are Christians weak?

[OutOfEgypt]

Lots of people live "good lives." Because of, perhaps, the station in life they began with, they achieve great things and live lives that at least appear more morally upright than some Christians.

But the evidence of her sin is right in front of your face. She has no regard for the Lord of the universe. She feels she is too good to need him. She is blind and swollen with conceit.

I used to feel the same way about myself in a lot of ways, before I was a Christian. But when the message of the cross was told to me, something changed. Suddenly, I realized that if Jesus had to die for me because that is the only way for me to be right with God, then my "goodness" and self-sufficiency is an illusion. I saw myself as lost, blind, full of myself. Clueless. And then all the inappropriate content on my computer began to make me sick to think about, and I deleted every bit of it.

Consider the following...

And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Mark 2:17)

"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." (1 Cor 1:18)

"23 but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24 but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God." (1 Cor 1:23-24)

Everyone is "weak". There are some who know it, and there are some who don't. Many will stand before Him on that day, when He returns, and they will sadly see their "strength" turn into a pile of ashes and their "goodness" as utter filth.

But as Christians, we say like the apostle Paul...

"If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh [this person has complete confidence in her flesh], I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.

But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them dung, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith." (from Philippians 3)

We want to be found having confidence in Christ's work, not in our flesh, not because some people can achieve things but we can't. We want to be found having confidence in Christ's work and not in our flesh because the work of our flesh is empty, self-wrought, ugly, prideful, and done apart from God.

And of course, we know that...
"I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!" (Gal 2:22)

She may have something of an outwardly moral life and some temporal success, but if God is not in it it is empty and void. It is wasted. And if she believes she has no need for Christ, she is essentially saying that Jesus died for nothing.

It's a sad story for her, and we can pray that she comes to the end of her flesh so that she can see the truth.

 

[Pixey]

Good Morning Pixie,
I am the father of 4 daughters and 1 son, and soon to be a grandfather of 8. I hope I can provide you with some fatherly wisdom that God has taught me for my own family. We all have been made in the image of God and endowed with gifts but we have all gone through the fall and are separated from the source of everlasting life. Through Christ we are rejoined to Him in relationship. That relationship makes us stronger because love is stronger than anything and overcomes all things.
An analogy I like to use is think of a beautiful garden maintained and nourished by a a wonderful and caring gardener. There are clusters of roses, tulips, orchids, dahalias, sunflowers, lilies,marigold, lotus blossoms, gladiola, etc. Each are beautiful in their own right but together they are stunning, especially under the care of the gardener who nurtures their beauty and health. They thrive under his care. This represents us under God's care.
At night an enemy comes along to steal and sell them to the highest bidder. He plucks them roots and all from the rich soil and throws them in vases full of water. There they are displayed as fresh flowers for sale. If not replanted back in the garden they will wither and die but they will be stunning and beautiful still for a few days. This is our state without God. The gardeners son then came to replant them in his father's garden and saved them.
Analogies always fall a little short. The fall was we thought we could be god without being sourced in God. We have tremendous potential to grow and flourish in Him. We have been blessed to be a blessing to others as we grow in God through His abiding Spirit in us. The Father and Jesus have come to dwell in our hearts and He who began a good work in you shall see it through to your completion in Christ Jesus, to the glory of God our Father. He has overcome all things and through Him you shall as well. In Him we weather every storm. There is self-righteousness, just trying to be righteous in our own that is doomed to failure and there is Christ's righteousness - imputed to all who believe and live in Christ and for Christ. It is all relationship and your strength is sourced in God, Even if one is only beginning to blossom and encounters others further along that's okay because you are growing in Christ who seeks to perfect you. But no matter how we look from the outside if we have not God we are dying and certainly will dry up and wither. Lord of himself or herself is a complete tragedy, proven over and over again. Be encouraged that God is raising you up in the rich light and soil He has planted you in. Your attributes will grow in Him as you allow Him to mold you to the beautiful image of God shining out to the world as a reflection of His life, love and purpose as you perform His good will towards all.
May the Lord Bless, John 17:20

• 2Co 9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.
• Phl 1:6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;

This was a lovely post and beautiful analogy, thank you for taking the time to explain it in such a lovely manner. When i undertook my journey with Christ again for what seemed like the umpteenth time, it was with the realization that my roots have never taken deep enough. This tied in neatly with that.

Congratulations on your 8th grandchild.

