Was it just the Christmas turkey? I think not.

[FutureAndAHope]

I don’t normally do posts, that present an idea. I am normally the kind of forum goer who likes to answer questions. However I am on a bit of a journey, and I thought I would attempt to bring some of you along for the ride.

We had our Christmas dinner, and afterward got into some more serious conversations around the table about the state of the world and God. Now I am the kind of Christian who likes his entertainments, I seek God each day for an hour or so and try my best to fullfill His will, but still, play computer games. Now for the person who does this, I don’t see it as a sin. Rather a distraction at worst. But my sister said something that got me thinking, it was “God as made each of us for a purpose, and we should be seeking Him for that purpose”.

The Holy Spirit held my attention on what she said. I think there is something to learn from this. Her attitude was one of “come out and be separate from the world”, and I believe she is onto something. The bible tells us:

Eph 5:16-17 Making good use of the time, because the days are evil. For this reason, then, do not be foolish, but be conscious of the Lord's pleasure.


I feel most of us, I say this because I see the state of the church in general. Invite God into our lives, only so much, we don’t give him our entertainment space. The verse above tells us to redeem the time, why because the days are evil, and the only way to push back that evil is to be fully dedicated to seeking God’s purpose. We lose sight of that purpose by being consumed by our entertainment space.


Now I have nothing against entertainment and am not asking you to burn your records, movies, or computer games. But I do feel we need to surrender that space to Jesus. To give Him that time we would normally spend on entertainment, to redeem it in prayer. Not because we will not be saved if we don’t. But because the Bible encourages us to redeem the time.

 

[Tolworth John]

feel most of us, I say this because I see the state of the church in general. Invite God into our lives, only so much, we don’t give him our entertainment space. The verse above tells us to redeem the time, why because the days are evil, and the only way to push back that evil is to be fully dedicated to seeking God’s purpose. We lose sight of that purpose by being consumed by our entertainment space.

What is the purpose of each Christians life?

Is it not to live in obedience to Jesus and to show our love by that obedience.

We are not all called to be Jim Elliott's or Corrie ten Boons.
If you don't know these names, shame on you and get InTouch with your Christian bookshop and order the like about them.
Which will also start you in giving more of your life to Jesus.

As an additional challenge read the ten posts about what a Christian women should look for in a Christian man and see whether you measure up.

An old puritan once said " if you want great experiences of God enlarge your ordinary revolutions"
That is, spend more time in Bible reading, thinking about it, in prayer and in worship and service.

 

[FutureAndAHope]

Hi,

I really feel your post was rude and arrogant. I have a genuine heart to seek God, and you seem to be pushing all the bad points. I will outline your tone:

If you don't know these names, shame on you.....As an additional challenge read the ten posts about what a Christian women should look for in a Christian man and see whether you measure up.

I am a happily married man, I prayed many long stress-filled nights, to keep my marriage together, in times when I could have given up. Me and my wife now have a great marriage, not perfect but still great, even with my entertainment. I certainly don't need the opinion of some unmarried woman, to straighten me out.

It is easy enough to get distracted by the things of this life, it is not a grievous sin.

I still plan to spend my spare time (when not with family, and work commitments) in prayer, in the hope that it can lead to something greater in God. But I know that even if I chose not to God would still be with me.

Again, I was really displeased with your tone.

 

[Bible Highlighter]

I don’t normally do posts, that present an idea. I am normally the kind of forum goer who likes to answer questions. However I am on a bit of a journey, and I thought I would attempt to bring some of you along for the ride.

We had our Christmas dinner, and afterward got into some more serious conversations around the table about the state of the world and God. Now I am the kind of Christian who likes his entertainments, I seek God each day for an hour or so and try my best to fullfill His will, but still, play computer games. Now for the person who does this, I don’t see it as a sin. Rather a distraction at worst. But my sister said something that got me thinking, it was “God as made each of us for a purpose, and we should be seeking Him for that purpose”.

The Holy Spirit held my attention on what she said. I think there is something to learn from this. Her attitude was one of “come out and be separate from the world”, and I believe she is onto something. The bible tells us:

Eph 5:16-17 Making good use of the time, because the days are evil. For this reason, then, do not be foolish, but be conscious of the Lord's pleasure.


