Our Race To Purify The Soul
“In fact, anyone who belongs to Christ Jesus and wants to live right will have trouble from others” (2 Timothy 3:12 CEV).
Promise: We heard the LORD recently said, that JOY is coming and we will be sharing Precious and True Words from the LORD with you soon! The LORD loves you and He wants to keep you in His company.Brethren, I have a confession to make; being a Christian is not an easy experience. Why do I say so? Now briefly, we have temptations to deal with, and the weaknesses of our natural nature with its appetites (Luke 17:1; Matthew 26:41). What else makes the Christian experience not an easy walk? Well, there is our self-will (1 Corinthians 13:5; Romans 2:8), which gives expression to what we want as opposed to what God called us to (Romans 12:2). Additionally, we also have to contend with our faith and thoughts which often experiences some fluctuates with elements of doubt, fear and the weakness of giving up.
Strength Of The Soul Against Enticing Interest
What more? Well, let’s not forget our imperfect speech which is being influenced by our emotions and the things that affect us (James 3:8-14). How about the love we are supposed to have and to share with others? (Mark 12:31). As humans, we don’t have a naturally flowing love for others; instead we often attach some conditions like trust and certain behaviour to give love isn’t it? However, God’s love is unconditional, pure and non-discriminatory it is also always readily available to all (Psalm 86:15; 136:1-2; Lamentations 3:22-23; 1 Peter 4:8; Romans 5:8).
Additionally, are we not a product of society? With people around us, the scriptures obligate us to have unconditional forgiveness and are we able to just forgive without an apology or some form of retributive action? The answer is NO! We are very sparingly in our supply of love to our offenders or strangers while we are in adequate supply of dislike and unforgiveness to our fellow brethren.
Also, how about the impact of outside influences on our choices and the behaviour of others and their expectations of us? (Amos 3:3; Exodus 23:2), and are we not being influenced either positively or negatively by what others say or do to us? Now, these are just but a few things amongst others that we encounter in the expression of our Christian faith.
The Courage To Seek Light
Given to the above considerations, would you still say it is easy to be a Christian and live a sinless life? Of course not! By turning from our past life, the troubles we will be facing will come as result of our acceptance of Christ as saviour and deliverer (Psalm 69:5; Jeremiah 3:13; Numbers 5:7). Furthermore, a person who accepted Christ has taken on a courageous challenge to secure his or her future in Christ (John 5:24). As it is, embarking on a noble path like this and enduring the emotional and at times physical pain and stress Christians have become accustomed guarantees a hope of a far better life than the current (Hebrews 11:10). The Bible says the Lord has called everyone (Luke 14:23) to salvation but only the few obedient and enduring will be saved (Matthew 22:14). In conclusion, by rising with faith and conviction to follow Christ and endure in this race, we may say like the apostle Paul “...Shall trouble or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword” (Romans 8:35 NIV). In addition to this, when we want to please God, we should STOP complaining about our troubles it testifies of the failure of our characters to accept hardship and this is displeasing to the Lord. As a person who have been exposed to all kinds of troubles in all my years including our experiences with the Lord Jesus Christ, He taught us not to complain when troubles hit, we should endure and pray for such troubles draws us closer to Him.
Again, we would like to extend an invitation to anyone who does not know the Lord Jesus Christ yet, or of you are not born again, to pray our suggested prayer on this link Prayer of Sincere Repentance by faith and follow the Lord (Matthew 4:19). You may also contact us for any questions or comments about this article or our ministry.
Grace to you all
Brother Glenn
