“In posting this idea, I am sharing my experiences with everyone. Not every spiritual gift fits every occasion. They have a place and a purpose and should not be used inappropriately.”

This is what I said a few days ago.. That thought has been preying on my mind ever since I wrote them.

James 3:1

Taming the Tongue

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.

I admit I am not a teacher and acknowledging that means I need to be careful about what I say. The experiences I have are going to be similar to what some others are going through but not everyone. I have a responsibility to my God to help and not hurt His newborn believers. What I say could be taken as judging and I do not want to come off as being judgmental but that is exactly what I do. I see everything in black and white with no grey areas. That is harsh and newborns in Christ need a gentle hand.

What can I say to help someone who has just raised their hand at an altar call? I do not know what is going on in their lives. I do not know their thoughts. I do not know their needs. God does and that is who they need. All I can say is what I experienced.

I had just been handed a miracle by a God I did not know. I had prayed for the first time about the anger in me and God touched me and removed that anger. How could I not acknowledge Him when He had that kind of power over me?

No one came along beside me to ask what was happening. No one asked why I raised my hand at the altar call. No one asked if I knew what I was doing. If they had then things might have gone differently. What that might have looked like I do not know.

As a teenager I attended an American Baptist church. Their main focus was on being sheep dippers. Once they got them baptized they were God’s responsibility. That was true from their point of view, but that wasn’t what I needed at that moment. I needed someone to come along beside me to help figure out what was happening. Decades later it feels like being born and not having a mother to nurture me. I wasn’t getting the milk of the Word.

If anyone out there has just decided to change their life and become a disciple of Jesus this is my most sincere advice. Find someone you trust that has years of experience in their walk with Jesus. Talk to them about what is going on and why you have decided to follow Jesus.

Galatians 3:22-29 English Standard Version

22 But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

23 Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. 24 So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, 26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.

Is it possible to learn what this new life is like if we do not understand what our old life did to us?

I don’t know. You tell me.

That is as honest as I can be. God is the author and finisher of your faith. It is yours not mine.

God has a perfect plan for you. You will discover that for yourself by using your faith in Christ. That takes time. A new life means a new beginning and what we did in our past did not lead us to a happy life. If it did, we wouldn’t have seen the necessity to follow Christ now.

The followers of Jesus are called disciples. The root word of disciple is discipline. It is more than just listening, it is a matter of doing.

James 1:22-24 English Standard Version

22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.

Deceit, lies, are the weapons of the enemy. Oops, sorry newborns, you might not have realized you have an enemy. Learning what that means comes later. Newborns are not asked to fight until they are trained, equipped and know what the enemy is doing.

For now it is time to ask ourselves are we newborns, children of God, disciples of Jesus or have we moved on past the beginning principles and found our calling in Christ.

I don’t know. You tell me.