Do not waste time arguing over godless ideas and old wives' tales. Instead, train yourself to be godly. Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come. This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it (1Timothy 4:7-9 - New Living Translation)
Your natural life is a direct reflection of your spiritual condition. What you are on the outside is the result of who you are within. The mental habits that you have spill over into every crevice of life, both natural and spiritual.
Our outward world parallels our inner world. When you make strides toward God, and increase in spirituality, there should also be a change in natural behavior, or it’s not true spiritual increase!
If you’re late for work, you’ll also be late in being faithful to a ministry obligation. If you’re not passionate about natural life responsibilities, you won’t be passionate about spiritual responsibilities. If you see no value in obeying natural law, you may show the same disrespect for spiritual authority. IF you’re a lazy bones naturally, and find it hard to get motivated to perform, you’ll be lazy bones spiritually and will lack spiritual passion.
If I look in your car and see all kinds of debris in the floorboard and seats, it tells me that you don’t value excellence, and you’ll be prone to under perform spiritually! If I walk into your home and it’s consistently untidy, that tells a lot about your values. Excellence starts with thinking, and will filter into all we are and do.
When God started the process of changing my life with His Word, my natural life began to feel the pressure to change! And it’s been changing ever since!
When I’m looking for those to help me in ministry, I look at these natural areas first. You can pray fervently, shout loudly, and preach like you’re spitting cotton! But if natural things don’t sing the same song, it’s all a bluff!
Give yourself a check-up today. What’s your natural life saying about what you value right now. Remember, your natural life is a direct reflection of your spiritual condition.
Friday, November 21, 2008
Your Natural Life Reflects Your Spiritual Condition
Posted on Friday, November 21, 2008 at 1:01 PM by Pastor Mitch
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Pastor Mitch,
ReplyDeleteThis question has nothing to do with your blog. What does God's Word say about bankruptcy?
Well, we are to be responsible for our choices and we should pay back our debts. There are different kinds of bankruptcy laws for various problems,and some that reorganize and allow the person to pay the debt back. If the issues are so serious that this seems to be the route to take, I would seek to find a way to pay the debt back. It's called being a good witness. Ask God for His wisdom in your articular situation, enabling you to to that which will be the best witness. He is marvelous at turning hopeless situations around!
ReplyDeleteQuestion,
ReplyDeleteI've only been saved for 3 1/2 years. I have a clean home, car, pray, tithe, on time (here lately 80% of the time). God has uses me, and I don't speak this out to people, only a few know, but He has used me almost from the day I was first saved.
I'm spirit filled. He shows me visions, then they later come to pass, I hear His voice, my spirit does, speak things out and people are waitig to hear this word I got. (one of the times I will speak something out to someone/ if the Holy Spirit will let me speak it.)I also have night dreams, i see these people,the problem their having, hurt, car accidents, etc and get up and pray in the spirit for them. I don't know who they are, they could be in Germany. I only know that I am to pray for them though. And God has given me other gifts. I guess i'm learning when to share these gifts with people and when not to, is what i am saying. I can look at a person and see that their spirit DOES NOT RING WITH MY SPIRIT, their spirit is dark.
In saying all of this I still smoke.
I know people who have simlar gifts that are overweight, too much caffine, salt etc. whose natural body/temple is not the best it could be.
You say "the natural things don't sing the same song, it's all a bluff".
I'm confused, what exactly are you saying. I don't have these gifts and not saved, i'm faking it, or faking myself out of salvation.
I respect you and your teaching and I am not the person/people who have been blogging about money/materialism and the health, earthly bodies stuff.
I'm really confused, and yes, I know i need to give this to God, smoking. It's not that I don't trust God it's more that I feel like if I fail, I will let God down. Or maybe that is an excuse of failing to quit. Or maybe this is not what your saying at all in your blog??? help
Hey, don't get legalistic with this! That was not the intention at all! It's just that our natural and spiritual lives often parallel each other. So you may smoke; that means that you have a habit that has been ingrained in your flesh for years that the Lord wants to deal with. None of us clean up overnight. It takes time for God to deal with the various areas of life.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds as though the Holy Spirit is using you in spiritual gifts, and people were used in spiritual gifts in scripture that were far less than perfect. Paul wrote a letter to the Corinthians and told them that they came behind in no good gift in chapter 1. Then he called them carnal or body-ruled believers in chapter 3. God doesn't use us because we are perfect. He uses us becuase our hearts are right and we are open to Him.
As you continue to walk with the Lord, He will take you into a deeper place in Him in relationship, and will deal with all kinds of things in your life. The smoking thing may be just one of them.
Thank you for being open here. May the Lord continue to use you. God Bless.