What if God's plan for your life isn't what you really want or isnt motivating at all.

[Peacemaker1]

sorry ten thousand teachers, you are replaced...



Matthew 8:20 And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.

1 Corinthians 4:
11 Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwellingplace;
12 And labour, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it:
13 Being defamed, we intreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day.
14 I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons I warn you.
15 For though ye have ten thousand instructers in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.
16 Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me.

Philippians 3:
17 Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample.
18 (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:
19 Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)

Romans 16:18
For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.

 

[seeker2122]

A person that doesn't want what God wants...well, that's not a Christian. To be a Christian is to submit to God (Jam 4:7) and deny self (Luke 9:23). It is to be born again (John 3:3,7).

This is the key part. Most Christians actually don't live up to this including myself. We say this with our minds but we don't truly believe it with our hearts because we don't actually live it out. This is what scares me and bothers me at the same time. I think most of us might be at risk of falling into this deception or illusion that we are true followers. I don't think most Christians are true Christians. They want to be, they believe they are, and speak as if they are, but their actions and lives do not show it to be true. Is one a Christian simply because for 1% of their life they truly believe Jesus and accepted him as Lord and Savior but for 99% of the time lived like a person who doesn't truly follow Christ?

All my life I know this to be a fact....I believe in Jesus but based on how I live my life, I'd say I only believe in Jesus about 5% of the time. 95% of the rest my life and actions show I do not truly believe.

We believe in the existence of God 100% but how much % is God actually REAL in your life. Maybe only 5-10%? Does this mean we're not Christians?

 

[tdidymas]

This is the key part. Most Christians actually don't live up to this including myself. We say this with our minds but we don't truly believe it with our hearts because we don't actually live it out. This is what scares me and bothers me at the same time. I think most of us might be at risk of falling into this deception or illusion that we are true followers. I don't think most Christians are true Christians. They want to be, they believe they are, and speak as if they are, but their actions and lives do not show it to be true. Is one a Christian simply because for 1% of their life they truly believe Jesus and accepted him as Lord and Savior but for 99% of the time lived like a person who doesn't truly follow Christ?

All my life I know this to be a fact....I believe in Jesus but based on how I live my life, I'd say I only believe in Jesus about 5% of the time. 95% of the rest my life and actions show I do not truly believe.

We believe in the existence of God 100% but how much % is God actually REAL in your life. Maybe only 5-10%? Does this mean we're not Christians?

No, it means you're a spiritual infant. Take apostle Peter's advice: "as newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the Word that you may grow thereby."

 

[Oneofhope]

Hasn’t the Lord given you the heart and desire? We see this example of true Faith throughout the Bible.

Jeremiah 24:7 NLT - I will give them hearts that recognize me as the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me wholeheartedly.

Jeremiah 32:39 NLT - And I will give them one heart and one purpose: to worship me forever, for their own good and for the good of all their descendants.

1 Kings 8:58 NLT - May he give us the desire to do his will in everything and to obey all the commands, decrees, and regulations that he gave our ancestors.

Ezekiel 11:19-20 NLT - And I will give them singleness of heart and put a new spirit within them. I will take away their stony, stubborn heart and give them a tender, responsive heart, so they will obey my decrees and regulations. Then they will truly be my people, and I will be their God.

Ezekiel 36:26-27 NLT - And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.



True Christians will identify with those passages above, for they give their lives definition. They help to explain why a person changes beyond their own choice and decision, but by the Power of God alone.

 

[seeker2122]

No, it means you're a spiritual infant. Take apostle Peter's advice: "as newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the Word that you may grow thereby."

I think this can be clarified into two separate meanings:
a) spiritual infant means someone who is either new to the faith, or has not grown over time due to lack of guidance or opportunity
b) what if you've been a Christian for over 25 or 40 years and you've had training, opportunities, education, chances, and still you are a spiritual infant or immature? Is that even possible or doesn't that just eventually mean you're not a true believer?

