Spiritual Christian Living

Freeimages.com      I read a verse years ago that really startled me.  The verse was 2 Timothy 3:12 “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.”  I read this verse about 30 years ago and I remember telling the Lord that I felt that I was living godly by following Him, but I was not suffering persecution.  I actually prayed a prayer that God would help me experience persecution.  That was one crazy prayer!  That was the only prayer that I think that I have ever taken back.  During the next few weeks, I experience a number of things that I definitely felt could be called persecution, and during that time the Lord showed me more about what it means to suffer persecution.  That is the subject of this post.    I do remember an incident in 1979 when I felt persecuted.  We were part of a Mission Team that was traveling throughout part of Mexico.  We were preaching and teaching the B...

Freeimages.com      I have heard this statement many times over the years.  Most of the time it is from Christians, who are responding to someone who is asking about their shortcomings.  Well, I’m not perfect, just forgiven.  On one hand, this statement is a great statement.   If you are in Christ – you ARE forgiven.  That is a wonderful statement for Christians to understand.  Forgiveness is a tremendous gift from God to the believers.  But did you know that the Lord Jesus asks us to actually be… perfect?  In Matthew 5:48, Jesus makes the statement to His disciples (MKJV Version) “Therefore be perfect, even as your Father in Heaven is perfect.”  Luke 6:40 “The disciple is not above his master, but everyone who is perfect shall be like his master.”  In this post, we will explore what it means to be perfect, and we might even improve a little on this catchphrase.    I have used this phrase many times,...