JesusWalk Bible Study Forum: Q1. Citizens of another homeland - JesusWalk Bible Study Forum

Q1. (1:1) How would you describe the behavior of a Christian who identifies more with his present homeland than his heavenly one? Have you ever caught yourself doing this? What has to happen to get our spiritual priorities straight?

They live a life consumed by fear which may manifest itself in many ways. All bad.

I have found myself (as all do) in this situation from time to time but, praise God, - not often lately.

My self sufficiency must be crushed so I am driven back to the Lord and surrender once again to Him and his will. Although not always, a new perspective is gained through pain. I have come to understand that there can be great value in suffering though I still don't like it. Paul wrote some of his best stuff from a Roman Dungeon.

Q1. (1:1) How would you describe the behavior of a Christian who identifies more with his present homeland than his heavenly one? Have you ever caught yourself doing this? What has to happen to get our spiritual priorities straight?

This is what is called a "worldly Christian". The person is more interested in what he/she has and wants in this life than in learning how to serve the Lord by serving others. Our eyes must be focused on what we can do to bring others to know and serve Him, not on "getting" stuff for ourselves here on earth. And, sure, I think at some time or other, all of us do this. When we catch ourselves at it, we need to kneel before our Lord, asking for His forgiveness--again--and then rise to serve again. He forgives us, but we need to continue to grow into His likeness so these times grow farther apart!

An ineffectual witness, indistinguishable from his or her nieghbors, unremarkable, forgetfull, ungratefull, etc... I dare say anyone who believes they are entirely free from the sin of allowing themselves to be shaped by their culture, as much or more than by the Word of God, is not being entirely honest with themselves however.

I need constant reminders throughout the day that God has given me free will and that I therefore MUST CHOOSE obedience & life over rebellion & death, moment by moment, remembering all that God has done for me and counting the cost. The latter, for me, requires regular "quiet time" in God's Word & prayer... something I can all to easily get distracted from. As far as the "constant reminders" go, I'd love to entertain any suggestions anyone has to offer?

PS. I agree with sponsor that "walking by the senses" is characterized by fear. rather than love - and Helen made an excellent point about focusing on serving others

Worldly.

He pays more attention to his own wants and needs than anyone elses. He doesn't humble himself. He lives for the day and doesnt look ahead at the consequences of his actions.

Very often. I live for myself and forget that there's more to this world than me.

You have to come to the understanding that your life isn't your own. You can't live how you want to live if you're a son or daughter of the KING. You must die to your will and realize that you live for HIM.

Being so wrapped up in work, saving money, fixing up the house, fixing up the body, and everything TEMPORAL that we let dominate our minds. Yes, it's important to have a job, do well at it. But do we do it for God's glory ultimately... or our paycheck, pension fund, 401k...?? DO we promise God to give Him more money if he just gives US more- then we can give more to the ministry and STILL have a nice car, house, plasma TV... How do we act though, when the boss tells a raunchy joke? Do we laugh despite ourselves because we don't wish to stand apart from "the world"? Are we willing to take the risk that we may be looked at as a "Jesus Freak" and maybe risk our job , or do we keep silent, hoping that that unsaved person sitting across from us at the lunch table will get saved someday, or will get saved because we wear a cross on our necks and that should be a good witness? I am guilty of this myself. 2)Also, I think- a gradual creeping in of foreign spirits that are toxic to our own and drive away the Holy Spirit - often a spirit of jealously or unrighteous anger can "take over" , even for a time. I find that the longer I stay away from prayer and the Bible, the more likely it is that these feelings or spirits will come over me and I have less ability to fight them off like I should. (Put on the whole armor of Christ). I think Lightbuilder says it well. Like Jenni03 says, we have to die to OUR will and live for HIM. I wonder if I even know what that means half the time.

I would describe these Christians as people who forget who they are and whose they are. They begin to act and think like the world does.

A good example is what the media calls the flu and cold season. How many Christians forget that by Jesus' stripes we are healed. So just because the media says this is what's supposed to happen, we don't have to participate in it.