 

[OpenYourBibles]

Hi All, hope everyone is doing well and living gloriously in Christ!

Had an interesting conversation yesterday with a non-believer, who actually (in a way, maybe it was just my perception) looked down on me for following Jesus. She is a successful career woman who has achieved much and lives a good life, she gives to the needy, generally doesnt speak ill of others and lives by a lot of "Godly principles". (Do unto others as you want done to yourself, etc, etc).

She feels accomplished that she has achieved this all on her own and hinted at the subtle changes in me (as i continue my daily struggle with patience, being more graceful and controlling my spewing tongue, it must be paying off).

It's not that she said anything directly, but implication flowed from our conversation that she considers it "cheating" that i have help, ("i can do anything through God who gives me strength" came up). It made me feel like i am weaker than what she is, not being able to amount to much without God's Holy Intervention in my life.

I KNOW this is the devil working to sow doubt in my mind, and i am by no means ashamed of it that i need God. I dont think so anyway. It DID however raise a few questions internally which i wish it hadnt.

She is a good person, in my opinion and lives a "clean" life. Without God? I dont want to consider that she draws her strength from the devil, because she does not "bear bad fruits" if i can phrase it that way.

How come she is able to do this all on her own?

This very question is the creation of the modern "church"!

Churches are so focused on teaching good behaviors and how to be good people - they have missed holiness!

Just look for a moment at Matt 7:20-23 - These people cast out devils, prophesied, and did many wonderful works and were dismissed by God, because he never knew them.

Hebrews 12:14 - lets us know without holiness no man shall see the Lord.

I'm glad that this world still has a few morally minded people in it. Folks that know right from wrong regardless of what church they go to, that is exciting. But having accesss to all the power of Jesus and eligibility to make heaven your eternal home requires more than "being a good person."

I would ask her, as long as she believes God is real: If you are this fantastic and have accomplished all of this on your own, and God is an all powerful and all knowing being - How much more could you accomplish working together with him! The Bible says if 1 person can put 1,000 to flight, than 2 can put away 10,000. That math doesn't add up in our brains, but the power of effective teamwork is undeniable!

 

[Hannah♥]

I haven't read the other responses but thought I would take a go at this because it sort of hit home.

Short answer, yes, I do think men and women who are Athiest DO look down on Christians as 'weak'. I am pretty much the only person in my immediate group of friends that is openly religious (Catholic). I have some friends who are Agnostic, I do have some friends that are Christians, but most of them don't have any beliefs.

I have a couple of friends in particular who take this mocking tone when they find out I believe in God. I am strong, funny, intelligent... They look at my Christianity as a weakness. Sort of like, "How can this level-headed woman believe in that?"

It's sad and it hurts. But I have God on my side. So I don't worry about it too much. The friends I'm talking about are great people and I've been trying to get out of the habit of not being friends with people just because we believe in different things and have different opinions. I think they could definitely work on their sensitivity though. I never look down on them or mock them for NOT believing in Christ.

 

[JeremyTheAnglercan]

Whenever someone says religion or specifically Christianity is for the weak, or that it is a crutch, my response is: "Amen! Preach it brother! (or sister)". There's nothing wrong with relying on Christ. I am weak. I need a crutch. And Christ is the best crutch to have!

 

[W2L]

Whenever someone says religion or specifically Christianity is for the weak, or that it is a crutch, my response is: "Amen! Preach it brother! (or sister)". There's nothing wrong with relying on Christ. I am weak. I need a crutch. And Christ is the best crutch to have!

Amen. When we're weak we are strong, in the Lord.

 

[patdee]

Hi All, hope everyone is doing well and living gloriously in Christ!

Had an interesting conversation yesterday with a non-believer, who actually (in a way, maybe it was just my perception) looked down on me for following Jesus. She is a successful career woman who has achieved much and lives a good life, she gives to the needy, generally doesnt speak ill of others and lives by a lot of "Godly principles". (Do unto others as you want done to yourself, etc, etc).

She feels accomplished that she has achieved this all on her own and hinted at the subtle changes in me (as i continue my daily struggle with patience, being more graceful and controlling my spewing tongue, it must be paying off).

It's not that she said anything directly, but implication flowed from our conversation that she considers it "cheating" that i have help, ("i can do anything through God who gives me strength" came up). It made me feel like i am weaker than what she is, not being able to amount to much without God's Holy Intervention in my life.

