Seven aspects that churches and Christians need to pay attention to today
God made me forget.
Answered on 2019/03/04.
Seven aspects that churches and Christians need to pay attention to today
Today's churches and Christians generally have the following seven aspects to pay attention to:
The road to the cross
The road to the cross is the basic direction of Christianity, not defined by someone, but said by the Lord Jesus himself.
The way to cross is that Christians should have the heart to carry the cross and follow the Lord. What is a cross? The true meaning of the cross is to give up yourself, obey God, put yourself down and imitate Christ.
Today, the cross is mostly understood as a symbol of salvation, but it is also the way for every blessed Christian.
Crossroads are a spiritual blessing. Through this road, people are broken and changed, which is more related to the temperament of God. If Christians want to really grow up, they must take the road of the cross. Without the cross, there is no sublimation.
Some brothers and sisters don't want to cross the road, don't pay the price, but use the secular philosophy of success. Although they are also very enthusiastic about serving the Lord and love him very much, at a certain moment, you will find that their self-centered, very human nature will be exposed. This is because there is no intersection, so their life temperament has not changed or changed very little.
Some brothers and sisters don't want to cross the road when choosing a spouse. One day, they found the right person, but over time, people will find that the other half they think is the "material" to run them in. This phenomenon tells us that no matter how smart you are, you can't escape the path planned by God for you. You think you have escaped from the "wooden cangue", and you may be waiting for an "iron cangue". So don't deceive yourself, don't think you are wise, but completely believe in God, believe that all his arrangements are good, and be willing to obey all his arrangements.
Isn't it painful for a man who carries a cross and puts down his own people? No, it seems to be a loss in some ways, but life may be made by God. In specific matters, God will also guard the door for you, or close the door or open the door. If you are willing to pay the price to obey God, so that you can avoid detours and suffer less, what a wonderful blessing God will give you!
Second, the concept of loving the Lord.
I don't know when it started. The China Church defined loving the Lord as doing something concrete: loving the Lord means preaching the gospel and serving in the church. ...
What does the Bible say about the concept of loving the Lord? Jesus said, "Trust me is doing my job" and "Love the Lord your God with all your heart". Through Paul's mouth, the Lord said, "Give yourself up" and "To live is Christ".
The concept of loving the Lord in the Bible has a broader connotation. God not only wants you to do something, but also wants your whole person, your whole life and everything.
Love for the Lord is defined as doing concrete things easily, which makes servants become a mere formality and lack spiritual essence, and must be done with blood and human will. People are working, but their hearts are self-centered. When they are stimulated by the environment, it is often the blood that flows out of them.
According to the concept of loving God in the Bible, if people can constantly cooperate with God's work, they will lead people to serve the Lord with their hearts and devote their lives. The final result is to respect God as the greatest, so that God can take the lead in his own life and take power.
3. Purpose, motivation and result
Because God is the truth, I want to believe in him, because God deserves to be feared, so I want to fear him, which is the purpose of faith.
Because God loves us unconditionally and redeems us, we should respond to his love, which should be the motive of loving the Lord.
Because God calls us to be faithful to him, we should serve well. This is the motivation of serving.
Being a waiter for happiness, being a waiter for achievement, and having a party for your own satisfaction or enjoyment all need to be corrected.
There are many prophets in the Bible. They try hard to serve, but they are not accepted, and what they preach is not accepted, but they serve not for achievement, but for God's trust and loyalty (which is different from today's service aimed at producing results). Although they have no achievements, their efforts are commemorated in eternity, and their achievements are not in the present.
Inevitably impatient, a mere formality, in order to achieve results, a bloody way to be a waiter ... When the waiter achieved results, how would you face the results? Is it for publicity in front of people? In the words of Jesus, "You have received your reward", or are you too complacent to glorify God? There are profound spiritual lessons behind these things. People are planted and let God grow. It is enough for us to be loyal to our duties, and it is God who can't produce results.
Fourth, start to leave the teaching of Christ.
Believe that Jesus' salvation is not the end, but the beginning, and there are still many ways to go after that.
On the one hand, individuals should constantly seek to know God, continue to follow the Lord, and constantly practice godliness and serve the Lord.
On the other hand, the church should not stop at the beginning of salvation, but also shepherd and continue to follow up. If grazing is not enough or not in place, brothers and sisters will lack guidance and discrimination against heresy, and their spiritual life will stagnate.
5. Anti-intellectualism
Influenced by anti-intellectualism, especially in seeking God's guidance, Christians are prone to prejudice.
If someone introduces you to someone, the introducer doesn't tell you the specific situation of the other person or gives you little information, and then asks you to pray to see if you are moved. Sometimes God really touches you and tells you the answer directly. But many times, God will not tell you directly, but let you experience, see and make choices through God's word and constant prayer.
In reality, most people seek God's guidance and let God tell you the answer directly. It's not impossible, but we can't force God to answer us like this. It is God's sovereignty to guide us in what way.
When God wants a person to grow up, he will not tell all the answers, but will keep some answers. The Lord Jesus once said, "If you have the heart to do it, you will know …" The process of seeking God's guidance is also a process of self-sacrifice, and God may improve people's lives through the process of seeking.
Harmony and discrimination
Today, many people know to be harmonious and not to judge others. Even some heretics often use "inconclusive" to respond to other people's comments. There are many reasons for saying "unable to judge". Some of them do come from the obedience to the mythical language, but the possible applications are not suitable. Some people may be so attached to themselves because others have said so. Some may come from the psychology of "avoiding doctors" and self-centeredness, so they have to hide themselves. ...
The Bible teaches us to "always distinguish", not all the contents, but all the details come from God. Even a man who loves God very much and is spiritual, every word, every message and even every point of his life can't be perfect, which completely conforms to God's revelation. Therefore, discrimination is essential.
In reality, "discrimination" and "judgment" are often confused, which leads to the proliferation of heresy and wrong content, and many people who accept heresy just lack "discrimination"
7. World culture and values
According to the Bible, before the Lord came back, the world was not God, but was polluted by sin. From the perspective of this world, culture and values have also been polluted by sin. Therefore, it is unacceptable for Christians to distinguish between culture and values in the world.
The culture in the world is absolute, self-centered and self-exalted, but God wants us to fear him, take him as the truth, take him as the center and exalt his name.
The cultures in the world value money, fame, power and achievement, and show off wealth and beauty, but God wants us not to be greedy for money, fame and vanity.
The philosophy in the world is value-oriented, but God wants us to trust him completely and follow his will with value-orientation.