Shutting God Out

By MJ Blake

Becoming a new Christian can be scary for any new believer and common misconceptions of that are thinking everything is going to change in an instant. Wrong?

God's work in you has only just begun and in this book, you will see how even as experienced Christians we allow life to get in the way of our relationship with God.

Many times over we lose hope during really trying times but instead of relying on God we try to fix our own problems and in the process make them much worse than they really are.

Prosperous living is a choice you can make. If your life is in chaos and a big mess of bills and debt; it probably feels like God does not want you to prosper. Do not be discouraged: God wants you to be blessed and live in abundance.

Many times, the smallness of our faith limits God's provision in our lives. By not living according to the Biblical principles of prosperity, we are in effect hindering God from bringing abundance into our lives.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Jun 14, 2016
• ISBN: 9781326705923

Book preview

Shutting God Out

God wants to know you intimately, but many times over we shut him out whether purposely or not.

Written By

MJ Blake

Contents

Shutting God Out ……………………………………………………………………….

Disclaimer ………………………………………………………………………………….

1 STARTING OUT …………………………………………………………………………

2 WHY DO WE DO WHAT WE DO? ………………………………………….…

3 STAYING CONNECTED …………………………………………………………….

4 DOES GOD HEAR ME? …………………………………………………………….

5 WHAT NOW? …………………………………………………………………………

6 THE OPEN DOOR ……………………………………………………………………

7 ONLY GOD CAN ……………………………………………………………………..

8 TO BE FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT? ……………………………………

Disclaimer

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

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Although the author and publisher have made every effort to ensure that the information in this book was correct at press time. The author and publisher do not assume and at this moment disclaim any liability to any party for any loss, damage, or disruption caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause.

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1 STARTING OUT

Becoming a Christian is one of the most important decisions that you’ll ever make in your life. Saying the words of acceptance is the natural part; it’s what comes after that’s the hard part. So you took the first step and gave your life to God, well done to you.

Don’t think that just because you’ve done the easy part that everything in your life is suddenly going to change just like that. It is a common misconception among new Christians that once you’re given your life to God that everything else should immediately fall into place.

But that’s not the case. Your character doesn’t change automatically, and it takes time.

God works in you to bring out the qualities of a born again Christian. In a world where we want things done immediately without the hard work involved, Christianity had fallen into this category as well now. God never promised that living a Christian life would be easy, but the important thing to remember is that we are not alone.

Fellow Christian who have been in the lifestyle for years are there to guide you. The thing to remember when becoming a new Christian is that your eternal life has just begun and God’s waiting to guide you.

Congratulations. You just made the best decision of your life – a decision that you will not regret. You are at the beginning of a new relationship – a relationship with God that is possible because of Jesus Christ. As with any relationship, your relationship with God will grow stronger and deeper through communication and experiences.

As you learn more about God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, you will grow to love God and trust Him more and more. You will also come to a better understanding of how Jesus is relevant to the details of your life. Your relationship will also grow as you see God's faithfulness in situations in your life, particularly situations that you have turned over to Him in prayer. Be careful that you are not deceived into thinking that going to heaven instead of hell is the only benefit of being a Christian.

If you believe this lie, you will tend to think that you have already received all that there is to receive as a Christian and view the rest of your life as an obligation to pay God back for the gift of heaven. This erroneous view leads to the attitude that Christianity is drudgery, sacrificing all the fun things in the world for a life of rigidity and boredom.  The Christian life is not receiving the gift of heaven and then trying hard from that point forward to live according to the standards of the Bible. This is the truth: God wanted you to receive Christ, not only to be forgiven of sin so that you can go to heaven instead of hell after your earthly death, but to give your life – contentment, joy, fulfilment, and fruitfulness in Christ.

God wants you to know that, because of your faith; Christ lives in you and has given you a new life – His life. God wants you to see the relevance of Christ to all issues in your life. Through Christ, the Father’s given you an inexhaustible source of joy, contentment, power, and peace; and equipped you to be a great blessing to other people. God wants you to get in His raft and let Him take you down a roaring river. You will not be able to control the raft; you must trust Him to do so. If you do, He will not allow you to sink, but the ride will be wild, unpredictable, and sometimes rough. Every person in your path will be affected by the roaring river of God's love and power. Hardly dull and dreadful. So what's the next step? Just as you have trusted Christ by faith for forgiveness of sin, trust Him day by day with all issues of your life.

The Apostle Paul said, Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude. (Col 2:6, 7)

Paul is saying, Just as you initially received Christ Jesus by faith, live every day by faith.

If you choose day by day, moment by moment, to trust Christ with the details of life, letting Him have His way with you, then your life will be a great adventure. Don't feel burdened by your new Christianity. God does not intend for the Christian life to be a burdensome set of rules to follow. Living as a Christian is not a matter of trying to do what the Bible says. What's more, trying in our human strength to be good people does not work.