I KNOW this is the devil working to sow doubt in my mind, and i am by no means ashamed of it that i need God. I dont think so anyway. It DID however raise a few questions internally which i wish it hadnt.

She is a good person, in my opinion and lives a "clean" life. Without God? I dont want to consider that she draws her strength from the devil, because she does not "bear bad fruits" if i can phrase it that way.

How come she is able to do this all on her own?

First: there is NO such thing as a "good woman"; or man or child.

Mark 10:18 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is the Father.

Secondly: What in the pluperfect hallelujah does it matter whether a woman, man or child is "successful" in this world?

Mark 8:36 For what shall it profit a man (or woman or child), if he (or she) shall gain the whole world, and lose his (or their) own soul?

In 605 BC, King Zedekiah (of the Jews) had it all and I mean everything. Yet he not only lost his soul; but he lost EVERY thing he had; AND lost ALL of his children; who were killed in front of his sight. And if that was not punishment enough for his defiance of Jesus' "messenger" (Jeremiah), Jesus (justifiably) allowed King Nebuchadnezzar to burn King Zedekiah's eyes out with hot coals; before he was taken to Babylon, where he would die there. Read it an weep! Imagine his memory the rest of his life. "Oh if I had only heeded the words of Jeremiah!"

Oh well.

Again, what does it matter who is successful in worldly terms?

The woman you were taking to is one of billions of the "successful", who thought she had it all; as she rises up the ladder of so-called "success"; but she will one day realize just how bad her lack of faith IN Jesus was; not to mention how foolish she was and is. Sad.

Oh indeed yes.

Tell her the truth like it is and then walk away from her; UNLESS she accepts Jesus. Then bring her into your friendship with true Christian love; which ONLY true Christians understand.

2 Corinthians 6:14 Be ye not yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

Matthew 10:14 And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. (means they are lower than a snake's belly in a wagon wheel rut). Matthew 10:15 Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for that city (or person).

In any case, may Jesus bless you for your faith.

 

[fhansen]

Hi All, hope everyone is doing well and living gloriously in Christ!

Had an interesting conversation yesterday with a non-believer, who actually (in a way, maybe it was just my perception) looked down on me for following Jesus. She is a successful career woman who has achieved much and lives a good life, she gives to the needy, generally doesnt speak ill of others and lives by a lot of "Godly principles". (Do unto others as you want done to yourself, etc, etc).

She feels accomplished that she has achieved this all on her own and hinted at the subtle changes in me (as i continue my daily struggle with patience, being more graceful and controlling my spewing tongue, it must be paying off).

It's not that she said anything directly, but implication flowed from our conversation that she considers it "cheating" that i have help, ("i can do anything through God who gives me strength" came up). It made me feel like i am weaker than what she is, not being able to amount to much without God's Holy Intervention in my life.

I KNOW this is the devil working to sow doubt in my mind, and i am by no means ashamed of it that i need God. I dont think so anyway. It DID however raise a few questions internally which i wish it hadnt.

She is a good person, in my opinion and lives a "clean" life. Without God? I dont want to consider that she draws her strength from the devil, because she does not "bear bad fruits" if i can phrase it that way.

How come she is able to do this all on her own?

A tendency to doubt is common to all humans. And its very normal-and right-to want to be strong and courageous in our lives. But to be truly courageousness means to always strive to accept and live according to the truth, no matter what that truth is. And the truth is that none of us, her included, are responsible for our birth, our parents, our very existence, the fact of our death. We can only control what we're able to control, what's "given" us to control. And yet, in spite of such overarching limitations, human pride still rears its head, wanting to exalt itself wherever it can to the extent of denying the truth of God. This is essentially what Adam did, and what we're here to learn the foolishness of. The sound, balanced truth is that God exists and is infinitely superior to us while loving us to a degree we cannot even imagine.
"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written:
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;
the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” 1 Cor 1:18-19

"But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong." 1 Cor 1:27

God exists. We don't know where we come from, if anywhere, what we're here for, if for anything, and where we're going from here, if anywhere. We're truly lost if not for God, our Source, and yet we desperately want to believe that we're in control, that we "know" what's going on; and we go through the motions of life as if we have it all figured out, and automatically know what the most important things are-and this is pretty pathetic when you think about it.
"For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors" 1 Pet 1:18

We need God. "Apart from Me you can do nothing." 1 John 5:15 The truth is, we do nothing on our own. We're just given the freedom to think we can.

