Let's Have Church

The sacrifice of living a godly life

We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. - Romans 6:6 (NLT)

One day I had a very interesting conversation about godliness. It's amazing to hear what people have to say about such amazing topics. I was astounded at the responses I received and quite challenged. The first few years of my being born again, I was inconsistent. I was up one day, the other I was down. I seemed to be living victoriously on some days, and on others, I complained about life. Christianity became more real to me as I grew in the scriptures. Growing in the scriptures is growing in the knowledge of God. If knowing God isn't our pursuit, then perhaps we've missed the point of Christianity. 

In the 6 years that I have been saved, I have met wonderful people of God. Their relationship can only stir up depth within you. It's such relationships that I want to preserve in my own life. When you are connected to somebody that deeply knows God, they introduce to you a knowledge more powerful than what you are used to. When you meet such people, treasure your relationship with them and search the scriptures as you follow. 

 And you should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ. - 1 Corinthians 11:1 (NLT)

I love this scripture so much. Paul was so bold to say, follow me, as I follow Christ. Paul made it clear that following him would only continue to be so as he followed Christ. There's many times we follow celebrities and philosophers that only seem to discredit everything that Jesus did. I cannot follow somebody that doesn't follow Christ. It's such kind of things that make us have a mediocre relationship with God. When we are tied to too many ungodly things, we'd never attain the kind of relationship that God wants us to have with Him. We'll always seem to be torn between finding Him and losing Him. 

I have an aunt who is a pastor. I was never close to her but I have known her all my life. She's my mother's older sister and her relationship with God is amazing. When I gave my life to Christ, I finally could talk to her and have a conversation. My aunt is not afraid to say the truth. It's one thing I love about her. She's deep in the scriptures and would never do anything that contradicts with what the word of God says. 

Up until I gave my life to Jesus, I was estranged from her. She has so much of the presence of God, you'd notice it, born again or not. That's quite something! Living godly is difficult. I do not know what is more painful between having a difficult time in sacrificial living than the loneliness that comes with it. 

Many that cannot live godly, still have ties with worldly things. Until everything within us that is not godly is truly crucified, we'd never know what it must be like to be one with Christ. The reward we will gain for knowing God in intimate fellowship will be well worth the journey. Remember, our goal is to know God. 

Sometime last year, I had an innocent crush on a friend of mine. In fact, it might have started in 2018. This friend of mine goes to the church I attend and it seemed like we'd have the perfect relationship, if we got the chance. I saw all the reasons why it would work. We are both Christians, right? I was so sure we'd be an amazing christian couple. Perhaps in the beginning, it was innocent, but it turned out to be  plain old lust!

I hadn't told anybody that I liked her and since I now discovered it was more than a crush, I confided in my friends. The people I confided in are spiritual people. It's always important to seek counsel from people that know God. Getting anything less, can be injurious to your spiritual journey. 

Soon after, my so innocent crush on her slowly started turning into uncontrolled desire. The difference between love and lust is that the latter is destructive and impatient. Lust can destroy you. Never give it a place. 

It honestly took a while before truth was dawned on me in pure light. I had been praying to get into a relationship with this friend of mine. It's so important to pray for your life partner. If you are going to be in a relationship with somebody for life, you'd better pray! I prayed and what I wanted wasn't what I got. Blessings test our maturity. After praying, God showed me I had been lustful. When God tells you something, it simply means you can be delivered. It means there's a different path to take. It means He loves you. Not too many people receive a word from God. I have been so grateful. I don't want to think about what could have happened to me. 

15 minutes of sexual gratification can end your journey with God. I have friends that have lost the relationship they had with God simply because they did something that they regretted. It's sad when as young people, something takes us away from the presence of God. I think that's the saddest thing that could ever happen to a person. Treasure what you have. The enemy seeks to take it away from us. We must fight to remain pure. Pure before God!

PS: In the next chapter, I write about pornography, sex and masturbation. 

Father, thank you. Thank you for who you are. Thank you for salvation. May you help us to live godly lives as we pursue you. We ask this in Jesus' mighty name. Amen.