Kindle Edition
JAMES RONDINONE PUBLICATIONS
CHOICES. CHOICES. CHOICES.
Category:
Religion
Publisher: Kindle Direct Publishing
ISBN-10: B0CZHL7Z59
Pages: 241
Copyright: March 28, 2024
ISBN-13: 9798321140307
Price: $2.99 (eBook)
This book will help you learn how to work out your salvation by providing strategies to have victory over the hindrances that impede your spiritual progress, increasing your awareness of God’s peace, love, and joy, and developing the qualities of Christlikeness.
Now that you’re a Christian, what are your aspirations?
Are you content with attending church services, learning about its doctrinal platform, volunteering as needed, and making new friends?
Or would you like to get to know God personally by applying strategies to overcome the hindrances that impede your spiritual progress, increasing your awareness of God’s peace, love, and joy, and developing the qualities of Christlikeness?
If the latter is your desire, then this book is for you.
Excerpt
Introduction
Many people that are showing up or no longer attending church have a desire for God’s love, joy and peace to be operational in their lives on a consistent basis but are unable to see this become a reality.
Issues and teachings may have occurred that have caused personal injury and an unreasonable exercise of power, such as:
●There were no repercussions implemented when someone in leadership is caught committing a publicly known egregious sin (e.g., adultery, fornication, extortion, homosexuality, drunkenness, etc.).
●Being coerced to sell your home or property and giving all the proceeds to the church.
●Having to be baptized in water after repenting of your sins to God the Father and professing belief in Christ as to who He is and what He has accomplished to complete the salvation process and become a member of said church.
●Proving that you have become born-again by exercising the gift of speaking in tongues.
●Not depriving God of His financial due by mandating the giving of 10% of your income.
●The teachings of the church are absolute truth and anyone who questions such will be considered divisive and asked to leave.
●Family members and friends who aren’t church members are to be disassociated with.
●The personal sins of believers whose indiscretions were addressed in private will be made public.
●Members will be pointed out in church services if they haven’t attended faithfully and will be asked to explain why they didn’t show up.
●Participation in church functions is mandatory.
●Having been taken advantage of sexually or financially by someone in leadership.
●Been told that only God will handle a leader’s indiscretion and mind one’s own business.
In this atmosphere, it’s unlikely that the teachings concerning developing the qualities of the fruit of the Spirit are being expressed in the messages from the pulpit. What sin is, is convoluted. Specific sinful actions are, in certain instances, condoned. Obedience to church authority is unequivocal. God’s presence is thwarted corporately and individually.
No wonder God’s love, joy, and peace isn’t effectual in our lives. We’re so preoccupied with all that’s going on around us that God’s viewpoint and power is neglected or negated. Hopefully, this book will help you reestablish your fellowship with God and learn how to overcome those personality traits, inclinations, weaknesses, lusts, or passions that are part of our sinful nature and inhibit our relationships with ourselves, God, and others.
There are those, I’m sure, who, after reading this book, will believe that I advocate that everyone become church-independent. This isn’t my goal or intention. I hope each believer will begin to apply the principles in this book and be able, through the Word of God and the Holy Spirit’s power and guidance, to put his or her spiritual life back on track.
Philippians 2:12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
The Apostle Paul instructed the Philippians believers to work out their own salvation. The words work out in Koine Greek mean to put into practice in their daily [living] what God had worked in them by His Spirit.1 At salvation, each believer has received the Holy Spirit along with additional blessings, such as we’re: seated together with Christ in heavenly places, complete in Him, made the righteousness of God in Christ, etc. What inhibits these spiritual realities from becoming effectual in our experience is the inability to work out our salvation. These words refer not to justification but sanctification, victory over sin and the living of a life pleasing to the Lord Jesus.2
For godliness to be expressed in our lives, we need to recognize the divine qualities of the fruit of the Holy Spirit and appropriate and put them into practice. Spiritual growth begins with us. And as we advance spiritually, we’ll become aware of teachings that enhance our walk with God and those that don’t. Then, we’ll be able to make the right decisions as to whether we should continue to co-labor in a particular assembly or receive spiritual direction to go somewhere else.
Revelation 3:21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
May, as you read this book, become an overcomer in your experience so that all that God has made you to be at salvation will be evidenced in your circumstances and interactions with other people.
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