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Ixtheus Christian Devotionals |
WHEN GOD SEEMS FAR AWAY
From the Inbox of brother bob...
Dear Brother Bob,
I have a prayer request. I have
not been a good Christian lately and God is convicting me. I am not
sure how to change, but I know I want to. Please pray that I find
the time in my life for God's word and presence. It seems like satan
knows just the right buttons to push to turn our attention away from God.
I have so many other problems that I am not sure if I need to fix them
first or fix my relationship with Him first. I am just really confused
and God's voice doesn't sound real to me right now. I will appreciate
any help you can give me very much....Sincerely, X
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Dear X,
As it is with many prayer requests, sometimes we hold the key to the answer of our own prayers. This is one of those times.
The fact that the Holy Spirit is moving you to change is a good sign. Now the thing to do is follow the leading of the Holy Spirit and turn away from whatever it is that you are doing that offends God, and promise Him and yourself that you aren't going to do that anymore. Here are a few verses to help you put this in perspective...
1) Make the restoration of your relationship with Christ your FIRST PRIORITY. Once your relationship with Him is restored, then He will start straightening out the rest of your life and priorities.
{18} If I regard iniquity in my heart,
the Lord will not hear me:
{19} But verily God hath heard me;
he hath attended to the voice of
my prayer.
{20} Blessed be God, which hath
not turned away my prayer,
nor his mercy from me.
Psa 66:18-20 (KJV)
But seek ye FIRST the kingdom of God,
and his righteousness;
and all these things shall be added unto
you.
Mat 6:33 (KJV)
2) Search your soul and let God show you
what it is that you are doing that He is displeased with. It is often the
testimony of people who have unconfessed sin in their heart that the "heavens
seem like brass, and my prayers just seem to bounce off the ceiling". This
is because God cannot look on sin nor have fellowship with a sinner. Your
position of sonship is still intact and unbroken, but your relatioinship
of friendship with God is broken.
If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord
will not hear me:
Psa 66:18 (KJV)
And when ye spread forth your hands,
I will hide mine eyes from you:
yea, when ye make many prayers, I will
not hear:
your hands are full of blood.
{16} Wash you, make you clean;
put away the evil of your doings
from before mine eyes;
cease to do evil;
Isa 1:15-16 (KJV)
{23} Search me, O God, and know my heart:
try me, and know my thoughts:
{24} And see if there be any wicked way
in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.
Psa 139:23-24 (KJV)
{8} If we say that we have no sin,
we deceive ourselves, and the truth is
not in us.
{9} If we confess our sins,
he is faithful and just to forgive us
our sins,
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:8-9 (KJV)
3) Decide to turn away from the sinfull activity that is offending God, once and for all, and go in a new direction, God's direction. This is what the word "repent" means..turn around and go in a different direction.
...go, and sin no more.
John 8:11b (KJV)
4) Use the principle of "replacement" so that your life can be renewed... replace your old way of thinking or acting that you learned from the world, or were drawn to by your flesh, or were tempted to do by the devil..replace all the old things with God's new things such as you find in His Word. Ask the Holy Spirit to point out to you what He wants you to change from His Word, and then change it...one by one, one by one, and over a period of time, your life will grow to maturity.
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the
mercies of God,
that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice,
holy, acceptable unto God,
which is your reasonable service.
{2} And be not conformed to this world:
but be ye transformed by the renewing
of your mind,
that ye may prove what is that
good, and acceptable, and perfect, will
of God.
Rom 12:1-2 (KJV)
5) Remember always that if you have believed
on the Lord Jesus Christ, you now have eternal life, that no one can take
away from you....
eternal life means, "life that goes on
forever". It is not temporary or on and off..it is permanent and eternal.
If you sin, you do not lose your eternal life... you just lose your friendship
with God, until you repent and confess and turn away from the sin, and
He forgives you. Then you are once again restored to friendship or fellowship
with Him.
And this is the record, that God hath given
to us eternal life,
and this life is in his Son.
{12} He that hath the Son hath life;
and he that hath not the Son of God hath
not life.
{13} These things have I written
unto you
that believe on the name of the Son of
God;
that ye may know that ye have eternal
life,
and that ye may believe on the name of
the Son of God.
1 John 5:11-13 (KJV)
I hope that this has helped you put your
problem into God's perspective.
God bless you as you follow Him.
in Christ...brother bob........<><
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IXTHEUS CHRISTIAN DEVOTIONALS
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God Bless You.....brother bob.......<><
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