 

[emtor]

I was overloaded and overburdened, hardly ever slept, always working, severely unhappy - lots of dark hours and suicide thoughts at the end of that stretch.

Sounds like you were trying to make the american dream come true.

 

[Thir7ySev3n]

Hi All, hope everyone is doing well and living gloriously in Christ!

Had an interesting conversation yesterday with a non-believer, who actually (in a way, maybe it was just my perception) looked down on me for following Jesus. She is a successful career woman who has achieved much and lives a good life, she gives to the needy, generally doesnt speak ill of others and lives by a lot of "Godly principles". (Do unto others as you want done to yourself, etc, etc).

She feels accomplished that she has achieved this all on her own and hinted at the subtle changes in me (as i continue my daily struggle with patience, being more graceful and controlling my spewing tongue, it must be paying off).

It's not that she said anything directly, but implication flowed from our conversation that she considers it "cheating" that i have help, ("i can do anything through God who gives me strength" came up). It made me feel like i am weaker than what she is, not being able to amount to much without God's Holy Intervention in my life.

I KNOW this is the devil working to sow doubt in my mind, and i am by no means ashamed of it that i need God. I dont think so anyway. It DID however raise a few questions internally which i wish it hadnt.

She is a good person, in my opinion and lives a "clean" life. Without God? I dont want to consider that she draws her strength from the devil, because she does not "bear bad fruits" if i can phrase it that way.

How come she is able to do this all on her own?

You've received great replies from everyone else so I'll just add a couple points.

First of all, you should never presume success and wealth are he result of righteousness, as some people achieve success precisely because they abandoned righteous means. Some people become successful through cheating, lying, theft, extortion, slander, etc. It has been suggested to you a couple times already to read Psalms 73, and I would also recommend you do so as it addresses this exact issue from the perspective of a previously envious righteous man as he observed the successes of the wicked.

Secondly, don't allow people like her to diminish trivialize your understanding of holiness and righteousness, reducing it to being generally polite, fairly generous and not raping or murdering anyone. Righteousness is comprised by much greater substance than avoiding a few sins (at least outwardly) and engaging in the occassional charity. Do not forget that even the Pharisees were highly respected, successful and even charitable, all in the world's eyes, but Jesus condemned them as being wicked hypocrites on account of their prideful and selfish motivations (Matthew 6:2). It is possible to have an ostensibly righteous life that is almost or entirely motivated by evil, ironically. There is much to gain for ourselves personally by embracing some aspects of righteous living, and the proud and selfish person will discover that the best ways to satisfy their appetites for appearance will be to appear as great and pleasant as possible, which overt wickedness could never accomplish. This is why you have probably seen (as I am sure anyone has) a person who speaks very kindly to someone in their presence and then will immediately begin to feel relieved when the person leaves and discuss with those remaining how annoying, stupid, pathetic, inferior, unsuccessful, weak, etc. that person is. By doing this, we allow ourselves to be adored by other people without having to sincerely adore or concern ourselves with them.

People who live casually moral lives and are proud of it are no greater than a Pharisee, and what's interesting about the Pharisees is they tried to live an observably righteous life without having to love God as well, only to become an example of a level of righteousness so low that Jesus said you could be sure you are going to hell if your righteousness did not surpass theirs (Matthew 5:20). Righteousness and pride are mutually exclusive; you can not have one and be the other. As aforementioned, it is possible to have virtually or actually everything good you ever do without God be motivated by deep rooted wickedness and self-service.

Worst of all, her pride has precluded her from obeying the greatest commandment, to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, strength and mind (Matthew 22:36-38). God is our strength and our righteousness, as He is the origin and provider of both. Living godlessly is the epitome of weakness and wickedness, so do not be deceived.

"And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve." (2 Corinthians 11:14-15)

"People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power." (2 Timothy 3:2-5)

 

[Gwen-is-new!]

A lot of food for thought, thank you all. <3

I must admit, it really does bug me that others can be seemingly successful, happy and sincerely GOOD people without walking a path with God. Honestly, i have many friends like this and i think the conversation (although vaguely worded) was enough to bring up my own emotions of inadequacy still lingering from my own past failures.

For a couple of years i was a "Wonder Woman" myself, living a sinful life really; living to the fullest, worked hard, played harder. I went from lowly admin clerk to running my own department in 3 short years and i was thriving. Lots of friends, lots of drinking (i proudly carried the "company alcoholic" title - bizarre - afterhours, but i was the "Go To" girl when stuff needed fixing during office hours).

