Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Am I drifting away from GOD?

Acts 26: 13 About noon, King Agrippa, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, blazing around me and my companions. 14 We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’

 15 “Then I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’

   “ ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied. 16 ‘Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen and will see of me.

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Drifting seemed like a harmless thing to do when it came to this “GOD” stuff.  I mean everyone else seemed to be living full lives with their drinking and sexual exploits and I wasn’t a heavy drinker and my sex was held to a minimum. Comparatively I rated myself as “pretty good.”

My drifting turned into occasional visits to church, then no visits. I drifted into “deserving” to unwind after a hard week’s work so a few of us would go to the clubs which drifted into flirting and “going out” with a woman here and there. I still rated myself as “pretty good.” I mean I wasn’t trying to harm anyone and “everybody” was doing it.

  • Drifting away from listening to GOD leads me into places “I” think are harmless but they are truly harmful to me.
  • Drifting away from listening to GOD makes me assess myself as “pretty good” comparatively but I fail to take the time to admit I need HIM.
  • Drifting away from listening to GOD puts me in a place where it requires HIS correction.

GOD wants a “hot” or “cold” person to work with and my drifting had put me in a “lukewarm” state which is impossible to change. What I mean is I thought I was “pretty good” and therefore needed no improvement yet I was “harmlessly” drifting little by little away from HIM.

After a while I was producing no fruit for HIS kingdom and found myself “needy” on occasion. I would scurry to pray to GOD when I needed HIM and would go back to living without HIM expecting everything to go well for me. GOD said HE wanted something different.

  • GOD wants a full relationship with me, not one where I try holding onto my life.
  • GOD wants my full attention, not distracted or chasing things that are against HIS will.
  • GOD wants me to stand with HIM, not fold into the world and fight against HIM.

“Wait a minute… how am I fighting GOD?” you ask. The war inside of me starts where I am told by GOD to live for HIM in order to spread HIS message yet I choose to live the way I want to live. The only “drifting” I need to do is drift towards HIM not away.

  • Do you find yourself drifting away from GOD?
  • Has your time with HIM minimized because of school, work or a relationship?
  • When is the last time you have produced “fruit” in “your” life?
  • Are you purposefully living your life for GOD?

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