Crippled Feet: Money

Day 4

The biggest problem the American society has, is how to deal with money. Society has become so money driven that people feel that it is the most important thing to have.

Most of the time, when it comes to money, those who have too much, don't share it, and those who have too little don't save it. Christians struggle badly when it comes to money. Most rich Christians have a hard time with giving up their money. God makes it clear in the Bible that he knows this and does not like it. Read Luke 12:19 -21.

"And I'll say to myself, 'you have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; et drink and be merry.' But God said. ' You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself.' This is how it will be with anyone who stores up  things for himself but is not rich toward God."

But He does make it clear as to how we can control the feeling of greed. Read 1 Timothy 6:17-19.

"Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life."

Being wealthy can also destroy you in the manner of how you want it more than you want God. Allowing it to become more worthy than God, can make your faith dwindle. Read Matthew 19:21-24.

"Jesus answered. ' if you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.' When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. Then Jesus said to his disciples, ' I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

Now there are also those who are poor. More often, when a Christian is poor, they risk the challenges of discontentment. Most Christians think "if God is so good to those who love Him, then why does He allow Christians to be poor?" Poorness did not come from God, It came as a result of our choice on how we wanted spend the freedom God gave us. With the choices that we made, there is a consequence. Some people have a hard time learning that being poor does not limit you to a life without pleasure, but frees you from a life of slavery to money. Read Proverbs 15:16.

"Better a little with the fear of the Lord than great wealth with turmoil."

Read Philippians 4: 12-13

"I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength."

Read 1 Timothy 6: 7 - 10 

"For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap  and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs."

Read Hebrews 13:5

"Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.'" 

All of these verses Encourage us to be content with what has been given to us by God's mercy. God has blessed us in many ways, and it we try every day to remember those blessings. Then we will never be completely poor.

Crippled Feet: Popularity

Day 3

When it comes to the American society, the thing that seems to be highly valued is popularity.  Most Christians fear confessing and sharing with others about their faith because they will " los their cool." Some Christians leave Christianity because of the fact that it isn't a very popular belief. So how do we stay strong and keep on the path, when we desire to be popular?

We must be encouraged by one thing, some of the most popular people in the world, are Christians. just to mention a few;

• Elvis Presley
• Faith Hill
• Kathie Lee Gifford
• Billy Graham
• Chuck Norris
• Carrie Underwood
• Mr.T
• Olivia Newton-John
• Kirk Cameron

And many more. God wants us to think that in his eyes we are popular, one of a kind, His children. Read Luke 12:7

"Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered, Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows."

When we focus on how important we are to God, then the importance of humankind doesn't seem as important. Even than though, most of us struggle to make ourselves more important. We often wonder if it is bad to look good. The only way this could become something bad, is when looking beautiful on the outside is the only thing that concerns you. If it becomes something that you guard as more important then your relationship with God, it can become deadly. Read 1Samuel 16:7.

" But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."

The best way to live life, is living is as yourself, honoring God and respecting others. One of the things that people seem to think is ok, is the idea that the popular person to be a bully.  It has been found in my opinion though, that those who are kind to others are more popular than those who are mean. Still, we think that we must be unkind to others who are different than us to become more popular. Sometimes we even deny old friendships to look more cool, hurting those who we care about the most just for the show of popularity.  With God, we must remember that to be a good friend is to be loyal, even though you may become less popular because of it. Read Proverbs 18:24.

"A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother."

Read Proverbs 27:10.

"Do not forsake your friend and the friend of your father, and do not go to your brother's house when disaster strikes you- better a neighbor nearby than a brother far away."

Finally Read Ecclesiastes 4: 9-10

"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up."

Crippled Feet; Relationships

Day 2

Talking about relationships is always hard. But the most important part is figuring what kind of relationship you have. You have your family relationship, marriage relationship, and dating relationship.

First, Family relationship. When it comes to this conversation Jesus focuses on telling us everyone who is part of the church is considered your family. They are your spiritual family. Read Mark 3:34-35

"Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said "here are my mother and brothers! Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother."

When talking about our natural family, God wishes us to take great care not to block each other from learning about God. Read Romans 14: 12-13.

"So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God. Therefore let us stop passing judgement on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way."

He does not want us to be the cause either, of one of our family members falling away from His divine plan. Read 1 Corinthians 8:12- 13. 

"When you sin against your brothers in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will not eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall."

Second, we will talk about dating relationship. When it comes to this topic, the Bible doesn't have much on the concept of dating. God does make it clear, in his word, how he wants us to act in a dating relationship. With His simple rules, we could have a dating relationship that is within God's plan. Often times with our society, we feel like we have no other choice or fear missing out. That seems to make Christians think that they do not have a choice in their love interest. God wants us to have our own plans, but he also wants us to follow his law.