~ I can feel the flames of h3ll licking my buttocks again just typing that ~ Thank You Lord for never letting me go and getting me out of there ~

Then it all crashed down around my ears in the space of a year, where my strength was so depleted, and my faith in my own abilities "suddenly" vanished. I was overloaded and overburdened, hardly ever slept, always working, severely unhappy - lots of dark hours and suicide thoughts at the end of that stretch.

When i look at what my friend has accomplished, and more, in the same space of time and continuing, i kind of wish she would also crash (not to be mean, but to be honest, it is petty of me).

Pixey - Thank you for sharing your testimony, and giving HIM glory. HE IS SO AWESOME! I don't think it's mean to wish she would crash - I'm guessing you mean hit rock bottom, be done with herself her will and her ways.. broken spirit, and contrite heart.. Get off the throne! That's gotta happen before she can receive the most awesome gift given to mankind.

 

[Clovis Man]

Hi All, hope everyone is doing well and living gloriously in Christ!

Had an interesting conversation yesterday with a non-believer, who actually (in a way, maybe it was just my perception) looked down on me for following Jesus. She is a successful career woman who has achieved much and lives a good life, she gives to the needy, generally doesnt speak ill of others and lives by a lot of "Godly principles". (Do unto others as you want done to yourself, etc, etc).

She feels accomplished that she has achieved this all on her own and hinted at the subtle changes in me (as i continue my daily struggle with patience, being more graceful and controlling my spewing tongue, it must be paying off).

It's not that she said anything directly, but implication flowed from our conversation that she considers it "cheating" that i have help, ("i can do anything through God who gives me strength" came up). It made me feel like i am weaker than what she is, not being able to amount to much without God's Holy Intervention in my life.

I KNOW this is the devil working to sow doubt in my mind, and i am by no means ashamed of it that i need God. I dont think so anyway. It DID however raise a few questions internally which i wish it hadnt.

She is a good person, in my opinion and lives a "clean" life. Without God? I dont want to consider that she draws her strength from the devil, because she does not "bear bad fruits" if i can phrase it that way.

How come she is able to do this all on her own?

Am I wrong, or didn't the Sanhedrin think the same thing in Jesus' day?

 

[John 1720]

This was a lovely post and beautiful analogy, thank you for taking the time to explain it in such a lovely manner. When i undertook my journey with Christ again for what seemed like the umpteenth time, it was with the realization that my roots have never taken deep enough. This tied in neatly with that.

Congratulations on your 8th grandchild.

Thank you Pixey,
Actually two of our daughters each have one on the way so it will be #7 & #8. They both have the 2nd trimester to get through yet but we are all very excited with anticipation, especially my wife. In a way that anticipation is what the promise of God is like for believers as we sojourn here. Our time here is a blessed gift, conceived in faith we're kind of in an embryonic stage with God. His Divine hand is developing our eyes and a beating heart. He is forming hands to embrace His work of love and toes and feet shod to pursue His Gospel of Grace. His Word of hope and love is a message we readily give away because the more love of God you give away the more He gives you. It is an inexhaustible treasure we have in these jars of clay. We are all growing in Christ as we trust His message and obey the Beloved. Once He has made Himself known to us how can we help but fall more deeply in love with Him as our Savior. The hope we have now is that we know His ever faithful love will bring us through to become an everlasting child of God. How great is that? Keep sinking your roots deeper into the heart of Christ and watch how abundant those living waters of God's love blossom within your entire being.
Gotta catch a plane soon but May God bless you as you continue to grow in Jesus Name, and may God bless your family too. Amen.
In Christ, Patrick
aka John 17:20

 

[section9+1]

I assume she is a product of western civilization which is based upon Christianity. Christian principles of living are ingrained into us even those who might not be Christian. She is a product of what she's been exposed to. God said to Abraham, all nations of the world shall be blessed because of you. She is a product of that blessing and she even passes it on to others in her actions. That's not all bad even though the only good it does for her is in this life. If you live peacefully and kindly, your life will generally be easier. Somewhere there might be put up a plaque saying what a generous person she is, but that will be the extent of her reward. Even good atheists can be a temporal asset to those around them. Goodness should be encouraged even among those who do not share our destiny. Good behavior isn't always an indication of one's heart. Sometimes it's just a result of whatever learning they've been exposed to.

