Welcome, Welcome! Happy Sunday! I hope you're taking it easy today. Whether you're going to or heading back from church, you're cozied up in bed, or you're prepping for cleaning day, whatever that maybe, I'm so happy you decided to tune in today!
This is my first post getting into faith discussions and I'm so excited about it! I'll be linking my sources throughout highlighted or underlined text and putting all biblical quotes on the bottom for better reference; but I do encourage you to get in your Word as well! Today I wanted to talk about convictions and what they look like for those walking with Christ.
So what is it?
A conviction is a product of a relationship with God, a fruit if you will. It's the effect of having God in your life, the Creator who knows no sin. It's a beautiful quality that builds through the experiences we have with God, in making Him the center of our lives. In our walk, we are encouraged to be like Christ; take up our cross (Matthew 16:24 ESV) and our struggles each day in order to be accurate representations of the Lord. When you accept the Lord as your savior, both acknowledging and accepting who He is and what He's done on the cross for you and I, you're already saved. Isn't that great! That's the "easy" part. But then it doesn't stop there. We have to now start the process of living like Christ called sanctification , and when it's in our human nature to sin (sometimes against our will) you may feel at odds. But there's hope! In John 14:26 ESV and 15:26-27 ESV, it is said that the Lord will send us a Helper to make our walk more personable and understandable. That helper is the Holy Spirit. When you fully accept Jesus for what and who He is, you receive the Holy Spirit and this guides you in part to your everyday decisions down to the smallest detail.
As you get to know the word and understand who God is, you'll begin to develop the ability to discern between right and wrong through the Holy Spirit. As I've come to know Christ lately it definitely feels like a little nudge that can sometimes get a little louder if you ignore it! For me personally one of the biggest things I've been feeling convicted about is gossiping. And before you point any fingers just know that we all do it and I'm not tryna hear it! Truthfully, the Lord put it on my heart that gossiping isn't really only slandering someone, because that's already something I go out of my way to try to limit myself in doing. But gossiping can purely be talking about someone when they are not there to give their own personal account or defense over the situation. When I realized that was on my heart, I find myself getting that nudge during a conversation and I quickly try to change the subject or divert the convo. I'm thankful for the convictions because it means His spirit is within me and He's working in me to make me better for His glory. Love love love that. Because God is on my side you know? He wants me to grow in Him. If He's on my side then what else really matters? So I try to obey those convictions when I first feel them and as I try to stay in my Word, communicate with Him, and learn about who He is and what He wants from me, I know I will only grow in this way.
Another big thing I've been feeling convicted of lately is what kind of media I consume. The Word doesn't say you can't have a twitter account or that "Thou shall not listen to lil uzi". But the essence of the warning to guarding your heart and your mind is riddled throughout the whole Word. You can find it in Romans 12:2 ESV, James 4: 17 ESV, Mark 7:15 ESV, 20-23 ESV, and Psalms 101:2-4 to name a few. Now it's not to say that if you watch something bad, you will 100% do something bad, but you're more likely to normalize, enable, and engage in what may not be of Him. And if it ends up leading you to sin, you need to cut it off (Matthew 5:29-30 ESV). So for me, I don't really feel comfortable listening to super explicit music anymore or artists that blaspheme God, so I replace it for something else (I'll get into the replacements next week!).
I think it's also important to note that what is a conviction for you, may only be a conviction for you. What the Spirit told you to do is what the spirit told you to do. Romans 14 is all over this and I do encourage you to read up on it. Convictions are sometimes gray areas not explicitly stated in the Bible but are personal between you and God. I don't get to force that on someone else because I don't know what God has called them to, and they don't get to force that on me. But if you're having peaceful discussion, that's surely okay! Just be mindful not to cause another person to stumble in their walk.
So I hope you leave today with some understanding and maybe this would inspire you to draw close to God in asking Him to help you align yourself in His will. I'm always down for conversation and correction because I'm just sharing the good news as I'm learning it as well. So thanks for tuning in! I can't wait to see you next week <3
~Scripture~
Matthew 16:24| "Then Jesus told his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me".
John 14:26| "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring remembrance all that I have said to you."
John 15:26-27| "But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the spirit of truth, who proceeds from the father, he will bear witness about me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning."
Romans 12:2| "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect".
James 4:17| "So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin."
Mark 7:15| "There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him"
Mark 7:20-23| "And he said, "What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person."
Psalms 101:2-4| "I will ponder the way that is blameless. Oh when will you come to me? I will walk with integrity of heart within my house; I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless. I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me. A perverse heart shall be far from me; I will know nothing of evil." This psalm is written by David, a man in the old testament revered for being a man after God's own heart. God loved his dedication toward him and when David writes his songs/ psalms, I personally connect with them and his drive to want to be close with Him. King David is declaring here his firm commitment to live in faithfulness in his private life and in his kingdom, those who come into his presence.
Matthew 5:29-30| "If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell."
Romans 14| "1 As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. 2 One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. 3 Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. 4 Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master[a] that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
5 One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.6 The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God.7 For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. 8 For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. 9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.
10 Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; 11 for it is written,
“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.”
12 So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.
Do Not Cause Another to Stumble
13 Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.14 I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. 15 For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. 16 So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. 19 So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding. 20 Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. 21 It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble.[c] 22 The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. 23 But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin."
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