{"id":2503,"date":"2019-05-21T02:56:37","date_gmt":"2019-05-21T02:56:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/leadinghorsestowater.net\/?p=2503"},"modified":"2019-06-09T20:38:15","modified_gmt":"2019-06-09T20:38:15","slug":"excess-baggage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/leadinghorsestowater.net\/?p=2503","title":{"rendered":"Excess Baggage"},"content":{"rendered":"

When an individual trusts Christ as his\/her only hope of salvation, things change. I have written alot about becoming a new creature, about old things passing away and all things becoming new, but not all of the new is a quick and easy thing.\u00a0 It is not all quick and easy because of excess baggage.\u00a0 Excess baggage can come in the form of old memories, old habits and indwelling sin.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I think at times Christians become discouraged because our spiritual leaders may not identify with our struggles.\u00a0 The perception therefore becomes that everyone has it together but me.<\/p>\n

When I was in Bible college and came into a leadership position in the student body, I fell victim to the faulty thinking that one should not admit a spiritual weakness.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

I recall a young man who brought devotions one night to a small group of fellow students.\u00a0 In his devotion he revealed a weakness in his spiritual life.\u00a0 I later rebuked him for admitting it.\u00a0 My reasoning was that admitting a weakness may send the wrong signal to the guys listening and make them think it was okay to have this weakness.\u00a0 Now I don’t recall what the weakness was, but I have regretted for years my pharisaical attitude in the matter.\u00a0 \u00a0I have often wished I could ask his forgiveness for my silly rebuke.<\/p>\n

Every Christian has indwelling sin (Romans 7) and every Christian has old memories and old habits that bite at our heels every day.\u00a0 When an individual becomes a Christian, the indwelling Holy Spirit, and the written Word give victory.\u00a0 Some things change overnight but some things\u00a0 can be an ongoing battle.\u00a0 Ongoing battles are one reason Christians should pray for and encourage one another.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

Don’t become discouraged.\u00a0 Be faithful to God and\u00a0be faithful to His written Word and victory you never thought possible will be yours.\u00a0\u00a0For we are<\/em>\u00a0his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:10).<\/em><\/p>\n

….let the word of Christ dwell in you richly….<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Note:\u00a0 Admitting to weakness or struggle does not necessarily mean one is admitting to sinning.\u00a0 Giving in to that weakness is sin.<\/p>\n

Admitting a weakness or struggle\u00a0 does not need to be overly specific.\u00a0 If a private sin is involved, it should be dealt with privately.\u00a0 Public sin should be dealt with\u00a0to the degree\u00a0that it is public knowledge.<\/p>\n

And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.\u00a0 Most\u00a0gladly\u00a0therefore\u00a0will\u00a0I rather\u00a0glory\u00a0in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.\u00a0<\/em> II Cor. 12:9<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When an individual trusts Christ as his\/her only hope of salvation, things change. I have written alot about becoming a new creature, about old things passing away and all things becoming new, but not all of the new is a quick and easy thing.\u00a0 It is not all quick and easy because of excess baggage.\u00a0 … Continue reading Excess Baggage<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/leadinghorsestowater.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2503"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/leadinghorsestowater.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/leadinghorsestowater.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leadinghorsestowater.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leadinghorsestowater.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2503"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/leadinghorsestowater.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2503\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2573,"href":"https:\/\/leadinghorsestowater.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2503\/revisions\/2573"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/leadinghorsestowater.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2503"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leadinghorsestowater.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2503"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leadinghorsestowater.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2503"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}