Remaining Faithful
Learning how to Follow Jesus
Our thoughts,
Many things are involved in remaining faithful and free from spiritual contamination, and it takes years of healing and renewal to achieve this. For many saints, it can be a daily struggle not to fall back into the past and its consequential snares. We must be there together, united, learning to follow Jesus with commitment, from the heart, mind, and soul.
Practical Points,
1. Withdraw from every possible source of temptation. Move away, distance yourself from the very things which kept you in lawless shackles, even if that is a career, family, house, State, or whatever else that might be persuading you to remain in a toxic dungeon (i.e., sell the farm if you have to; your soul is more important - Mt. 18:8-9).
2. Have a Full devotion to the Gospel cause, the greater good of His Majesty's local assembly (Mt. 6:33) -- always seek His Kingdom's local church in priority (i.e., be present, participate).
3. Practice hospitality with your fellow believers and get to know the saints personally; invite them over for a meal and share faith.
4. Practice benevolence on pure candidates. There's always someone in the church who needs a blessing.
5. Celebrate honourable mentions and achievements (i.e., birthdays, anniversaries, employment, accomplishments, etc).
6. Fellowship and socialize with faithful members; you are friends in the heavenly realm. Please put in the work that reveals its importance.
7. Remain connected throughout the week (i.e., phone calls, text, visits).
8. Find true friendship based on the study and application of Scripture. Though we must be friendly to the world, we are not friends with the world. Pure relationships, everlasting connections, are with faithful brethren, not the world.
9. Have goals, ancestry, purpose, and a future for Christ. The faithful local body of Christ is the location where you can find marriage, children, land, health, and growth. The local church is not just a passing through, it is life in Christ, build many tomorrows for your children's children.
10. Live a life of evangelism, always ready to be approachable and productive. If we are not genuinely living for Christ, we will never bring anyone to our Master's love. In everything, discern the entrance door into a spiritual conversation. Learn to be productive, not awkward and condemning.
11. Find your place in the local body, serve, and create a ministry. There is always work to be done, and you have a valuable role in the church. Discover how to enter into a ministry or create your own, and invite others to participate. As long as it does not breach our King's doctrinal boundaries, utilize the liberties we have to find your niche in the congregation.
12. Have integrity, commitment, and security. Be dependable. Be reliable and punctual. Whatever effort you put into secular employment or activities? Do it even more so for His Grace's local body.
13. Be humble. Be teachable. A prideful "know-it-all" constantly finds himself pestering unrighteous arguments, being confrontational, and divisive. Let us be capable of admitting wrong and learning from His providence and experience.
14. Pray, always. If we're not praying, we're dying. God has blessed us with a means of communication. We are wise to utilize it at every opportunity.
15. Keep your focus on the blessings. There is always something good to thank God for; even the bad parts of life can be seen as blessings, for we've learned something, haven't we? Of course. Have we survived another day? Yes? It is enough, God be thanked.
16. Be thoughtful and giving. If life is about ministering to others, then it won't be about our problems. We all have challenges to overcome; don't become entitled and selfish. Remain concentrated on the well-being of your fellow saints.
17. Learn to let go where necessary. Some past experiences will never bring fruitfulness in your life; have the discipline to move on.
18. Learn to persevere (i.e., don't give up) through all things. We will be the recipients of all sorts of hostilities: loss of loved ones, loss of employment, financial insecurities, persecution, natural disasters, diseases, betrayal, slander, and so on. Learn from it all, be humbled, and stay the course towards heaven.
19. Last but not least, most important, avoid, at all costs, prideful and divisive brethren. These fraudulent masqueraders are some of the most vile and evil workers ever to penetrate local churches. We must have shepherds capable of quickly discerning the threat and removing the cancer before it gains corrupted preeminence. Wolves in sheep's clothing are very cunning and will intimidate and flatter their way into control (Rom. 16:17-18).
There may be more points to the article, but this is a feasible starting point to build on. Fill your life with good and decent engagements, and you'll be too productive to fall prey to past "demons."
Stay focused and stay positive. You are loved and appreciated.
Your servant,
SM