Hebrews 3:12-13

Spiritual drifting–the gradual wandering away from God and His will–takes place when a believer ceases to steer toward the Lord. Like an empty boat set loose upon the waters, he or she makes a slow and lazy glide away from good practices like disciplined obedience, regular Bible study, prayer, and assembling with fellow Christians. And there are consequences for casting yourself on uncharted and dangerous waters.

A life adrift is outside of God’s will and therefore in sin. The Holy Spirit pricks a believer’s conscience to send a message when he is off course, but the drifter is prone to ignore such warnings. If a Christian continually excuses his wandering ways and denies sin, then his conscience gradually numbs. A person who becomes desensitized to wrongdoing has paved the way for more sinful behavior with less guilt. Can you imagine a more dangerous situation?

As the drifting believer’s conscience becomes anesthetized, his spiritual ears are also deadened–truth cannot gain entrance because he has invited wrong attitudes and philosophies into his thinking process. What’s more, his heart hardens to the things of God. Shrinking away from testimonies about divine power, grace, and mercy, he avoids situations that might reawaken the conscience and stir his spirit to repentance.

People drift from God in search of more–more freedom, choices, and pleasure. But since the consequences are a hard heart, a numb conscience, and dead ears, what they end up with is less. The drifting believer sacrifices the victorious life in Christ for an existence devoid of permanent satisfaction.

-Charles Stanley

For more biblical teaching and resources from Dr. Charles Stanley, please visit www.intouch.org.

Used with permission from In Touch Ministries, Inc. © 2018 All Rights Reserved.

Christ doesn’t want you to sacrifice your victorious life if when you follow Him, so He offers to help steer you right ways and chart your courses. Would you like Jesus’s help in advoiding the consequences that accompany drifting? If so, repeat this short prayer, Dear Jesus, I am sorry for my sins, I do not willing drift off course but sometimes it can be hard to know which ways to go when help is very little, instructions are unclear, overwhelming distractions and invitations abound daily, and folks, stuff, and things try their best to pull me their way for their own selfish purposes and desires. Jesus, I invite you to become my personal Lord and Savior, so please Help me dear Jesus, you know the way, be kind enough to show me the way, Please help me dear Jesus because you know God’s will and right routes for me, so please clearly show me and guide me, because I do not think I should be held accountable and suffer consequences for what is not clear, what is not shown and what is not revealed to me as God’s right routes and God’s right will for me, help me Jesus, and I won’t fail, help me Jesus, and I won’t sink, help me Jesus and I won’t make a mess of my life, Help me dear Jesus, so that I shall and will be able to experience that zoe life spoke of in John 10:10 that says, “I have come to give you life and give you that life more abundantly, in your name, I ask and pray, Amen! – written by Evangelist Wendy Evans

http://www.wendyevans.org/

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