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The Life I Now Live


" The life which I now live, I live by the faith of the Son of God." This life can and should be lived without effort. There must be challenges but, the challenges should not keep us from living the life. We should strive to reach the place in our walk with God that struggles will not influence our decision in living for Him!

Life should not be a zany quest for following signs. Our experience in life should not be summed up in goose bumps and "feel-good" religion. Feeling good is not a bad thing because our "mountain peaks" are designed to encourage us to press forward. (Philippians 3:14, 4:13)

Remember.......Drive your car, don’t just push it! If your auto breaks down, call a mechanic! Don’t just push it around! When life becomes dreary-call on the Lord! Don’t just try to "fake it ‘till you make it!"

Shun religious trends and new fads. One of the most deceptive statements or feelings is,

"I feel led!" Sense-ation is not experience. (Romans 5:4) Experience works hope. (Hebrews 11:1) Faith is the substance of hope. Experience can be communicated, shared with and by others. Sensation is personal. Experience is real life that usually cannot be escaped. Sensation is usually the result of being "worked-up." Never value sensation above experience! In other words, never value what you "feel" above what is real! The only way to know God is by experience-Jesus always said do-never just feel!

One aspect of worship-(worth-ship) is to see; to know things as they really are; to see their real worth and then respond to HIM who gave them their value. Learn to see HIM in the glory of the lilies, of the lions, of mud and men, see HIM everywhere, not just in some building. See everything as a sign, a symbol, a sample of HIM!

Look directly at reality! A real move of God changes, transforms the inner "eye"; the vision. Sensational religion does not transform-it merely suggests that if the outer could change, then the inner could change. This is deceptive to the core. The inner must be changed in order to clearly "see" what needs to be changed in the outer or external. The real issue is not so much what is happening to you, but what is happening in you.

Do not be pulled into the future by multiple desires. Find the good in the here and now. What can you realistically influence-what is at hand to you? We need to be free to wait and find now what will and captivate our focused attention.

We must participate now! It is not enough to just see. To just see is to be easily detached. Life must be lived and experienced and suffered.

Experience comes from total immersion into existence. Experience means, "I spend myself" for the human adventure. Live life with unconditional and un-self-conscience abandon.

Life is not so much a series of problems to be solved; it is a mystery to be lived!

Experience! For a man to simply look at his wife is not enough! He must know her! Dwell with her, experience her! Remember, experience can be shared!

Be cautious of the sudden eruptions of brand new experiences into your life. They will always need fresh, immediate evaluation. Do not abandon in panic or a rush of enthusiasm the more permanent structure.

Now for two important questions........

1-What does modern man have to say about the Church?

2-What does the Church have to say about modern man?

We must base both answers, not on the modern, but on the ancient, time tested, proven Church. Not just the recent or distant past, but the past that has survived to the present. Not what has just survived to the present, but what is actually ALIVE NOW!

Stuffy, stodgy conservatism is not traditionalism. It is pathetic and immobile. It is a comfortable rut that takes the place of true tradition. Real tradition has rich potential to move us beyond the limitations of our own experiences.

To live by faith now,(Hebrews ll:1) has nothing to do with ancient or modern. It has to do with knowing HIM who is life....Jesus Christ! "The life which I live NOW, I live by the faith of the Son of God!"

Pastor Jerry Mercer

Church of New Beginnings
2673 Nursery Road
Blackshear, GA 31516
912-283-0343

All Bible Studies © 2003 Jerry Mercer