Difficult life for Christians?

Why is it so hard for Christians to live a discipline life with out failure?
Posted by: Jeneefia

Isn't it interesting that our great heroes of the bible had failures too? I think God must have wanted us to know their failures as well as their successes so that we to can know we can be victorious. We can be like David and be a person after God's own heart even though he failed miserably at times.

The Good Shepherd will feed his lambs and his sheep.

Isaiah 40:11 - He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.

The Lord is a good shepherd and a good shepherd takes care of his flock. This Good Shepherd is extra caring for He says He will carry his little ones in his bosom and those who are mature in spirit, bringing others to the Lord; those He will lead gently.

The Lord ultimately wants all his lambs to become sheep, because He is come for his sheep [Matthew 25:31-33]. But when they are just new, He promises extra affection and care. Jesus Himself was called the Lamb of God and we are called his lambs and sheep.

Only when we imitate the characteristics of a lamb, we qualify for the promise. A lamb is a very timid animal which surrenders to its master. Like it is covered in wool, so also we should we cover ourselves by God's grace which can be received by having faith in Jesus.

The Lord is here looking for his lambs and sheep, if you are one of them call out unto Him. He will not leave even a single one behind and do all that is necessary to gather them together.

[Reference Scriptures]
Matthew 25:31-33
31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

John 10:1-5,9-16
1 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.
2 But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
3 To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.
4 And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
5 And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.

9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
12 But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.
13 The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep.
14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.
15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.
16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

There is Value in the Valley

As you walk through the valley of the unknown, you will find the footprints of Jesus both in front of you and beside you. ~ Charles Stanley

Scripture:
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, (Or through the darkest valley) I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Psalm 23:3-5 (New International Version)

A few years ago, I had the pleasure of reading a wonderful book by Iyanla Vanzant, titled, “There is Value in the Valley.” It was a very motivational book about how going through a valley has its benefits. Now the dictionary defines a valley as; A broad area of low-lying land situated between hills or mountains and usually having a river or stream flowing along its bottom.

Many Christians will talk about a valley experience. A valley experience can mean that you are at a low point in your life. A valley experience could be the loss of a job, loss of loved one, financial difficulties, Strife in your relationships, or a wayward spouse or child. A valley experience can even be a life threatening illness. Each and everyone one of us will at some point in our lives, go through a valley experience.

However, as Ms. Vanzant so eloquently reminds us, there is value in the valley. What this means is that sometimes, being in a valley can actually benefit us. Going through a valley is just a journey from one point to another. While we may not actually enjoy the journey, there are many things that can be learned along the way.

For example, if we take the time and look around our valley, we often see things in our lives more clearly. Maybe that relationship we fought so hard to keep wasn’t really the type of relationship God wanted us to be in. Maybe the job that we lost actually prevented us from spending time with our loved ones and actually stressed us out to the point that we couldn’t really enjoy the prosperity that it brought. And as strange as it may sound, sometimes we create our own financial difficulties by not trusting God with our finances and seeking possessions that don’t necessarily bring us happiness.

Whatever valley you may be in right now, take the time and learn from it. It may be a lesson in humility and obedience. When you are at a low point in your life, always remember to look up.

Learn to appreciate all of your blessings in the valley.

Be Blessed

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COMMENTS

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Specialist - HRD

by Francis on 17th Nov, 2008

We will come into greater purity as we come into a deeper relationship with the Lord. The Holy Spirit will sanctify us. He will purify us because God is pure. In order to have union of spirit to Spirit, we need to be healed of everything that has ever happened to us. Then we will become more sensitive to the needs of others. Love will start to reach out and we become aware. In the natural order, children and teenagers are pretty much still turned in on themselves. They are not too aware of anyone else's feelings or what is going on in the household, but as they grow into maturity, they become very sensitive and aware of the needs of others. This is what happens in prayer. It is one of the fruits of union with the Lord. We become more gentle in dealing with human frailty because we are so conscious of our own weaknesses. We've been there. We're there every moment, so we stop being judgmental. St. Philip Neri said, "But for the grace of God go I!" How true. We become more obedient in the sense of responding more quickly to His promptings. The minute we pick up what the Lord wants, we do it. We don't argue with Him, we don't procrastinate, we do it, and we do it with great joy. That will come more quickly because that's the very essence of prayer.
So if you want to check yourself to see how you are doing in prayer, check your surrender, check your joyful and prompt obedience to the Holy Spirit as you understand what God is saying to you, whether it be through Scripture or private prayer. Obedience is the essence of prayer. It's the heart of prayer. The letting go becomes easier and easier as we go through these states because as we are so involved with the real Presence within that we have learned to trust. He has our total trust and the letting go becomes easier. Not that there isn't any pain, because there is usually a sacrifice in letting go, but it will not be as difficult to let go because we have become so accustomed to the One we hang onto.

