Slow Leak

In God's world, everything can be used as an anology to His Word. I'm using this small unassuming small leak in my tire as an example of how if it is let go, can cause a spiritual wreck.

In this case, I'm comparing new tires to the Christian. When they are new, all is well...until we run over that one small unsuspecting nail! It doesn't take much until that tire, or our faith in this instance, will start losing precious air. If it's left unattended, a little air will soon turn into alot of air. Not only does the tire go flat, it will soon show wear and tear on the tread. Then the car won't steer straight and we have to compensate for that. If it's allowed to continue it will without a doubt reak havoc, without a doubt will cause a wreck. All this because of one little nail that we chose to ignore.

But, much like our Christian walk, if we pay attention to it going flat, we can ward off this trouble at the first signs. Our faith is very much like that tire that is crying out for attention and do something before we have a spiritual wreck!

For instance, once we run over the nail of compromise we will start losing air. Like what exactly? One of the biggest compromises we as Christians use is; "I don't need to go to church. I already know Jesus, that is all I need. Church isn't what is important anyway. I can praise God at home."

Even though going to church or not will not determine our entrance into heaven, it still hurts our Father when we don't go. Our attendance is not about us, not about how we feel but instead it's all about Him. Once we commit ourselves to this body of Christ, we become a unit. The body will suffer from us not being there, and it will hurt everyone in the long run. Let me explain this further.

Once we turn our backs on God and His family, we start heading for a total break down. Just as our vehicle requires 4 good tires, a church also needs it's congregation to keep it running in good spiritual condition. Once we stop going, the rest of the congregation can not operate the way God wants it to. Our compromises will begin to hurt others and ourselves. The truth is, going to church is not about having our own personal needs met. It has nothing at all to do about us. It doesn't matter if the choir is too big or too small or sings old songs or new songs or if the pastor speaks about things too long or not long enough. It also doesn't matter if the church is big and fancy or if it's just a small meeting place. None of this matters! But the thing that does matter is that we make Christ the air in our tires. Once He leaks out, He has no where else to go but away from us. But, going to church for the main reason to praise God and to edify our church family is just like plugging the leak in the tire.

1 Cor. 12:14-26 speaks about the importance of every body part. We can not operate sufficiently without the other parts. If we aren't doing our part in the body of Christ, we are heading for a big flat tire! You must understand that no matter how unimportant you think your part is, consider what God sees. None of it is any less important.

How does this compromise begin? Just like the unseen nail, it begins with one small lie from the enemy. Satan is the father of lies...all of them. There are 4 big ones that he told Eve and he's still spreading them onto us today. Are you going to listen to him?

Lie no. 1. Gen. 3:1, Satan implies to Eve that God isn't loving by telling her that she can't eat from the Tree of Life. Satan wants her to believe that God doesn't share everything. He instills doubt in her mind. All lies begin with doubt. But, once you are strong in the Word and the Truth, this nail of doubt won't take the air out of your tire.

Truth: Gen. 2:16, God commanded them to eat "freely" of every tree. There are many scriptures that allow us to know just how much God loves us. Psalm 37:4 says God will give us the desires of our heart. Psalm 84:11 says no good thing will He withhold from the upright. 1 Timothy 6:17 says to not trust in uncertain riches but in God who gives us richly ALL things to enjoy. These are just a few.

Lie no. 2 Gen. 3:2-4, Satan wants Eve to believe that God is not truthful. Here he puts skeptacism in her head. She wonders if she in fact will die or not. Once doubt is instilled, the questions create a bigger leak in our faith. Truth: God cannot lie.

Lie no. 3 Gen. 3:4, Now Satan wants Eve to believe God isn't righteous. He convinces Eve that God would not judge her. Truth: God has to judge us. He can't overlook sinfulness. Satan is good at telling half truths because they are still lies. Satan wanted Eve to to think that God would overlook her disobedience with a mere slap on the wrist. Surely He wouldn't follow through with His promise of what would happen if she did eat from the Tree of Life. If God weren't righteous that would mean the 10 Commandments would just be good advice. But, they are law both then and NOW. There is a penalty for breaking them...death!

Lie no. 4 Gen. 3:4-5, Satan seduced Eve into believing that God wasn't gracious. He still tells us the same old lies today by convincing us that we don't need God. He tells us that we need only be 'like a god.' By believing Satan when he tells us that God only cramps our style. Today we hear secular advertisements that say, "If it feels good~do it!" and "Try it, you'll like it!" Satan weakens us by taking the air out of our tires with these secular lies. He wants us to believe that we are as gods and don't need the One who is in charge over life everlasting. We don't need to believe in a Savior. His lies are very smooth, first seemingly unnoticable but when left unnoticed, we are heading for a big blow out! Truth: 1 Corin. 2:9. Be like God. We will have relationship with Him, He prepares things for us when we have that.

