid acts. As Christ followers we are all in process, all continue to sin, all say and do things unbecoming and struggle not to bring harm to the cause of Christ, but it doesn't change who we are. I am still a co-heir with Christ in His Kingdom along with each and everyone of you.

Thank you .

[claude]

if you identify yourself as say a 'sinner saved by grace' guess what? You will continue to act like a sinner because that is what you claim you are.

Nice point, thank you.

[Pine Baron]

Wow, Bz, great post, very thoughtful, thanks.