I tend to find myself identifying with the world when I watch too much news. I find my thoughts are more focused on the terrible things that are happening in my city, never mind around the world. That's when I realize that I haven't been spending enough time praying and focusing on God's word.

Pastor Ralph, on Jan 22 2004, 04:45 PM, said:

I would describe the behavior of a Christian who identifies more with his present homeland than heavenly is one who has to surrender more of the flesh and grow in the way of the Fruit of the Spirit.

Galatians 5:17 – 22 -23

Have you ever caught yourself doing this? Of course I have walked and still at times walk in the flesh it is a Spiritual warfare we are in daily.

What has to happen to get our spiritual priorities straight?
I get back on course by repenting, then practicing what I call Holy Habits. Which are, meditation, prayer, fasting, study, simplicity, solitude, submission, service, confession, worship, guidance, and celebration. (Taken from the book, “Celebration of Discipline” by Richard Foster).

[FONT=Times][SIZE=1][COLOR=purple]We are told to be "in this world, but not of this world" So if we were to act like we not of this world, but belonged to heaven, we would stand out like a shining star. A person whos behaviour identifies with this world is one who goes along with the flow of the world and you can't tell that he/she is a Christian. What they are saying and what they are doing is two different things.

There are plenty of times I probably could have shined a little better so people who say "Hey...she is different!" Most people who are around me all the time notice and know I am a Christian, but I want to be more of an impact to even strangers. Like the waiter or waitress at a restaurant. I want to be able to say "Hey, we are getting ready to talk to God and pray for our food, do you have anything you would like us to pray for?" My smile isn't enough.

I want to be the one DIFFERENT here on this earth. I have to spend more time in His Word, more time talking to Him, more time getting to know Him. We need to allow the Holy Spirit to work in our life and bring glory to God.

Christians who are caught up in this world's system, to the point of neglecting spiritual things, are spiritually near-sighted and carnal in their walk with God. They miss out on the benefits of the Peace and Joy that comes in serving the Lord in full surrender. I Cor. 3:3 says they "walk as mere men". To keep our lives focused on Jesus requires continual vigilence.
The things we concentrate on and focus on is what we will desire the most. Eg., if we focus on food and desserts we will soon give in and go off our diets. Some people focus on *********** and soon get entangled in chains of **** and perversion. If we focus on this worlds system too much we will find ourselves involved and living for earthly rewards. We will lay up for ourselves treasures on earth. But if we center our lives in the Word of God, prayer and fellowship with other believers we will be able to keep our priorities straight. And the more we give ourselves to these things the more we will be able to live a holy and sanctified life to the Glory of God.

As the Chorus goes: "Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim. In the light of His glory and Grace."

MrsLeeJT, on Jan 24 2004, 09:25 AM, said:

It it so interesting to read everyones responses, and I always learn so much from others' input, particularly this snip. A favorite quote from one of the pastors at my church is "what fills you controls you," and it jumped to my mind when I saw MrsLeeJT's "we let dominate our minds" statement. I've found that in the past few years I've simplified my life and re-evaluated the tangible priorities and have been trying to "fill" myself with more of the untangible - thanks for your heartfelt post - it really hit home for me.

Back to Pastor Ralph's question... I would have to say that I identify more with my present homeland than my heavenly one as I can only imagine and dream of what it will be like... (as the song so elequently says ) At times I almost feel that my heavenly home is the refuge I find when I am in my prayers and experiencing the Lords presence during worshiping, maybe a little heaven on earth. I pray daily for the Lord to guide me to keep balance in my life to aid me in juggling priorities with children and being a single mom and the daily stresses society puts upon me.

Hi everyone,... first time on the site, and I am really looking forward to this study.
I think Christians who forget they are not OF this world are acting either from fear or pride. I think many times we want to fit into the world's persepective in order to gain acceptability with others. We forget that God is the only One who can truly fulfill those "needs" emotionally in our lives.
We all suffer from letting the world's values creep into our lives, and I think it's because we start spending more time involved in things of the world than in things of the Spirit.
I think also that a good defence against the earth-bound mindset is Romans 12:1-2. We need to a. make sure we have presented ourselves 100% as living sacrifices, acknowledging that we belong to Christ, and then to be constantly and actively striving to be transformed into Christ's image as we renew our minds.