One of the things that God talks about is dating someone who is not Christian or is not of the Christian faith.  Read 1 Corinthians 6:14.

"Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?"

God wants us to keep ourselves pure for when we get married and have a husband or wife who will have to know everything about you eventually, we will be able to tell them we stayed pure. Read Hebrews 13:4

"Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous."

Crippled Feet

Our Walk with God

This first talk is called crippled feet because we are talking about our walk with God. Sometime when we are walking along God's path we are pulled away by worldly things. A few of these things are;

1. Friendship or relationships

2. Popularity or money

3. Drugs or alcohol

4. Evolution or even religion

We will discuss each one of these at a time over a couple of days. The first thing we are going to talk about is friendships and relationships. Even though it is good to have these things in our lives, there can be danger in it as well. The danger in friendships and relationships is always whether you are friends with them for the right reasons.

Day 1

When it comes to friends, we often wonder exactly is considered the wrong friend. We know from the Bible that Jesus himself was often publically seen hanging out with the people that most people thought ungodly and certainly not "clean" in the sins that they committed. Read Matthew 9: 10- 13. If you don't have a Bible, I will put the verse on here. (I do encourage, though, that if you do have a Bible, you open it and read it for yourself.)

" While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" came  and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?" On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ' I desire mercy, not sacrifice' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

We know that Jesus encourages us to accept those who are non-Christians. This is because Jesus wants us to help those who are not Christians to come to Christ. But even though God wants us to be friends with non-Christians, He want us to be careful not to follow in their sins. Read Psalm 1:1.

"Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the way of sinners, nor sit in the seat of mockers."

He also doesn't want us to feel envy because you seem to be missing out on the fun they are apparently having without you. Read Proverbs 24: 1-2

"Do not envy wicked men, do not desire their company; for their hearts plot violence, and their lips talk about making trouble."

We want to care for ourselves with Christians who will help keep us focused on Christ, so that we do not get sidetracked by our non-Christian friends. Read 1 Corinthians 3:8-9

"The man who plants and the man who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's Building."

Whatever friends you make, don't allow it to become the thing that pulls you away from God.

Numbed Introduction

God has made it clear in his word that we are to separate ourselves from the worldview. Being a part of the world by sharing God's word with others, but not being of the world by allowing ourselves to fall into the sins our society encourages. This has always been a hard thing for Christians to do mainly because they feel that they cannot have fun as a Jesus follower.

God does not wish us to give up on having a good time, rather he wants us to define what a good time looks like as a Christian.

Is getting drunk and partying all night fun? Maybe for that night. But if you really think about it, you are usually sick the next day from all the alcohol you drank and will have to spend the rest of the day cleaning up the mess you made the night before. Often times you regret even thinking about having a party in the first place.

Eventually, though, you find yourself going numb to what was thought to be a sinful thing at first, is now something you do almost everyday. Soon, it no longer bothers you as wrong, and began to actually enjoy it.

The things that society offers us are often not the things that God wishes us to love. We become numb to the thought of those things being wrong and begin to allow ourselves to slip into society beyond God's plan. Allowing ourselves to break from the chosen path.

In this Bible study we will discuss the ways that society is taking over our body. We will start by talking about our walk with God and go through our entire bodies finding for ourselves what exactly is God's plan for our lives.

Numb

Hello, I would like to introduce myself and explain why I have decided to call my blog, Numbed.

My name is Linnea and I have 11 other siblings. I live in a small quaint home that almost feels like a cottage from the outside and a piece of history on the inside. My mom and dad are both wonderful parents that work to keep us out of trouble. I have been homeschooled all my life, and am now in my third year of college. I am working toward my AA right now to transfer, and will be getting my bachelors degree in special education. I am a proud and loud Christian with a heart for missions and reaching those who want to know Christ on a deeper level. I am still growing in my faith, and I am trying harder to share my love of Christ with others. Even though I am not a pastor and I feel too young. I cannot answer all questions that you might have, but I am willing to try.

As for my blog, I call it "Numbed" for the purpose of my writings on here. I am searching through the bible for answers on how we are to act in today's society as Christians. I will be talking about how society has made Christians, like me and you, become numb to what is considered wrong in God's eyes. In this study I hope to find the answer to what is a Christian life supposed to look like? How are we to act in this world? and what does God want us to do to change how our society views Christianity?  I hope you enjoy my discoveries, and my thoughts. Please feel free to ask questions, I am open to criticism and other thoughts.