Do you ever feel like you are living in two different worlds? On one hand, you have your faith in God and your desire to follow His will. On the other hand, you have the pressures and temptations of the secular world that seem to pull you away from God. How can you balance these two realities and live a godly life in a secular world? That is the question that many Christians struggle with every day. In this blog post, I want to share with you some insights and tips that have helped me to live out my spiritual chronicles in a way that honors God and blesses others.
The first thing that we need to understand is that we are not of this world. Jesus said in John 17:16, “They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.” As followers of Christ, we belong to a different kingdom, a heavenly one. We have been born again by the Spirit of God and have received a new identity and a new citizenship. We are no longer slaves to sin, but children of God. We are no longer conformed to the pattern of this world, but transformed by the renewing of our minds. We are no longer living for ourselves, but for Him who died for us and rose again.
This means that we have a different purpose, a different perspective, and a different power than the world. Our purpose is to glorify God and to make disciples of all nations. Our perspective is to see everything from God’s point of view and to seek His kingdom and His righteousness first. Our power is to rely on the Holy Spirit who lives in us and who enables us to do all things through Christ who strengthens us.
But how do we practically apply these truths to our daily lives? How do we live as salt and light in a dark and tasteless world? How do we resist the devil and flee from temptation? How do we love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us? How do we handle trials and tribulations with joy and peace? How do we share the gospel with boldness and compassion?
Here are some practical tips that have helped me in my spiritual chronicles:
- Spend time with God every day. Nothing can replace the importance of having a personal relationship with God through prayer and His word. This is how we grow in our knowledge of Him, our love for Him, and our obedience to Him. This is how we receive His guidance, His grace, and His power for our lives. This is how we stay connected to the vine and bear much fruit.
- Surround yourself with godly people. We need each other as Christians. We need to encourage one another, edify one another, pray for one another, serve one another, and hold one another accountable. We need to find a local church where we can worship God together, learn from His word together, and fellowship with His people together. We need to join a small group where we can share our struggles, our victories, our doubts, and our faith.
- Be intentional about your witness. We are called to be ambassadors for Christ in this world. We are called to shine His light and spread His love wherever we go. We are called to be ready to give an answer for the hope that we have in Him. We are called to make disciples of all nations. This means that we need to be intentional about sharing our faith with others. We need to look for opportunities to start conversations, build relationships, invite people to church or to our homes, share our testimonies, and present the gospel.
- Seek God’s will in everything. We are not here to do our own will, but God’s will. We are not here to pursue our own dreams, but God’s dreams. We are not here to fulfill our own plans, but God’s plans. This means that we need to seek God’s will in everything that we do. We need to ask Him for wisdom, direction, and confirmation. We need to submit our desires, our decisions, and our actions to Him. We need to trust Him with the outcomes, the consequences, and the results.
- Remember your ultimate destination. We are not here to stay but to go. We are not here for this world but for the next one. We are not here for temporal things but for eternal things. This means that we need to remember our ultimate destination: heaven. We need to set our minds on things above, not on earthly things. We need to store up treasures in heaven, not on earth. We need to live as pilgrims and strangers on this earth, looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
These are some of the tips that have helped me in my spiritual chronicles. I hope they will help you too as you seek to live a godly life in a secular world. Remember, you are not alone. God is with you, and so are your fellow believers. Let us encourage one another as we see the day approaching. Let us run the race with perseverance, keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. Let us live for His glory and His kingdom until He comes again or calls us home.
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