10
deadly traps that trip up new (& old) believers
1. Trying
to earn God's favor. We can never earn God's acceptance;
Jesus did that for us. He gave us a free gift of grace. At one point,
you realized that you needed that grace; you could never earn your way
into heaven. Obeying rules wouldn't do it. Only the cross could pay that
debt. So you said yes, and you were awestruck by how generous God is.
But now that you are saved, you may be tempted to start living by rules
once again. If the devil can't keep you from pursuing God, then he'll
try to divert you by making you religious. Religious without the living,
fresh relationship and intimacy with God. Yes, there are heavenly principles
like sowing and reaping (Gal 5). But there is not a single rule that you
can obey that will make you acceptable in God's eyes. It's still all about
grace, a free gift from Him to you. Stop trying to earn it, and just accept
it. When you begin to understand that you are not as close to God as you
want to be, you'll be tempted to do some good, godly things as a means
of getting closer. Careful. Go ahead and do good, godly things. But understand
this: God is into relationships and intimacy, not xxx. He doesn't run
to meet us because we obey rules well. He runs to us because He sees us
loving Him and trusting Him. Obeying rules will never compensate for sin
in our life; only the death of Jesus can do that. Return to grace.
2. Thinking it's about you. The first thing that Adam and Eve did, after sinning, was to look at themselves; they became desperately self centered. We have this same spiritual sickness today. We spend much of our thought life obsessing about how great or how rotten we are. Both perspectives lead us into a deadly trap. The only way out is to fix your eyes upon Jesus, the One who is pure and true. It's really about Him, not us.
3. Cutting off your spiritual food supply. As we "draw near to God" He will draw near to us. Stop drawing near to God, and… you do the math. If you are wise, you will do whatever it takes to find and maintain a daily, consistent intimacy with the Lord. Protect it like you would protect your air tanks when scuba diving; it's that critical. Don't believe the little lie that you can go a day or so without filling up; if you go there, pretty soon you will lose your hunger and you won't have any desire to fill up.
4. Letting pride creep in. In society, pride is a good word. In God's economy, pride is self exaltation, and that opens the door to all kinds of deceptions and spiritual blinders. "Pride comes before a fall." Pride is what tripped up Lucifer, and pride is what the devil tries to use against every believer. Humility is a must if you want to grow in the Lord, because "God gives His grace to the humble, but resists the proud." Do you want God's grace? Practice true humility; see others as important and competent as your self. When you begin to see proud attitudes creep in, stop the bus! The last thing you want is to have God "resisting you." Humility is to your soul as rains are to a crop; without it, you won't grow a thing. Jesus declared that whoever exalts himself will be humbled, but whoever humbles himself will be exalted. Do you want to be exalted and lifted up? Let God do it. If you rush in and do it, you're going to take a fall. Pride is a deadly enemy that wants to separate you from the love of God; run from pride! Be quick to admit your faults. There is power in confessing your sins to other people. (1 John ) You will be tempted to show yourself as holy and moral, while hiding the true nature of your heart; don't fall for it! If you hide what's in your heart, you get to keep it! But if you bring it into the light, you get free! "Two men went into a temple to pray…"
5. Relying on your feelings. You cannot trust your feelings. You may go through a honeymoon stage with God, and your feelings may overwhelm you for a time. But a time may come when God calls you to seek Him and trust Him when feelings don't come. He wants to be Lord of your life, and that means dethroning the other lords, including feelings! The time will come when nothing in you feels like God is on your side. You will have to choose which you will believe: your feelings, or His Word. If you will seek God even harder during these dry times, and put your trust in what He says about you, you will come through this season with a deeper faith that no one can steal.
6. Criticism. How we think and speak of others determines how much grace we receive from God. Do you wants lots of grace, or not much? Scripture says that God gives His grace to the humble, but resists the proud. And criticism is based in pride, which is the notion that others are flawed while we are not. Paul warned people to be careful that "no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many." (Hebrews 12:15) When we let bitterness and criticism take root in our heart, it can literally defile us and those around us, poisoning the very hearts that Jesus wants to live in. In Matthew 7, Jesus spelled out one of the most powerful principles of the universe: "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." If I measure my brother's flaws with a 55 gallon drum, I am giving heaven a 55 gallon drum to measure my sins. If I measure my brother's sins through the cleansing filter of grace and mercy, then heaven sees my sins through that same filter. Or as some have put it - when you point the finger at another, there are four other fingers pointing at yourself.
7. Grumbling and complaining. God loves us deeply, and goes to great lengths to show us His love. The greatest length was to send His Son to die on the cross for us. But there will be times when God allows us to go through dry or difficult times. These are meant to refine us, and we need it! Our human nature doesn't take well to difficulty. It's easy to begin resenting God when things don't go as we want. This is the test of Lordship. Who is truly in charge of our lives? That is up to us; God has given us free will, and He will not take it away. Will we yield to Him and trust Him, even when it seems like He is taking us down some dark alleys? Or will we be a back seat driver and continually tell Him how He should be directing our life circumstances? If we grumble and complain, we get to keep going in circles until we get it right. We won't know until we get to heaven, just how precious trust and obedience is. Because God loves us, He is working diligently to produce trust and obedience in us. If we will surrender and follow, we will receive spiritual riches that cannot be taken away.
8. Settling for less. How badly do you want more of God in your life? "He is a rewarder of those who seek Him." God responds to hunger. If you get to a point where you are satisfied, God will not press you farther. He respects your will. Jesus says, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone opens the door…" Jesus will not burst through the door of your heart; He will knock quietly. If you don't want to hear it, you won't. Spiritual hunger is crucial. "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled." If you hunger, you will be filled. If you don't hunger, you won't. And here's a well kept secret about hunger: if you hang around people who are not hungry for more of God, it will be incredibly difficult for you to stay hungry. Likewise, if you hang around people who are desperate for more of Him, you will get hungry. Hunger - and lack of hunger - are contagious. Don't settle for being a half Christian; there is no joy in that!
9. Immorality and hidden sin. Jesus paid the price for our sins. Case closed. But what if we sin again? Does the case get reopened? In terms of salvation, some say yes, some say no, and there's lots of scripture to support each stance. But clearly, our connection with God takes a hit when we willingly open the door and let sin into our lives. The first thing that was lost when Adam sinned was intimacy with God, and that's still true today. As you begin to tolerate sin and rationalize that it's not that bad, you will begin to see God in a far less glorious light. Pretty soon, He's a harsh, cold taskmaster, and we forget that He loves us. Sin changes our perspective of God. "To the pure, you show yourself as pure, but to the crooked, you show yourself as shrewd." (Psalm 18:26) Want to keep seeing God in His true, awesome nature? Keep sin out of your life, and keep clinging to His grace to change you into His likeness.
10. Going outside your calling. There are many great causes. But you aren't called to all of them. You are only called to do what God has set out for you. Watch out for good causes that God has not called you to. They will cause you to miss His purpose for your life. Even Jesus didn't respond to every human need; instead, He only did what His Father was doing.
So which of these is your weakness? The enemy will press the attack where you are most vulnerable, until he can gain a foothold. Ask God to show you where you need to drive the enemy back. He will!
Back to Nuggets of Truth for more Christian teachings
< Back to Home <
 Gospel
of Matthew |
| God
and Man |
| God
Calling |
| Nuggets of Truth |
| Customer Support |
| Call Every Member |