The glorious news is that God put a plug in Satan's puncture. Gen. 3:14-15, God prophesies Satan's demise. This came true when Christ redeemed our lives upon the cross at Calvary. Also in Rev. 12:9-11, Satan is overcome by the blood of the Lamb.

For those of you who don't want a flat tire of faith, you will heed these words of Christ in Revelation 3:3 when He says, "Remember therefore what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. If therefore you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come upon you."

In hearing and keeping the Words of the Living God, we will repent for sins that only His Son Christ can and has paid for. It's nothing we can ever do for ourselves. Once we realize we have a slow leak, we can put a plug in it and be good as new. Satan cannot penetrate our faith. Ask yourself today, are you an important member of the body of Christ, are you blessing others to be a blessing in return? This is what God sees. Don't be caught off guard by that insideous nail. Put a plug in it today.

Christian fellowhship is essential to spiritual growth.

Vivian Gordon an inspired writer through the power of the Holy Spirit. She is teacher of the Word and calls her Bible teachings, "Bible Bootcamp". She believes as one of the members of Christ's body, we all need to build up spiritually and strong in the Lord for those who have been broken and need examples to follow.

Scripture or spiritual slavery? Ashland Daily Tidings By Gokul Gokani The first and last obstacle to a real spiritual experience is to find out whether we really are part of the whole or separate from it. Are we an island; are we to struggle to find our destiny, work hard to survive or be doomed, ...

Take a Moment for Spiritual Reflection with Goods from WondrousWinds.com Albany Times Union Founder of Warner Ventures, LLC, Charlotte Warner is proud to announce the launch of her online faith and spiritual objects shop, WondrousWinds.com. Customers are invited to browse through an impressive collection of beautifully designed wind chimes, ... and more »

SPIRITUALITY: We pause to honor the brave who didn't waver Muncie Star Press For me, Memorial Day has a face. It is the face of the family members whose loved one made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. Since 9/11 I've seen these faces in at least 30 homes in my community. If I could introduce you to these families, ... and more »

Christian Post

The Skinny on Fasting (the Elusive Spiritual Discipline That I Avoid) Christian Post When my 24 hours of self-imposed "spiritual discipline" time was up I would rush to the school cafeteria and pig out again. I would go to bed that night with a full stomach and empty heart. Probably not God's idea of an acceptable fast. and more »

National Catholic Reporter

Crafting a spirituality of family creativity National Catholic Reporter While I would prefer my home to be mistaken for a Pottery Barn catalog shoot, I accept this colorful mess because it fosters creativity, an important developmental skill for children -- and a spiritual practice for adults.

Investment banker to spiritual counsellor Deccan Herald But for clairvoyant, spiritual counsellor and angel-therapist Shivani Sinha Sola, these are not worlds apart and neither does she regard it as a huge transition. “It is actually a natural progression. Also, spirituality is all about integration,” she ...

The Times of Trenton - NJ.com

Artist Bill Plank injects spirituality into landscape paintings The Times of Trenton - NJ.com “He painted the landscape but saw the spiritual aspect of nature and tried to get that feel in his paintings.” “Sometimes I use a bit of symbolism too.” Plank says, referring to his painting in this exhibit, “Waiting for the Light,” which shows a ...

Impending Spiritual Renaissance Heralded in New Book San Francisco Chronicle (press release) Stepping outside duality while embracing a new consciousness, author Cynthia Boulton uses humor in "Your 'Tor-tell-ah's' Upside Down" to bridge the deep divide between religious traditions and a spirituality based within, in this memoir of ... and more »

Globe and Mail

My Conversation With the Dalai Lama: The Convergence of Science and ... Huffington Post It is for this decades-long passion to bring together science and spirituality that he was awarded the Templeton Prize. I sat with him before the awards ceremony. Here is our conversation (with a video slideshow here): by Arianna Huffington by Arianna ... China suffers from "moral crisis", Dalai Lama saysReuters China Rubbishes Dalai Lama Death PlotWall Street Journal (blog) Dalai Lama wins Templeton Prize, says China suffers from 'moral crisis'Christian Science Monitor Pocono Record -The Independent all 1,564 news articles »

Being Indispensable: Willingness + Spirituality = Success Huffington Post (blog) She asked for spiritual assistance on the way to help her get to me somehow. Willingness in action! When she got to the airport, she went to security to find a "courtesy phone" to page me, but one didn't exist. However, the person at security was ...