In other words, can you always use the "I'm just a spiritual infant" as the "get out of jail card" even after 40 years or an entire lifetime of being in church, ministry, and opportunities? That would be nice to get a free pass from God using that card to absolve myself from any responsibility. Or isn't there eventually a breaking point where spiritual infancy is no longer applicable to you if you are someone who has been exposed to the Word of God time and time again but do not ever grow or change / bear fruit? There is that scary passage about those who do not bear fruit being cut off and burned.

 

[tdidymas]

I think this can be clarified into two separate meanings:
a) spiritual infant means someone who is either new to the faith, or has not grown over time due to lack of guidance or opportunity
b) what if you've been a Christian for over 25 or 40 years and you've had training, opportunities, education, chances, and still you are a spiritual infant or immature? Is that even possible or doesn't that just eventually mean you're not a true believer?

In other words, can you always use the "I'm just a spiritual infant" as the "get out of jail card" even after 40 years or an entire lifetime of being in church, ministry, and opportunities? That would be nice to get a free pass from God using that card to absolve myself from any responsibility. Or isn't there eventually a breaking point where spiritual infancy is no longer applicable to you if you are someone who has been exposed to the Word of God time and time again but do not ever grow or change / bear fruit? There is that scary passage about those who do not bear fruit being cut off and burned.

Sorry that my answer was too simplistic. It seems to me that when you become woefully aware of your shortcomings, that you should be seeking God all the more through the medium in which He revealed Himself, the scriptures. Take for example Heb. 4:12 "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart." In your search for release from sinful addictions, it seems to me that you should be seeking to obtain spiritual power from God to overcome it. Like it says in 1 Jn. 5:4 "For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith." It's the faith that Jesus heals us from our sinful ways (1 Pet. 2:24 "He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.")

In my experience, I needed knowledge of scripture, as well as practicing the spiritual disciplines, to gain understanding, to get help from others, to memorize pertinent scriptures, to engage in spiritual warfare according to Eph. 6:10-18. Heb. 5:14 "But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil." To me this means that the righteousness of God that comes to me from God (by His free gift through faith in Jesus) should be lived out in my life. Gal. 5:16 "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh." Walking by the Spirit means relying on God's power to help you do God's moral will. This takes a long term vision and perseverance, which is part of a godly character.

 

[com7fy8]

What if God's plan for your life isn't what you really want, what if God's plan for your life isn't really motivating you ? Can we ask God to change the plan and give you a plan that is more motivating for you ?

If it is God's plan, I need for God to change me. Hebrews 12:4-14 talks about how our Father's correction does so much good. He changes our character so we are submissive to Him in His peace >

"And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful." (Colossians 3:15)

Being submissive to God and ruled by Him in His own peace is included in His basic plan and calling for each of us. And this peace is Heaven's own in quality so we are satisfied to do what God guides us to do in this peace.

And "in one body" we are called to this, so our callings are in sharing as family with one another children of God. So, about what you said >

U are preaching poverty gospel, nothing wrong if u gain ur wealth honestly, Job and Abraham were considered rich business men.

It is good for our prosperity to not get us isolated from other Christians, in any case. There are people who get isolated in seeking their professions and getting married. They can shut out others, and stress out and burn out, and try to get comfort from booze and food and other things which do not require us to find out how to love and live in grace.

Our Apostle Paul needed to learn > 2 Corinthians 12:7-15. At first, it seems, he was letting problems isolate him and get the better of him. Then he had a little talk with Jesus and realized he needed to do everything in grace. And then was when Paul took "pleasure" in his troubles, plus God's grace had him discover how to love more and more abundantly even while others loved him less and less >

"And I will very gladly spend and be spent for your souls; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I am loved." (2 Corinthians 12:15)

But people can get isolated with what they suppose is God's will for them, and misunderstand what He wants. And what God wants is so better than what I can now understand and try to get myself to do. Because God is creative, always bringing us to more and better than we can think now. It is like how a little child has no clue what he or she will grow up to do. And Mom and Dad can see what the child is ready to do, and have things ready when it is time for different things. We grow to know, and go where we grow.