God is Not Finished with You, Yet.
How can we prevent making spiritual mistakes? By "spiritual mistake" I am talking about times when God has called you into a greater service and we fall short. It can be taking glory from God when God works through you, forcing your will on a situation (or person), or not stepping up from elementary teachings and pursuing deeper things (just to name a few).
Last summer I attended a church whose preacher that Sunday was not the senior pastor. The preacher taught on Esther and, in my opinion, made a lot of mistakes his lesson from it. He called Esther "crafty and cunning" instead of "wise and God-led." He also said gallows was a noose, where I learned awhile ago that gallows was really a tall pole to impale your enemies and keep them on display. There were a few other things I knew that this preacher slipped up on, but then as I was listening objectively God brought to mind that it could very easily be me up there making similar mistakes.
It scared me a little, not that I have many opportunities to get behind a pulpit, but I do have a lot of time to either put God (and myself) to shame, or step up and be a mature Christian. The question for myself was: How can I prevent spiritual mistakes? Here is what God brought to my heart.
1. Live in the Word. The Bible time we give ourselves is not just for a few moments in the morning or evening, but should be our companion to measure our actions and thought life.
2. Breathe in the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God living in us. But many may not know that we have to ask Him to dwell in us and must surrender our lives completely to His control. The song goes, "This is the air I breathe...your Holy presence living in me." The Scripture says, "It is no longer I who live but Christ lives in me."
3. Don't fear being close to God. I know He knows everything about us, but He is also the One who loves us the most. Some people are afraid of getting close to God thinking that He'll ask for more than they want to give up. That is somewhat true, at times. But living for Self will do the same thing.
4. Be aware of sin issues. We cannot ignore the faults in our lives thinking "This is just the way I am." That mind-set will only hold us back and stunt our spiritual growth. Confessing sins, receiving forgiveness and striving toward holiness will result in a mature Christian, a spotless Bride for Christ. Won't it also be wonderful to have a clear conscience that we are doing everything we should regardless of anyone else's opinion?
Last summer I attended a church whose preacher that Sunday was not the senior pastor. The preacher taught on Esther and, in my opinion, made a lot of mistakes his lesson from it. He called Esther "crafty and cunning" instead of "wise and God-led." He also said gallows was a noose, where I learned awhile ago that gallows was really a tall pole to impale your enemies and keep them on display. There were a few other things I knew that this preacher slipped up on, but then as I was listening objectively God brought to mind that it could very easily be me up there making similar mistakes.
It scared me a little, not that I have many opportunities to get behind a pulpit, but I do have a lot of time to either put God (and myself) to shame, or step up and be a mature Christian. The question for myself was: How can I prevent spiritual mistakes? Here is what God brought to my heart.
1. Live in the Word. The Bible time we give ourselves is not just for a few moments in the morning or evening, but should be our companion to measure our actions and thought life.
2. Breathe in the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God living in us. But many may not know that we have to ask Him to dwell in us and must surrender our lives completely to His control. The song goes, "This is the air I breathe...your Holy presence living in me." The Scripture says, "It is no longer I who live but Christ lives in me."
3. Don't fear being close to God. I know He knows everything about us, but He is also the One who loves us the most. Some people are afraid of getting close to God thinking that He'll ask for more than they want to give up. That is somewhat true, at times. But living for Self will do the same thing.
4. Be aware of sin issues. We cannot ignore the faults in our lives thinking "This is just the way I am." That mind-set will only hold us back and stunt our spiritual growth. Confessing sins, receiving forgiveness and striving toward holiness will result in a mature Christian, a spotless Bride for Christ. Won't it also be wonderful to have a clear conscience that we are doing everything we should regardless of anyone else's opinion?
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