I know of no one who actually eats dirt. Probably everyone has tasted dirt a few times accidentally, but they don’t eat dirt because they actually mean to eat dirt or because they like dirt. However, there is a creature condemned to eat dirt. The serpent crawls on its belly with his nose in the dirt all the days of his life. So are the unsaved of this world. No matter how good they think they have it, or how good they plan to have it, the best they can gain is just dirt. Some dirt is more obvious than other dirt, but it is still dirt.
The serpent has no choice. The lost souls of the human race are another matter. Are you one who eats dirt all the days of your life? Are you tired of loving earthly things that cannot love you back or satisfy your soul? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. You have an option.
Are you one of the saved, one of the children of God, those ransomed by the precious blood of Jesus Christ? Praise God if you are saved. Are you grateful to the Lord that Christians are able to back up with scripture the theology that once a soul is saved, that soul is always saved? (Ephesians 2:8, ‘ For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God’:)
So, there are those souls who are lost and face eternal perdition if they do not come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
And
There are souls who have been saved, and who have tasted to see that the Lord is good (Psalm 34:8)
That His yoke is easy and His burden light (Matthew 11:30)
That He hears our prayers (I John 5:14-15)
And
There are souls who are saved, but are still crawling in the dirt like a snake. They still eat the polluted dirt of this world. Their nose is still stuck in the dirt. They are saved, but still living in the dirt of the past. They love to eat dirt, and have no desire for food from the table of the Lord. They have yet to taste and see that the Lord is good. Psalm 34:8
The problem is they have not done what is required of them. They have not separated themselves from the people and the things of this world. They are addicted to eating dirt.
These lukewarm Christians have taken to heart the facts that:
God loves them
God forgives them
God will take them to heaven when they die.
What they have not taken to heart is that:
God is righteous
God has set rules within which He expects His children to live
God expects obedience from His children
Disobedience to God prevents the believer from being set free from the dirt addiction.
No Christian can taste and see that the Lord is good while their mouth is full of dirt. Dirt pretty much ruins the flavor of anything good.
To overcome their dirt addiction Christians need to put off certain things from their past life. The Bible says:
That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; (Ephesians 4:22)
But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. (Colossians 3:8)
Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; (Colossians 3:9)
Have you ever been so tired that you went to sleep in your working clothes instead of changing into sleeping clothes? Did it seem easier at the time, but it actually ruined your sleep? That is the way the dirt of this world works. It seems easier for new Christians to just live in the rut and dirt in which they lived prior to salvation. Jumping out of their comfort zone seems just too hard, or not worth the effort. Their eternal salvation is secured. Obedience to God and possible difficulties or some level of embarrassment or persecution seems too great a price to pay. The reward of a faithful Christian is not considered. Christians living like this are not brave enough to put off the things of this world. These Christians may start out following the instructions in 1 Peter 2:1-3 which says, ‘
Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,
As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:
If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.
Then somewhere along the way, something happens. They become lazy, or arrogantly believe they know enough, or they become unwilling to actually do the things the Bible says to do. For whatever reason, their Christian growth stops.
On the other hand, there are Christians who want to put off the things of this world. They are tired of eating dirt. They want to taste and see that the Lord is good. They set out to put off the things of this world. However, once they have swept the dirt of this world out of their hearts , they have an empty place in their hearts. If they do not fill that place with the good things of God, the evil of their past life will crawl back into their hearts. They will be like the dog returning to his vomit. (Yuk!) That is what the world has to offer - dirt and vomit. .
Once Christians have put off things of the unsaved, the need to put on other things. They need to ‘put on’ or fill their hearts, with the things of Christ.
The Bible says:
For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
Galatians 3:27
And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
Ephesians 4:24
Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
Ephesians 6:11
And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:
Colossians 3:10
Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;
Colossians 3:10
And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.
Colossians 3:14
The instructions are clear regarding what Christians are supposed to do and not do.
When people accidentally get dirt in their mouths, to clean the dirt out requires rinsing their mouths at least several times. For the believer to get rid of the dirt from their old life requires rinsing their mouths of the dirt of their old life at least several times in the beginning. Then it is like good oral hygiene. It is sort of like brushing teeth every day to prevent cavities. Christians need to take care that they do not drift back into eating dirt.
The Lord has given us very clear instructions regarding how we are to live our lives.
It is true that some of the things God asks of us may be easily understood, but more difficult to actually do. For instance we are told to put on the whole armor of God so we can stand against the wiles of the devil. That is easily understood. And putting on the armor of God can be broken down into exact items we are to put on.
Ephesians chapter six, verses 1o-18 tells us:
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
11. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
13. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
15. And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16. Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
17. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
18. Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
Verse 11 tells us why we are to put on the armor of God. It is so we can stand against the wiles of the devil. That is easy to understand. The difficult part comes in just simply standing. If we are not careful to stand still we are drifting back to eating dirt again. It is much easier to do just about anything than it is to simply stand still. In fact, standing is exhausting physically and mentally. If you must stand for any length of time, you will be more exhausted at the end of the day than if you actually worked hard. A day spent standing is a dreadful day. Before the day is over you will likely have a found a place to sit. And as you sit, you may even join in conversations going on around you.
John 15:3-8 tells us:
3. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
4. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
5. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
6. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
7. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
8. 0Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
A young man in the Bible named Daniel was thrown out of his comfort zone and into a heathen environment. In that environment, Daniel put himself in danger by refusing to participate in something that God, Daniel’s God, would not like. Daniel 1:8 says, ‘But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.’
Daniel ‘purposed’. Daniel set a goal to please God above everything else, even if it required risking his own life. Daniel’s desire was to please God. He resolved to do that.
It is time for Christians to take their faith seriously. It is time to spit out the dirt of this world. Like Daniel, purpose/resolve to please God. Today, it is politically and socially correct to compromise every value, to accept every deviant behavior, to excuse every law-breaker, and forget every Biblical teaching. All this so we can just get along. Frankly, it is not in the job description of the Christian that we should ‘get along’ with anyone. Christians should do their best not to offend, and to live at peace with others as much as is possible without participating in things that are contrary to the teachings of God. However, our main goal is to please God. It is up to the individual to resolve to keep our eyes on Jesus Christ. When we fail to do that, our reward is ultimately going to be a mouth full of dirt.
I Am Resolved
http://nethymnal.org/htm/i/a/iamresol.htm
I am resolved no longer to linger,
Charmed by the world’s delight,
Things that are higher, things that are nobler,
These have allured my sight.
Refrain
I will hasten to Him, hasten so glad and free;
Jesus, greatest, highest, I will come to Thee.
I will hasten, hasten to Him, hasten so glad and free;
Jesus, Jesus, greatest, highest, I will come to Thee.
I am resolved to go to the Savior,
Leaving my sin and strife;
He is the true One, He is the just One,
He hath the words of life.
Refrain
I am resolved to follow the Savior,
Faithful and true each day;
Heed what He sayeth, do what He willeth,
He is the living Way.
Refrain
I am resolved to enter the kingdom
Leaving the paths of sin;
Friends may oppose me, foes may beset me,
Still will I enter in.
Refrain
I am resolved, and who will go with me?
Come, friends, without delay,
Taught by the Bible, led by the Spirit,
We’ll walk the heav’nly way.
Refrain
http://tobarbara.blogspot.com/
http://chirpyscats.com/ mom currently has one male kitten that is not reserved
I am looking for Baptists missionaries to link to my website.
Thanks
Barbara