I feel most of us, I say this because I see the state of the church in general. Invite God into our lives, only so much, we don’t give him our entertainment space. The verse above tells us to redeem the time, why because the days are evil, and the only way to push back that evil is to be fully dedicated to seeking God’s purpose. We lose sight of that purpose by being consumed by our entertainment space.


Now I have nothing against entertainment and am not asking you to burn your records, movies, or computer games. But I do feel we need to surrender that space to Jesus. To give Him that time we would normally spend on entertainment, to redeem it in prayer. Not because we will not be saved if we don’t. But because the Bible encourages us to redeem the time.

I believe many movies, games, and music are sinful and they push sinful idealogies upon people. Those of this world will think these things are normal and are okay. But if we truly hate sin, and we are senstive to it by God's Spirit, then we will not want to indulge in these kinds of things. I believe God in time will talk to our hearts in not wanting to indulge in the things of this world. For it is written:

“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.” (1 John 2:15-17).

 

[rocknanchor]

Hello! Myself, I've come to understand it this way, with Him, yes, change will flow with sufficient contentment, but without the proximity of that Helper/Friend, the best of us will struggle every step of the way. Does this mean our sowing to the spiritual empower will end up in vain? No, I wouldn't go that far, it will however require some of us to re-evaluate the priority of His strength every day which affects us without greiveousness to cause some attention for this or that, otherwise, seldom are they short-term corrections if need be. IMO.

(Ephesians 6:10)

 

[FutureAndAHope]

I believe many movies, games, and music are sinful and they push sinful idealogies upon people. Those of this world will think these things are normal and are okay. But if we truly hate sin, and we are senstive to it by God's Spirit, then we will not want to indulge in these kinds of things. I believe God in time will talk to our hearts in not wanting to indulge in the things of this world. For it is written:

“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.” (1 John 2:15-17).

Yes, I agree. I think the issue for me has not been so much I was partaking in sin, I had quite a strict filter on what I was watching, playing etc. It was not so much an issue of departing from sin, rather thinking with a more kingdom focused mindset. Setting my mind on God’s purposes more fully. Redeeming the little bit of time I was wasting.

 

[FutureAndAHope]

Hello! Myself, I've come to understand it this way, with Him, yes, change will flow with sufficient contentment, but without the proximity of that Helper/Friend, the best of us will struggle every step of the way. Does this mean our sowing to the spiritual empower will end up in vain? No, I wouldn't go that far, it will however require some of us to re-evaluate the priority of His strength every day which affects us without greiveousness to cause some attention for this or that, otherwise, seldom are they short-term corrections if need be. IMO.

(Ephesians 6:10)

It is a bit like Paul and marriage, he said some can handle singleness some can not. Cutting off entertainment to spend time with God is similar, it seems harsh, but is benificial to God’s purposes. Yet, there are times where, I would not have been ready to do that. But without Gods enabling, it will be fruitless. Time will tell with me, whether it is fruitful or not I guess.

 

[Bible Highlighter]

Yes, I agree. I think the issue for me has not been so much I was partaking in sin, I had quite a strict filter on what I was watching, playing etc. It was not so much an issue of departing from sin, rather thinking with a more kingdom focused mindset. Setting my mind on God’s purposes more fully. Redeeming the little bit of time I was wasting.

Interesting. This is true indeed. I gave up in watching popular fantasy worldly movies like the Avengers, Star Trek, and James Bond etc. because they do promote sinful idealogies within them. In October of 2016, I gave up watching these kind of films. Now I watch Christian films, family friendly romance movies, and nature documentaries.

Side Note:

When I watch family friendly romance films with my wife sometimes, I like to look for anything really small that is unbiblical within them. Usually most of the time they are okay. As for nature documentaries that I see on super rare occasions: Well, this is an appreciation of God's creation and it sort of like education in a way, as well.

As for video games: I used to play PC games way back in the day, but as time went on, I lost interest in playing them. I was never really a big gamer kind of person. I initially liked it because of the graphics, but I preferred to just see the story without having to jump through any hoops.

 

[rocknanchor]

It is a bit like Paul and marriage, he said some can handle singleness some can not. Cutting off entertainment to spend time with God is similar, it seems harsh, but is benificial to God’s purposes. Yet, there are times where, I would not have been ready to do that. But without Gods enabling, it will be fruitless. Time will tell with me, whether it is fruitful or not I guess.

