Important Question for Me

[Sane]

I know I don't post much here but, I feel that I've become tolerant in my walk with Christ. I feel that I've opened myself up to things that I stopped doing (listening to other Christians say that its okay to do or listen to or watch this and that) and it's affecting my bond with the Lord.
I feel I'm not where I should be since I first gave my life to the Lord. At first it was different, now it's just there and I don't want it to be that way but now it is.

Any advice on how to help me out here would be much appreciated.
I understand that some of you if not all of you will probably raise an eyebrow and say, "Well didn't he just say that's how he got to where he is?"
Yes but I feel that now that I'm confessing my dilemma, and have been praying on this for quite sometime that the Holy Spirit will guide me in the right path.
I just want to see if some of the solutions I've come up with may help me and my family.

1. Television and Movies? Should I ban MTV and wipe it off of my cable? (this is killing us) I've already gotten rid of several stations (HBO, CINEMAX, SHOWTIME, etc. etc.)
2. How do you go about cutting off the stuff that holds you down without completely living in a box from the world?
3. Music...music is a hard one....the secular music I use to listen to really had an influence on me....and I like good old southern style baptist style choir gospel music and your occasional contemporary gospel...I have my limits...but on road trips I can't listen to the same song over and over and over again...how do some of you guys deal with gospel vs. secular?

All to heck with it let me just be frank: I AM QUESTIONING MY SALVATION AS OF A FEW WEEKS AGO...when it actually started...I can't remember...but anytime I get fearful of the Rapture or etc. etc...then theres a problem....and I don't know if I should rebuke this feeling because Satan may be playing a trick on me...or to better myself....or blame it on the the little bit of influence that I let creep back into my lifestyle...
what do to what to do?! Jesus HELP ME!

[antsinmypants]

hi Sane :wave

If you're feeling convicted about channels or movies, get rid of them.. you don't need to ask us :):

Music, same- - Not all music is bad, as music is integral to worshipping YHVH El-him! :D: But, some music out there has some really bad influence, horrid lyrics (if you're actually listening to them).. and do need to be out of our hearing range.. and off our shelves.. and sometimes YHVH does convict us of these things when we grow closer to Him.

I've had to get rid of movies and CDs in the past 2 months because of their content, and it was bringing me down.

These may not bother another person, but they do bother me. :):

2. How do you go about cutting off the stuff that holds you down without completely living in a box from the world?

I cut it out. I live differently from the world.. We're supposed to be distinguishable from them.. so they say "hey, there's one of those people"..

From what I wear to how I talk to how I live and what I allow to influence me, I'm pretty careful.. If it bothers me, I purge it.

:wave

[joint heir]

If you are feeling conviction and if you would be miserable if you lost your salvation....then that is a huge sign that you have the Holy Spirit in you....

Just give up what the Lord wants you to give up.....and I bet that somewhere in you...you know how the Lord wants you to spend that time instead.....

I think throughout your walk you will always find something that is no longer appealing .....you did not recognize it as bad for you in the past....but now it is.....your tastes will become more in line with God's as you grow....

I personally still watch movies....but I turn a lot more of them off than I used to.....I get bored much easier because stuff that does not glorify the Lord just is not entertaining anymore....

Experiment with all different types of praise music....and for movies...I think each one has to be decided on an individual basis...


for car trips....try books on tape along with your music....it is a great chance to listen to sermons that you would otherwise not have a chance to hear....

[KrispyKritter]

Thank the Lord that your salvation is not based on whether you feel like you're saved or not. Fact is... you are. If you have confessed that Jesus is the Son of God, and you believe He died for your sins, you are saved.

It's the messy part of growing and maturing in the Lord that you now have to deal with. And it isnt easy.

You have mentioned several influences that are causing you to drift. To be very honest with you, these are the same things that challenge every believer. Good for you for cleaning out HBO and the others. If you still have a TV problem... get rid of it. The moral influence is not the only problem w/TV either... it's a HUGE waste of time. Imagine how much time you would free up to read the Bible and do the work of the Lord if you werent tied to the TV schedule.

Now, I have a TV too, so what I just wrote is for me as much as it is for you! We all struggle w/it.

Music... yes, there is some secular music that most deem ok. But if it is a real problem for YOU, then you may be required to avoid it all together. There are ways around secular music. Install a CD player in the car. Or when you're traveling and there are no Christian stations, just turn the radio off. Pray. Talk to the people you're traveling with.

In this country we feel we need to be entertained 100% of the time. Guess what... we don't! We Christians (myself included) waste more time on entertainment... while the world goes to hell. And not just time either, but billions and billions of dollars.

Jesus said if your eye offends you, pluck it out cuz it's better to be a cyclopse and be right w/God than to go to hell with both eyes intact.

If you cant control something in your life, and it effects your walk with the Lord... cut it out. It doesn't matter if every other Christian you know is doing it, you don't. The church is full of compromisers, of that you can be sure. But you don't need to be one!

So, you are saved! Live like it, my friend. Take whatever measures are necessary to keep yourself pure before God.

[gzusrulzme]

When a person is saved there is a battle that is about to begin. Satan wants you back really bad. So, you know that you are going to be in for a fight ahead right? Dont become discouraged. If you feel "convicted" of something--maybe that is because you are needing to let that go. We are trusted with the little things before we are trusted with the big things. If we have enough faith to do what the Father wants us to do, He will be with us and help us through it. He will never have you do something that you cant handle. But--you will struggle, especially "baby christians". You are still prone to giving in to those temptations and satan knows it. Pray--and pray hard about this. Dont give up on your walk, you will learn as you go. Be tough, be strong, and listen to your heart. That small still voice is the Holy Spirit speaking to you softly. We have to be still and quiet to listen, it will get louder! Walk in faith, and listen....you will know what to do!

[sunshine4jesus]

Sane,

We can all identify.:):

What I have experienced is once you give in to the H.S. on something, and are willing to let something go out of your life(be it secular music, movies, ice cream, just anything you place importance on), then you may gain a peace of mind that allows you to enjoy them again as long as they do not take precedence over your Christian walk.

I hope that made sense.

[Sane]

Thanks guys,

I went home and I prayed an honest prayer. Told God how confused I was, and that I really wanted to let the old me go and let the new me in but I didn't know how. Really didn't know how, I could put together solutions but they only worked for so long. So I asked him to show me the way.
Between me and him, we'll work it out.
Again thanks, I had to get that off my chest.

Sane