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I am happy and grateful to God for His allowing my return again to do another Bible Study with this group. I love to read the "posts" and learn from them and also to feel connected to The Body of Christ. God Bless you all. Love ...Bro. Al

A Christian who identifies more with his present homeland than with his heavenly one, often described as "carnal" or "worldly" is, I believe, one that has not yet fully come to terms with total surrender to God and total trust in His work in our lives. And indeed this is probably all of us at at least one time or another. We see throughout biblical history examples of those who have looked back, longing for a time of instant gratification and comfort. Our earthly homeland stimulates our physical senses. To be more in touch with our heavenly homeland we need to develope our spiritual senses. When I lose sight of the things of the Lord the world becomes a bigger part of my life. I get back on track by immersing myself in the study of God's word and renewing my committment to prayer and spiritual growth. Being a Christian is an on-going strive for growth and perfection. To that end I am grateful to God for leading me to this Bible Study, and as a first time poster I am looking forward to a very fruitful journey, learning from God's word and from all of you.

Pastor Ralph, on Jan 22 2004, 04:45 PM, said:

[FONT=Arial][SIZE=7][COLOR=blue] It's really simple. They think, act and feel more at home than they do with the peopleof God. i believe most of us have at one time or another found ourselves in this situation. we msut repent and ask God to forgive us and then turn our life around and start living for Jesus.

Christians who identifies more with his present homeland than his heavenly one will keep on sinning. Theywill have no desire to be submissive to God and will not hate sin and love righteousness as Jesus did. Christians who identifies with this world will not be able to discern spiritual things--they will be foolishness to them. Thie main focus will be on themselves and what they can get or what makes them happy.


Have you ever caught yourself doing this?
Yes

What has to happen to get our spiritual priorities straight?

In order for me to get my spiritual priorities straight, I must be willing to spend time with God in prayer and in the Word. By beholding God I will want to change ( II Cor. 3:18). He will increase my faith in Him--"Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. The more I spend time with Him in His Word, the more He will instill in me a desire to become changed (HEB. 13:20,21). His love will be shed abroad in my heart and ever so slowly, just like the metamorphosis of a butterfly, I will be changed.

Matt. 6:33 says to seek first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added unto me--the all things I need to get my spiritual priorities straight and whatever else I may need.

I would call him/her a worldly Christian or walking in the flesh! Yes I have caught myself in this situation before, but praise God they are becoming further apart!

We need to pray and ask Gods forgiveness and ask Him to pick us up dust us off and put us back on the strait and narrow path. We need to do our best to stay in the Spirit and not return to the old nature!

Someone once told me we need to get out of bed each morning and shoot the old nature by praying for His strength to get us through each second of each new day. God said if we ask Him He will give us the His strength. I know this is true because God cannot lie!!

God Bless
Chet

I would describe the behavior of a Christian who identifies with this world more than with his heavenly home as someone who is imature in faith. A sprititual baby. I think it is a process we all must go through. It builds character if we let it. I see it in myself when I choose to be selfish by putting my needs first, by thinking more about my job than my family, by buying myself that special thing rather than donating, by making myself comfortable rather than helping someone with a need. In order to get my spiritual priorities straight I need to pray and study scripture. Or to have a discussion with someone more mature than myself. Through meditation and prayer, God can reveal my motives to me and often it seems so simple when He points out why I have behaved less than godly. He will forgive and I am able to grow from the experience into the mature Christian He desires me to become. But I feel it is a process. Look how long God worked with Noah, Moses, and others until He used them for His purposes. I feel He does the same with some of us. It is a continually growing process.

I am very much looking forward to this study and growing with each post from everyone. May God continue to bless this work.

I do believe we as Christains have to ask the Lord each day to show our witness to the people of the world. Not only by our words, but by our actions. We can talk as a christian, but if our actions show different the people will notice so we have to be a good witness at all times.