I am a follower of Jesus and believe that everything written in the Bible is true and inspired by God. I try, although I fail, (last post) to live my life to give Him glory. I am a sinner and I need the grace of God, that is why I try to live for Him. Although my works do nothing for my salvation. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:8-9.
Why am I sharing this? Because many times my actions don't match my hearts desire. And The Word doesn't match up with our culture either. Confessing Jesus goes against the grain of where we live. Everything in our environment screams at us, “Have it your way. You have rights.” It’s an act of courage to stand up and “give thanks,” to confess the Lord as our only Savior, to say, “I’m not my own I belong to another; I’ve been bought with a price.
“But God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us” Romans 5:8
The courage to confess our own shortcomings is difficult, and the courage to confess Christ as God’s loving provision for us is equally as difficult in a culture that tip-toes around talking about spiritual things. This is one of the things God has been laying on my heart this week. I'm so fearful, to talk about spiritual things. I can't even talk about my true beliefs because I am afraid I'm going to offend somebody. We can talk about politics even though we don't agree on that, why is it that we can't talk about spirituality. Although, when I think of this, I don't have much to contribute to political conversations so is that it? Is it, we don't talk about spiritual stuff, b/c we don't have much to contribute to the conversation? Or is this b/c we are fearful of what "man" will think of us? Or maybe another reason... Let me know your thoughts? Why don't we talk more about spiritual stuff in this culture. I have a couple international friends, and they can share, talk about it, and not think twice about it? Why is that? I talked a little bit about this with my mom the other day, and she said even if we believe the same thing, the intensity of what we believe is different. That can be true I guess, but I'm tired of feeling chained up and fearful of what others will think if I say something. I want to be freed from this. Just the fact that I hesitated to post this is evidence of my fears!!:)For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7
For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ. Gal. 1:10
6 comments:
I'm right there with you, Lisa. For me, I'm both too much of a people pleaser and afraid of getting backed into a corner where I won't know what to say. I was listening to a sermon on the end times yesterday that posed the question, "If you can't stand up for what you believe NOW, how are you going to do it when it's illegal? Challenging thoughts....
thanks for posting this today, lisa. i was actually up late the past 2 nights trying to find that exact verse in 2 timothy!!! i have been thinking of it in light of vaccines. i'm looking forward to wednesdays for these posts. i LOVE that i'm learning things from you!! so encouraged.
I have a tendency to caveat my statements in an effort to not offend people. Something like, "I don't know what you believe, but..." Interestingly enough I've found that most people haven't been offended at all. I don't know if my saying something like that is cowardly or not, for me it was at least a small step toward getting over my fear of saying something. It's funny though, a decade ago I was so bold, I was brash (about both politics and spiritual matters). While I had no fear of offending, I also had no tact. Now that I'm older in taming my brash nature, I have become fearful to speak (sometimes period, not just about spiritual things). Thank you so much for sharing. I love having your posts to ponder.
I hear ya Lisa. I do that a lot, mostly out of fear of losing their friendship, since I did lose a lot of friendships after we came to Christ. After hesitation, I ask myself, "Is it better to give them God's Word which He promises will not return void and 'lose' a friendship and perhaps someday see them in paradise, or not say anything at all, keep our relationship at surface level while knowing where their destination lies?" It's so tough, but it shouldn't be. Thanks for posting this and exposing it!!
Lisa that is crazy you said that because I feel the same way a lot of times. Especially in lieu of everything that has happended with religion recently n the world I am very hesitant to talk about anything to people. I think it is fear and yet the scriptures say fear and faith don't coexist so I don't know if my faith needs more work for the fear to be gone. But I do now that the fear of persecution or retaliation is no reason to not state belief in God (although I am not perfect in that). Whenever you are around me I would love to talk about that stuff with you!!!!! A friend in Christ is always so nice!
Thanks for sharing, Lisa! I started reading your blogs after I saw a link on Angela's. :) I agree, I hate my fear and feeling bound up in it. Lord, break us free from the fear of man and help us to see how BIG you are!
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