Thanks and Regards,
God Bless
Francis

by Joe Joseph on 17th Nov, 2008

I am interested to do a project on "The Reasons Behind Christians Converting to Other Religions in Europe and America". please give me some information's that how can i get funding and project help
Hope your positive reply
With Regards

Failure

by Diane on 17th Nov, 2008

Failure is all we can offer to god sanctification is the work of the holy spirit making us in to the image of Christ which will go on thu eternity because he is infinite and we are finite we will never be equal to him. but the habitualism goes away replaced with grief from the holy spirit with in you and things get better and better all the time. have patients. beloved of god the holy ghost is on the job

Have sorrow, but rejoice!

by Ivette Mendonsa on 17th Nov, 2008

John 16:22 - And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.

Are you confused with the Bible? It sometimes says to rejoice and sometimes to have sorrow!

How can one have both?
Both are connected with the truth and an excellent example is given in the same scripture about a woman in labor. The woman when in labor experiences pain but she does not give up she endured the pain because she is desperate to receive her happiness - her child. We too are like the woman pregnant with the promise. We may be frightened about the pain but it is a small part of the process, we need to keep our eyes on our child - our promise, then the delivery will just pass.

Have you ever seen a mother's face the first time she sees her child? She never holds on to the pain she went through and the smile on her face proves it. Keep that mother's smile in your mind and hold on to that promise. Keep telling yourself 'I am pregnant with the promise of God and I will soon deliver and rejoice'.

without persecution there is no hope

by Jerome franklin saldanha on 17th Nov, 2008

when we turn our self to God, we start out with persecution because the ruling spirit of the world does not permit us to to surrender our lives to God, as our lord said enter through the narrow gate, so we face a lot of miserableness coming out of darkness into the light, we are faced with lots of temptation and misery and this is why we fail and fall, we have to go with God all the way to have the victory, even Jesus faced the temptations and won the victory. we have face and follow our Lord Jesus Christ and win, then the Satan will leave us alone

by Eslin Wright on 18th Nov, 2008

dear friend life fer xians is going to be difficult esp in india but no excuses fer we hav to bear up eslin wright

Difficult times for Christians

by Mrs Lourdes D'Costa on 18th Nov, 2008

It is very true. V have to be vigilant and pray unceasingly for peace for our enemies.

Christian life is not a bed of roses.

by Sebastian D'Souza on 18th Nov, 2008

Dear Readers, How true it is to compare a christian life to the valley of shadows of death. Though we walk through difficult times we look at our Lord and cherish his promises in our heart. When we do that then the failures and difficulties have no meaning at all. They are like routine pebbles on our spiritual life to divert us from focusing on our Lord. Scripture is very clear about it. It says in II Timothy 3:16-17 that all Scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching,rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. David who is called a man after God's own heart had to go through not only failures but more from threat to his very life from his own son Absalom. And through those dificulties David became stronger and stronger in his life. Every Christian has to remember that these failures and difficulties are part of our christian life. God wants to train us in righteousness. Day by day God wants to make us like his Son Jesus Christ. New Christians(converts) will be totally surprised when trials start pouring in their daily life. When I was saved 29 years back, I was filled with joy and happiness because of the Holy Spirit. I said to myself that by accepting Jesus if one gets such a joy then why not tell everyone about Jesus so that everyone will become happy and joyful. I went on witnessing for Jesus.Being a teacher my aim were my students, so also my colleagues, my friends and also neighbours. I was on fire for the Lord.But soon that joy and happiness was marred by stones being pelted on my house,window panes were smashed. My whole family went on our knees and started praying day and night. That happening though it was a daily, did not deter us from our faith on the Lord Jesus but rather our faith became strong. Hallelujah. God was strengthening us by his Scripture. Psalm 23 became our breakfast,our lunch and our dinner.We went on rejoicing, singing and worshiping the Lord. It was a new movement in Goa. It was the work of the Holy Spirit. Till then no body knew "Believers". Everybody was catholic. This new generation started emerging which is called "Believers" in Goa. We were target of scorn, insult and even threats. That made us strong. I know what is that valley of shadows of death. But it was a shadow and not death. I have gone through many such vallies in my life. Even today after 29 years of christian life we face many difficulties, problems.But when we remember our Lord's words saying that we will have problems in our life but he says "I have told you these things,s o that in me you may have peace.In this world you will have trouble, but take heart. I have overcome the world."(John 16:33) Jesus gives us strength to face these troubles.

