BACK TO THE BASICS
Sometimes we go through periods in our lives when we struggle against a certain sin or problem. No matter what we do we don’t seem to have victory over it. It could be something demonic attacking us, or it could be a sin or weakness in our flesh that allows it to continue. What can we do when that happens? What advice can we give others who are struggling but not having victory?
Whenever a sports team is struggling, they go back to the basics. When a business is foundering, they need to make sure they are following good basic using good basic business principles. The same is true in living the Christian life. When we are struggling and don’t seem to be having victory, we need to go back to the basics the basics. These are some of the basics:
- Spend time with Jesus every day, preferably in the morning when you first wake up. Read your Bible. Read through a whole Bible book, don’t just jump around reading a few verses here and there every day. Ask God to teach you about Himself as you read. Then spend some time in prayer. Confess any sin you are aware of in your life which you haven’t confessed before. Confession means agreeing with God that it is sin. Spend some time praising Him for Who and what He is and thanking Him for all He has done for you. Then pray for the needs of others and finally for your own needs.
- Make sure there is no sin in your life. We all sin and continue to sin, that’s why we confess it (1 John 1:9). But after confessing it, we must have victory over it. Sin breaks our fellowship with God and opens us to attack by the enemy. Ask God to give you the strength to overcome these things (1 Corinthians 10:13). They may be hard at first for they can be long-time habits and the enemy doesn’t want you to stop them, but they are important to stop. When you fail, confess it and start over again. This includes thoughts, attitudes, things you should be doing but aren’t, good you do our of self-centered motives, unforgiveness, anger, jealousy and others.
- Make sure you have close Christian fellowship with other believers. We all need worship, Bible study, fellowship and being with other Christians. Make sure you do this as often as you can. This is a great way of growing and gaining strength from others.
Start working on these 3 each day and you’ll build a solid foundation with God. Consistent faithfulness weakens the work of the flesh and demons so you can begin to have victory again. It’s important to grow spiritually and get stronger so that as these things fade you stay close to Him.
1 Thessalonians 4:1-3 Christian brothers, we ask you, because of the Lord Jesus, to keep on living in a way that will please God. I have already told you how to grow in the Christian life. The Lord Jesus gave us the right and the power to tell you what to do. God wants you to be holy. You must keep away from sin.
No matter how long you have been a Christian, its always beneficial to keep going back to the basics. That’s where the ‘game’ is won or lost. It’s easy to slip in one or more areas. How are you doing in the things mentioned above? What improvements can you make?
cto Rev. Dr. JERRY SCHMOYER
Christian Training Organization
Jerry@ChristianTrainingOrganization.org
(India Outreach, Spiritual Warfare, Family Ministries, Counseling, World View)
Copyright © 2021