4 Christians, comments / suggestions?

Question

Why is it so difficult to sustain the following:
-the flame (fire) of God within
-the reality of the Presence of God
-praise on your lips
-a heart turned (bent) towards God

Answer 1

i know what you mean.
i would say that it has everything to do with our fallen state, the enemy, life's distractions, and a tendency to be self centered. i would think that a person might be more focused towards these things if he let go of a lot of material things society tells us to be important. i would also think that a person should focus on other people's needs first, or at least as often as their own. thirdly, i would recommend spending more time with god, through prayer and meditation, and the reading of his word.

Answer 2

Human nature is to think about #1.. ourselves. When we put God first, spend time talking to Him and reading His Word, the flame will stay, you will want to praise Him b/c He has done so many good things 4u. Keep a "short account" w/ God.. meaning, when you sin and you feel the conviction from it, get it right asap.. that will keep ur heart sensitive, or as you put it, bent, towards God. The reality of His prescence will come when you get down on your knees and pray to God 4 it! He desires to make Himself known to you, all you have to do is ask!
I hope this helps, and my prayers are w/ you!

-Romans 12:1-2

Answer 3

I don't know, since I don't suffer from those symptoms. Maybe that's because to the best of my ability and understanding I've made Jesus the Lord of my life and it seems like almost everything that I do has a "Christ context" to it.

When I go to the jail and teach Bible study I tell people that there is a battle going on between the "old man" of the flesh and the "new man" of the Spirit. Then I give the analogy of the story of the man who owned two dogs that he used for fighting.

On dog was black and the other dog was white. Someone asked him "Which dog wins?" He replied, "The one that I feed the most".

If you are not feeding the new man with the Word of God on a daily basis then he gets weak. If you are feeding the old man with a study diet of secular TV and other input then he gets stronger. If the new man isn't exercising his faith each day and walking in obedience to God then he gets weaker. If the old man is fed a study diet of doubt and ubelief and as a result he walks in the ways of this world then he gets stonger.

Hope that helps.

Answer 4

I feel that way sometimes too. Whenever I return from a mission field, after seeing God work miracles on the people I see, I feel so fired up for God and I feel that nothing can ever weaken my faith. But over time, when you return to school, etc., and you are no longer surrounded by people who love God, you naturally start falling away. It's frightening how subtle it is.

But what makes being a Christian great is the fact that we can be sure that God will never let go of us, even if we let go of him. Keep going to church to fellowship with your brothers and sisters. Whenever the church does a mission or anything, go with them! Also, listen to Christian music often and maybe keep a journal or diary. Whenever you feel God's presence particularly strongly, write down everything you feel, and you can refer back to it one day when you feel your faith is falling away. I hope this helps.

Answer 5

Trials and tribulations, but it is also these that makes the fire hot, the presence of God more real, praise continually on your lips and a heart that is sold out for Him.

Answer 6

wow...you know how to ask questions!:) haha

Honestly, most of it is up to us. Most of the time we fail. For the fire to keep burning we must feed it with wood, for God to be near us we must not hurt His spirit, for His praise to be on our lips we must praise him, and have our hearts turned to Him is truly loving Him, wanting to obey Him, please Him.

I've been experiencing God like never before. 3 things that changed everything and made my walk with Christ a pleasing one instead of a hard one:

1) worship. listen to christian music more. It makes SO MUCH difference. when you sing words from a christian song you are praying it to God, you are proclaming God.

2) Read the Bible. - Dont just read or do your devotion in the morning. Pray and ask God to put a certain book in your heart. Read it and ask God to reveal it to you. Allow God to talk to you. (that might sound crazy)

3) pray - just dont pray,,,haha...talk to God. its different.

Be willing to allow the Spirit of God to fill you. Its not about following christian 'rules' its about a relationship.

God bless!

Answer 7

When we think of being filled or empowered by the holy spirit, we tend to think in terms of the storage principle. We immagine that we are like a tank that is filled, then we run for a while, become empty, the need re-filling.

It is more accurate to think in terms of the contact priciple.
Like the third rail on a subway train. We access God's power by maintaing contact with the source.

Answer 8

I am dealing with the same feelings..
It's very difficult to live a Christina lifestyle in a world that is pretty much anti-God.. Every commercial, every movie, every person will have something to distract you from God and "holiness"..
It's a constant struggle that I deal with.
The Bible is telling you one way to live, and society is completely contradicting that. We want to fit it, but not too much because it will send us away from God !
What we must do is stay strong..I fear God..And we are supposed to fear him (in a good way of course)..I don't want to end up in hell for eternity because I refused God's truth and decided to live my life the way I wanted to..
I read the Bible everyday. That is the key to staying close to God !! It is your intimate time with him, and he is speaking to you. Try to make a conscious effort to read your Bible everyday (if you already don't).. It could be a singe verse or a few pages, it doesn't matter.
Also try to listen to Christian music. When I listen to it, I really feel the holy spirit in my heart and it gets me moved..
Surround yourself with Godly people who tend to have the same beliefs.
And try to make it to church every Sunday ! And get involved !
The last thing is PRAY !! Pray to God with your issues and eventually he will listen

I hope I helped you out :)

Answer 9

Because at every turn the devil is throwing something at you to turn you away from God. Society tells us that if God were a good God, He would take away our pain, and life would be perfect. They project Him to be a man, not God, and it clashes with what the bible tells us.

Answer 10

Because of our sinful flesh. It pulls us away from God and His loving presence. The Spirit is set against the flesh and the flesh against the Spirit so that we can't do what pleases our flesh and follow the Lord. It's all in Romans.