His grace is always available to those who obey him.He is with us in our trials and problems.He also suffers with us.He also says. "If the world hates you,keep in mind that it hated me first.if you belong to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is,you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world.That is why the world hates you."(John 15:18-19) Jesus's words gives us courage,strength to face this world. The joy which is poured in our heart is the work of the Holy Spirit. And this joy keeps us going. We draw strength from our Lord.For that we have to go on our knees daily and pour our hearts to him who listens. His eyes are always on us and his ears are towards our prayers. His channel is open 24 hours a day. We can tune in at anytime.He is available. He is our loving Father. He cares for us,he loves us. He comes in our heart and abides in us.If you are facing trials and problems,come to Jesus and commit your life to him. He is waiting for you. To day if you listen his voice, do not harden your heart.I nvite him and say this prayer." Lord Jesus I believe that I am a sinner. I also believe that you died for my sins. Lord Jesus,please forgive my sins and make me worthy to come before your presence. Lord Jesus I thank you for forgiving my sins. Lord Jesus give me your Holy Spirit. Lord Jesus I thank you for giving me your Spirit. I commit my life in your hands. Lord Jesus I promise you that I will read your word everyday and try to follow your teachings. I also thank you for accepting me as your child.Lord Jesus lead and guide me in my daily life. Loving Father I praise and worship in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.Amen." Since you have accepted Jesus as your Saviour,spend some time with him daily.Talking to him. Tell him everything whatever you feel like telling him. Believe that he has accepted you as his loving child.As you talk to your earthly father so talk to him. He loves to listen to his children. Even if you commit any sin or mistake,confess immediately and ask him to forgive. He does it instantly. He will keep his angels around you. Because he loves you. Believe that he is with you always to protect you. Hallelujah.
Look at the sculptor at his work. He takes a big black rock and with his chisle he goes on chipping day by day until he gives the shape he intends to give and turns it into a beautiful statue. People admire him but they seldom forget that the sculptor had to go through regourous labour to do his job. Likewise our heavenly Father takes years to make us like his Son Jesus Christ. He does his job patiently, lovingly at a time correcting us,rebuking us but not forgetting to console us,encouraging us, strengthening us.Because he loves us. Hallelujah. If you require anything feel free to ask him,and he will provide your every need. That is his promise.Just believe and pray. So far you have not tried in this way.Just do it and see how the Lord is. He is too good to discribe. Only one has to taste and see how the Lord is. Do it today. God bless you and help you in your life.

God’s Promise

by Jackie on 19th Nov, 2008

Remember, the only difference between stumbling blocks and steppingstones is the way in which we use them. ~ Unknown

Scripture:
So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done. Matthew 21:21 (New King James Version)

I don’t know if you are anything like me, but periodically, I will begin to doubt my purpose and abilities. You see, I have gone through some things that cause me to question if I have “the right stuff”. Do I have the right job skills, parenting skills and life skills?

When I lost my job, I began to doubt in my abilities to do the work. When my children do things that are contrary to how I have attempted to raise them, I will doubt whether or not I am a good parent. And sometimes when it comes to making the right decisions on how to live, I begin to question whether or not I am making right choices.

As I lay in bed late one night, doubting and questioning everything I have ever done since High School, I heard a voice say, “I have not given you a spirit of fear and you doubt you have fear. You fear because you are listening to the lies of the devil and the devil is a liar”.

You see, my God reminded me that he has already given me everything that I need to make it in this world. He reminded me that he has given me all power and authority in Christ Jesus. He has given me access to the throne of grace.

Brothers and sisters, each of us will have doubts about our lives, but the word of God has already assured us that if we just trust in the Lord, this too shall pass.

Be Blessed

Roadblocks

by Leota on 20th Nov, 2008

Remember, When reaching obstacles and hurdles, JUMP!
Scripture:
Then my enemies will turn back when I call for help. By this I will know that God is for me. In God, whose word I praise, in the LORD , whose word I raise- Psalm 56:1-3

Have you ever been driving along and ran into a roadblock? You were forced to go in another direction and sometimes you got lost? You had no clue where you were or how to get back on the right road?

That's how our spiritual walk is sometimes. Things will happen to block our way. We have certain plans for our lives. We may have decided that things were going to be done a certain way, then something happens to change our plans. We were so set on doing things our way, we weren't prepared to do anything different and become lost and confused.

Well, I know how you can get back on the right road. It's a map called the Book of Life. It is the word of God. The bible. It is our spiritual roadmap for this world.

So when you find yourself lost and confused, pull out your map, and find your way home.

Praise the Lord

by Bruno Daniel on 29th Nov, 2008

Simply awesome passage especially abt the valley part...

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