Unwilling to die to self....

[aiki]

It's very...sad to read of so many believers who begrudge or bemoan a life lived in sacrifice to Christ which Paul wrote was the "reasonable service" of every person redeemed and adopted by him. (Romans 12:1) What has happened that people professing to be children of God today resent the life He calls them into? It seems few people being saved today have considered the following:

1 Corinthians 6:19-20
19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?
20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.

A Christian is one who has yielded up Self control for Christ control. Christ enters the life of a believer, not as an accessory, but as Lord (Romans 13:14) and Life (Colossians 3:4) itself. Believers are not their own; they have been bought with a terrible and precious price by their Saviour and serve as the "temple" of the Spirit of Almighty God. This should be regarded as an enormous honor and privilege, not an onerous burden, an unmitigated trial of miserable self-sacrifice.

It is a testament, I think, to how diminished both the Gospel and its Author have become in the minds of those claiming membership in His family today, that dying to Self is a bitter task rather than an opportunity for worship and a joyful expression of love.

Philippians 1:21
21 For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

 

[justme6272]

After my last thread I found this is definitely my major issue. .. As I stated in the last thread. I want what I want when I want it lol ... I know that's not good.

But I'm being honest...this is where I am now. I know need to change but I just feel like if I do all of what God wants .... I'll just be miserable .... Because I feel I can't have anything since I have to say no to myself all the time.

Just makes doing God's will a bit unappealing.

How do I change this?

I don't know what kinds of things you're unable to say 'no' to, but you must be rich. Give away most of your money and become like other people who have to say 'no' to things they want all the time, and your dilemma should be solved, at least to some extent. You won't have the choices that blank checks with unlimited funds in the bank provide. New clothes? No. New car? No. Vacation? No. Bigger house? No. Have another baby without collecting more welfare? No. Steak and lobster? Never.

If you're talking about things not having to do with money, like sin and leading a life more righteous in the eyes of God, and you still feel 'miserable' after really giving it a shot, then I'd suggest reading your Bible more in order to better understand the benefits that come with a better relationship with Jesus. Righteousness is the number one concept presented in the Bible that the world doesn't want to pursue, yet it's the most important thing in the eyes of God. That's why most people are going to hell.

 

[DaveM]

obedience and discipline

 

[Tom 1]

After my last thread I found this is definitely my major issue. .. As I stated in the last thread. I want what I want when I want it lol ... I know that's not good.

But I'm being honest...this is where I am now. I know need to change but I just feel like if I do all of what God wants .... I'll just be miserable .... Because I feel I can't have anything since I have to say no to myself all the time.

Just makes doing God's will a bit unappealing.

How do I change this?

For anyone, changing how we think and act can be a long, slow, sometimes painful and sometimes rewarding process. Some people - like the Apostle Paul for example - seem to be able to do this quickly, once he got his head around something his behaviour changed too. The rest of us are on a continuum with that kind of example at one end, and someone who never changes at the other.
All you can really do is pray, learn and be patient. God answers those kind of prayers by introducing challenges into our lives, knowing what we can and can't handle, which is usually more than we think. Learning - I mean studying widely to really understand both the bible and relevant ideas in psychology etc about how people 'work', and learning from being around spiritual people, has a steady, long-term effect on how we think, which in turn has an effect on how we act. The patience comes in as none of this happens quickly; what you need to weigh up are the fundamental differences between what feels good in the present but then evaporates, leaving only regret and nothingness, or the deeper rewards of relationship with God and others that last, but take a lot, lot longer to build and maintain.

 

[Dave-W]

As I stated in the last thread. I want what I want when I want it lol ... I know that's not good.

Yeah - I think we are all there, or have been at one time or another.

 

[SarahsKnight]

But I found that in me, the reason I was afraid to let go was I had a wrong picture of God in my head. Instead of a loving father that hurts and grieves along with us, I pictured a legalistic despot sitting on the throne of the Most High.

A-Freakin'-Men.

 

[Jenniferdiana]

well seek first his righteousness and all these things you desire shall be added to you. Girl, you gotta crawl before you walk, God wants you to seek him and get right with him first. God loves to bless everyone but God is also not one to be robbed..He wants us to be sincere and faithful with him and he wants to set us on the right path first..learn of his heart and ways, he is gentle my friend, not wanting anyone to perish but only to return to him....God takes no pleasure and delight in someone who is perishing....he just want us to do the right things..denying yourself is difficult and something that will take time to adapt to but it doesnt mean you cant do it..denying yourself means accepting the fact that following the ways of the world is wrong and knowing that what Jesus said was true..and you know everything he said was true because this world is messed up and not of him. Jesus is not of this world so the only way to follow him is to deny yourself knowing you are a sinner and need Jesus in your life because without him we are nothing and cant do nothing.. you can recieve all the things in the world but it wouldnt matter because those things are temporary, when those things are gone what will you have left of yourself. the only thing we can keep is our soul and if you dont return God, you will fall apart and your soul will die...He hold all things together..you can choose your way or his way and you know his way is the only way through that narrow road, the only way to freedom in Christ..dont worry about that stuff now, seek his kingdom of righteousness first and put on Christ. Because the road is narrow following Jesus will never be easy..no one said it would be easy, thats why the road is narrow because it aint easy to walk on...but if we make it, it will all be worth it in the end....and besides suffering sometimes bring us closer to him, and because he suffered for us, we should also be willing to suffer for him too...he is close to the broken hearted..God is not deaf to our cries nor blind to our lives, he sees and understands all....he doesnt forget or abandon his people...he always there to rescue them in the end....