 

[Rajni]

She is a good person, in my opinion and lives a "clean" life. Without God? I dont want to consider that she draws her strength from the devil, because she does not "bear bad fruits" if i can phrase it that way.

How come she is able to do this all on her own?

Personally, I don't think there's any such thing as "without God". Since God
permeates everyone and everything, as an omnipresent entity would be
expected to do, there is nothing anyone does that is apart from Him.

Therefore, even if she doesn't realize it, she's been empowered by God to
succeed in the way that she has. It's not that you are relying on God and she
isn't, it's just that you are aware of where the power to do things comes from
and she isn't (yet).

"In Him we live and move and have our being". That sort of thing.

That's my take on it, at this stage of the journey anyway.


-

 

[Monk Brendan]

How come she is able to do this all on her own?

One reason may be that she has not hit any obstacles on her road, YET! Point out to her that if she was sick with something, that her earning power would go down, and all of the things that she now does effortlessly would be so much more difficult.

Also, you don't know what she does behind closed doors, or what she thinks in her heart.

Give God some time, and He will work on her, and make it more and more difficult to continue with this easy life.

 

[geiroffenberg]

Hi All, hope everyone is doing well and living gloriously in Christ!

Had an interesting conversation yesterday with a non-believer, who actually (in a way, maybe it was just my perception) looked down on me for following Jesus. She is a successful career woman who has achieved much and lives a good life, she gives to the needy, generally doesnt speak ill of others and lives by a lot of "Godly principles". (Do unto others as you want done to yourself, etc, etc).

She feels accomplished that she has achieved this all on her own and hinted at the subtle changes in me (as i continue my daily struggle with patience, being more graceful and controlling my spewing tongue, it must be paying off).

It's not that she said anything directly, but implication flowed from our conversation that she considers it "cheating" that i have help, ("i can do anything through God who gives me strength" came up). It made me feel like i am weaker than what she is, not being able to amount to much without God's Holy Intervention in my life.

I KNOW this is the devil working to sow doubt in my mind, and i am by no means ashamed of it that i need God. I dont think so anyway. It DID however raise a few questions internally which i wish it hadnt.

She is a good person, in my opinion and lives a "clean" life. Without God? I dont want to consider that she draws her strength from the devil, because she does not "bear bad fruits" if i can phrase it that way.

How come she is able to do this all on her own?

You know it has partly to do with how she lives. There is something called "the law", it IS possible to work it right and have a measure of blessing. There are extremly weatlhy ppl in the worl, but more or less all of them are also giving away large amoutns for the good of humanity, like bill gates. The law of give and receive will work for them because i says gods lawsis not partial, sowing and reaping times will always be, and god elt his rain come on good and evil persons.
She does not draw power from satan! Remember satan is the accuser who gives death, he is not the one blessing.

HOWEVER, what christians do not udnerstand is that they also for the most part still live udner this law, and christianity has a lot of regulation and condemnation, legalistic thigns they preach or do. This, says Paul, causes them to fall out of grace...

So you can look at it like this, its not that the world is mroe blessed, its just that christins have a tendency to block the blessing by their legalism. I im 100% convinced of this being true, and i have been active in churches and ministries since early 90s.

But christians can easily get out of their rot by repenting. Its no big deal. The kingdom is definitly there for everyone, and there are no ppl more positions for the blessing on earth than chrittians if they only get into repenting from their carnal minds. This way they can get totally out of the law and the knowledge of good vs evil, and they can live the higher life udner the law of the spirit, where gods kingdom is the provider. ALl we then ahve to do is to simply seek the kingdom first and all these other things (that god knows we need) will be added. THATS the true gospel, and it is black on white in the bible, the words of Jesus.

But who lives it and can prove it? There are very few nowadays honestly, but they do exist.

 

[shadowhunter]

Hi All... I dont want to consider that she draws her strength from the devil, because she does not "bear bad fruits" if i can phrase it that way.

How come she is able to do this all on her own?

I think you are using the wrong measuring stick.
Original sin should more properly be called Universal sin. The nature of Eve's temptation was that she was tempted to be just an animal; to live by her instincts. If it looks good, smells good.. eat it. When we live instinctively, we put ourselves first and we choose good and evil for ourselves. Love is putting others first; the opposite of instinct. When we choose good and evil for ourselves, we usurp God's position and make ourselves equal to God.

So Bobbi and Ginger both feed the poor. Bobbi feeds the poor because, acting as God, she chooses that it is a good thing to do. She doesn't care what God thinks, and it is only incidental that her actions are considered good.