Yes, I see Him impressing me concerning my entertainment library, selections in another day and time I would have a difficult time over. But thank God, He happens to be a Master of life's needs! I find my former self interestingly suspended from what I thought was cherished.

 

[Archivist]

Maybe if you had ham for Christmas like I did instead of turkey you would avoid discussions like this.

 

[Junia]

I don’t normally do posts, that present an idea. I am normally the kind of forum goer who likes to answer questions. However I am on a bit of a journey, and I thought I would attempt to bring some of you along for the ride.

We had our Christmas dinner, and afterward got into some more serious conversations around the table about the state of the world and God. Now I am the kind of Christian who likes his entertainments, I seek God each day for an hour or so and try my best to fullfill His will, but still, play computer games. Now for the person who does this, I don’t see it as a sin. Rather a distraction at worst. But my sister said something that got me thinking, it was “God as made each of us for a purpose, and we should be seeking Him for that purpose”.

The Holy Spirit held my attention on what she said. I think there is something to learn from this. Her attitude was one of “come out and be separate from the world”, and I believe she is onto something. The bible tells us:

Eph 5:16-17 Making good use of the time, because the days are evil. For this reason, then, do not be foolish, but be conscious of the Lord's pleasure.


I feel most of us, I say this because I see the state of the church in general. Invite God into our lives, only so much, we don’t give him our entertainment space. The verse above tells us to redeem the time, why because the days are evil, and the only way to push back that evil is to be fully dedicated to seeking God’s purpose. We lose sight of that purpose by being consumed by our entertainment space.


Now I have nothing against entertainment and am not asking you to burn your records, movies, or computer games. But I do feel we need to surrender that space to Jesus. To give Him that time we would normally spend on entertainment, to redeem it in prayer. Not because we will not be saved if we don’t. But because the Bible encourages us to redeem the time.

Amen

 

[Junia]

Yes, I agree. I think the issue for me has not been so much I was partaking in sin, I had quite a strict filter on what I was watching, playing etc. It was not so much an issue of departing from sin, rather thinking with a more kingdom focused mindset. Setting my mind on God’s purposes more fully. Redeeming the little bit of time I was wasting.

I

This is how I see it too

Entertainment is fine, just don't let it become an idol. What I try to do is enjoy my free time with God, and think well, even if am watching a film or reading a novel, it is with Him, so make sure it is pleasing to Him

 

[Junia]

Being a Christian is about abiding in the vine. Just doing life with Jesus, spending time with Him, enjoying
Him. Everything else flows from that

 

[seeking.IAM]

Sometimes I just have to be a contrarian. I merely can't help myself, I suppose. A life has to have balance. True, there should be space in our lives "dedicated to seeking God's purpose," but there is nothing wrong with leaving space in our lives for entertainment. Look to Jesus. He fasted. He prayed. He spent days in the wilderness in prayer being with the Father. But, he also hung out with friends, he traveled around, he went to dinner with friends, he did not separate himself from the world but talked to and dined with sinners. And some days he went fishing. Be like Jesus.

 

[FutureAndAHope]

Just an update ... I have to admit ... I did not remain steadfast to my initial convictions. I found that the extra time I was spending in prayer did not make a lot of difference to my day. For I already spent a fair amount of time in prayer. So I reverted to spending some time in entertainment.

 

[bèlla]

I committed myself to intentional living a few years ago. I knew my purpose, but lifestyle design provided a framework for eliminating the fluff and zeroing in.

I chose to build my life around my calling to create a many tentacled reality. Where all my interests and activities enhanced my proficiency for the work God called me to perform. It took a couple of years to put it in place and I’m always pruning.

I’ve noticed a correlation in my interactions and connections. The ones that fall along the same lines are more edifying and enjoyable. The energy and camaraderie is positive. We’re pursuing similar interests and aid one another unselfishly.

As a result, I’ve decreased my involvement in unrelated activities. It allowed me to focus on personal growth in several areas that enhance my performance. For me, it’s more beneficial than killing time.

One of the qualities I cherish about the Proverbs 31 woman is her industry. She isn’t idle. Even in the evenings. I’m a lot like that and it brings me joy.

Yours in His Service,

~bella