 

[royal priest]

After my last thread I found this is definitely my major issue. .. As I stated in the last thread. I want what I want when I want it lol ... I know that's not good.

But I'm being honest...this is where I am now. I know need to change but I just feel like if I do all of what God wants .... I'll just be miserable .... Because I feel I can't have anything since I have to say no to myself all the time.

Just makes doing God's will a bit unappealing.

How do I change this?

The Christian life is something that is learned by experience. This is also true with the joy to be had by it.
Jesus taught that life is found by losing it.
The proof is in the pudding. If you stop conforming to this world and take on a biblical perspective, then you will know that God's will is good, perfect, and acceptable. Romans 12:2

 

[Andrew77]

After my last thread I found this is definitely my major issue. .. As I stated in the last thread. I want what I want when I want it lol ... I know that's not good.

But I'm being honest...this is where I am now. I know need to change but I just feel like if I do all of what God wants .... I'll just be miserable .... Because I feel I can't have anything since I have to say no to myself all the time.

Just makes doing God's will a bit unappealing.

How do I change this?

Well.... to be honest, that's a very bad plan.

If you look around the world, at all the people who have the view that "I want what I want when I want it", they all end up disasters.

Listen, everyone in this world including pagans, that lives that way, ends up a train wreck. All the people that are successful in this world, learn to not have that mentality.

If you really believe that G-d is going to make you miserable, then just ditch G-d, and live life your way. I think that's a bad plan.

All I'm going to tell you is, the people I've seen do that.... end up really bad off. They usually end up far more miserable, than the people who trust G-d.

I can't make you trust G-d. But I can promise you the reason hundreds of millions of people have placed their faith in Jesus Christ for 6,000 years of human history, didn't do so if they were all miserable being faithful believers.

I trust G-d. If I thought he'd make my life miserable, why would I do that?

I debating myself if I should say this, but....

A person that I am related to, said much of the same things you have said here. This person lived her life, by walking away from this G-d that supposedly would make her miserable. I cannot go into details, but their lives went into the trash can. Total disasters. Some years later, they came back around to following the Lord. I can say with absolute certainty, that they are vastly more happy today, than they ever were, when they were getting whatever they want, whenever they wanted it.

Now they still have some 'ghosts' of their wild days, that will follow them until the day they die. They will be carrying those burdens of what they did, until they are in the grave. Again, can't get into details.

I don't know you personally. I've read your posts for a long time, and you seem like a very smart young woman. I hope that you don't have to find out the hard way, what living with the 'what I want, when I want it' mentality gets you.

That relative, could have had the same happy life she has now, without the burdens and pain and misery she went through to get there. I hope you don't have to go through that.

 

[Jenniferdiana]

hey, dont expect life to be all hanky panky by following and living a life for God..if anyone tells you that everyday will be blissful they are lying..because it wont be, yes God gives us a peace that surpasses all understanding but weeping endures through the night and joy comes in the morning so that means before you see that sun rise dont expect to live a life for God and not withstand suffering or go through storms. Yes, God puts us on a journey to lead us to the right path and help up walk through that narrow road with him but like i said before you see the light at the end of the tunnel, you better expect to go through lots of discipline and various trials throughout it all because thats what God does, he makes us walk through miry things only to set our feet upon a rock in the end ..its called walking in Christ..and going through what he went through...God puts us through suffering because it helps us understand things within and outside of us better...and draw us closer to him...suffering also helps us see things for what they are in the world..when we suffer we can love more and have compassion for things and others around us..and pain and suffering can build us up into maturity...etc.. God never abandons or forget his people..he only builds them up and sustains them in places where they cant be moved......

 

[Jenniferdiana]

maybe you need to look within your heart and examine yourself clearly and then say who do you love more God or this world...hey its your choice.. God doesnt push anyone to go to him...but wherever you go , that will be your own burden, it wont be Gods fault, we choose our own fate so i dare say choose wisely .. :-(

 

[Jenniferdiana]

and because half of the world doesnt know and hates Jesus, its why we suffer..