Ginger acknowledges God in all her ways and is a testimony that he alone is God in all the works she does.

Bobbi does not do good works. She is an enemy of God. God judges the heart. People use God's standards when applied to a few things they do in order to justify themselves, while denying God in the process. Naturally a person who thinks themselves equal to God will think that you are a lessor person.

When we "do what is right in our own eyes", we are in the same position Bobbi is.

 

[Reformationist]

Hi All, hope everyone is doing well and living gloriously in Christ!

Same to you!

She is a successful career woman who has achieved much and lives a good life, she gives to the needy, generally doesnt speak ill of others and lives by a lot of "Godly principles". (Do unto others as you want done to yourself, etc, etc).

All wonderful blessings, but are of no eternal benefit to her if they are not prompted by a desire to serve God.

She feels accomplished that she has achieved this all on her own and hinted at the subtle changes in me (as i continue my daily struggle with patience, being more graceful and controlling my spewing tongue, it must be paying off).

She has not accomplished anything on her own. God is gracious to the just and the unjust. That she doesn't recognize God as the source of her blessings is an indictment, not a mark of self sufficiency.

It made me feel like i am weaker than what she is, not being able to amount to much without God's Holy Intervention in my life.

Again, she is not able to do anything without God's intervention either. The only difference is that you recognize that while she, pridefully, continues to credit herself with her success.

She is a good person, in my opinion and lives a "clean" life. Without God?

If she lives without God she is not a good person. Just because she may be civically minded is irrelevant to her status before God.

I dont want to consider that she draws her strength from the devil, because she does not "bear bad fruits" if i can phrase it that way.

She doesn't draw strength from the devil, for the devil has no ability to empower her. All creation, including the devil, get the power they exercise, from God, for He is the source of ALL power and none have power apart from that which God gives them. The Book of Job will clarify that well.

How come she is able to do this all on her own?

Simply put, she isn't able to do it on her own.

God bless

 

[chihwahli]

Dear Pixey,

I didn't read other posters.. My reply to you is:
Christians weak?? In some way she is right and wrong!

Remember what the devils like to do? Mix up truth and lies in one cocktail. It happens with Adam&eve, it happens right now.

The truth is, only if someone knows and feels his weakness and has come to the very end of his/her IQ, strength , wisdom, money, resources, connections with other people. Any thing that could help, only then such Christian is really, really starting to live in Christ! For the bible tells us, When I am weak I am strong in Christ.


She is strong???? She thinks she is, but when Jesus asks her: By what do you call yourself clean / holy? Can she defeat sin by her own works. No! So she is already half dead! And she even does not know. Soooooo, sad. No one can enter Heaven and stay there without the blood of Jesus. Because everyone has sinned. And everyone has fallen short.


So, be weak in Christ Jesus and he happy: 2 corinthians 12:9-10:
9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Don't envy her pasture or her ways. She is a walking zombie...... Unless someone seriously prays for her salvation.....
So, stay weak in Christ and be strong. And Jesus'help is not cheating. It is called grace! We did not deserve it, but received it non the less. So accept Jesus His grace with open arms and heart. Be glad and happy. For these is no other way to heaven!

Hi All, hope everyone is doing well and living gloriously in Christ!

Had an interesting conversation yesterday with a non-believer, who actually (in a way, maybe it was just my perception) looked down on me for following Jesus. She is a successful career woman who has achieved much and lives a good life, she gives to the needy, generally doesnt speak ill of others and lives by a lot of "Godly principles". (Do unto others as you want done to yourself, etc, etc).

She feels accomplished that she has achieved this all on her own and hinted at the subtle changes in me (as i continue my daily struggle with patience, being more graceful and controlling my spewing tongue, it must be paying off).

It's not that she said anything directly, but implication flowed from our conversation that she considers it "cheating" that i have help, ("i can do anything through God who gives me strength" came up). It made me feel like i am weaker than what she is, not being able to amount to much without God's Holy Intervention in my life.

I KNOW this is the devil working to sow doubt in my mind, and i am by no means ashamed of it that i need God. I dont think so anyway. It DID however raise a few questions internally which i wish it hadnt.

She is a good person, in my opinion and lives a "clean" life. Without God? I dont want to consider that she draws her strength from the devil, because she does not "bear bad fruits" if i can phrase it that way.

How come she is able to do this all on her own?