Question:

Note: This question came in French. I have attempted to translate it, but
it may not make complete sense. (J. O.)

HOW to LIVE A LIFE OF DISCIPLE everyday WITHOUT HAVING THE CULPABILITE
OF sins; HOW to GIVE THE BEst of ONESELF for GOD WITH such restricted
time? AND HOW ETRE OUTSIDE ONESELF IN FRONT OF THOSE THAT HAVE YOU ALWAYS
INTIMIDed by? HOW do I LIVE IN A SERVICE TReS WORLDLY WITHOUT
COMPROMISING my CONVICTIONS? HOW to succed in MARRIAGE (I AM FIANCE)?

Answer:

Based on your help with the vocabulary, I will try my best to answer this
question.

First, you ask how we can live the life of a disciple without the guilt of
sin. I assume you understand the grace of God and are not living in daily
guilt over the sins which God already forgives you of. If you are a
Christian, you are no longer guilty of sin (1 John 1:8-10). I assume you
are asking how to grow in overcoming sin and how to be one’s best for God,
not so that you can be saved, but because you ARE saved. Thank God for
his grace.

I do not have a single secret for overcoming sin and being a strong
disciple for Jesus. To me it comes down to making a decision to respond
to the love of God and to give your life for him. A favorite passage for
me in this regard is Deuteronomy 30:18-20. This passage says that what
God asks Israel (and us) to do may seem difficult, but in fact it is not.
The need is to make a choice to “choose life.” The “secret” to a
consistent spiritual life is to make a very strong decision to do what is
right no matter your circumstances. Your decision should not depend on
whether the people around you are doing right or not. It should not
depend on how many blessings God gives you. The quality of your
discipleship of Jesus depends on the quality of your decision from your
heart to do what is right. I have found that people who do right because
others expect it of them eventually start to go down hill spiritually.
Those who do right because they love God and because they have decided to
do right are much better at maintaining their ability to overcome sin and
to do great things for God in the long run.

Things like discipling can help. In fact, discipling is an important part
of doing well spiritually, but if you look at God’s heroes, they were able
to do right whether they were “discipled” to do so or not. If you are up
and down spiritually, I think you should look at the depth of your
convictions: whether they really come from yourself, or whether you have
allowed yourself to do what is right mainly because other people were
looking over you. This may take some soul-searching, but you need to
consider your life and decide that you will do what is right no matter the
cost and no matter the circumstances. When you are tempted, remember your
decision for God. Remember why you made that decision; it is because of
what God has done for you. Like Moses said, a blessed and committed life
for God is not “across the sea.” “It is certainly not too difficult for
you.” (Deuteronomy 30:11,12). As Moses said, choose life with God over
life in the world. With God’s help, you can do this. Decide today to put
your hand to the plow and not look back (Luke 9:62). The quality of your
decision determines the depth of your convictions and the consistency of
your path across the field (Luke 9:62 again) God has chosen for you to
plow.

About being out of yourself around people who intimidate you, I believe
you need to pray for God to help you in this area. This is a trait which
does not change easily. Your conficence needs to be in God, but I believe
that you cannot just turn on a switch and start being conficent.
Confidence in God comes with time and experience. I would say you should
set small goals for yourself and pray over a period of time consistently
for God to give you more conficence in yourself and in Him.

Let me make one more suggestion. Some of us have what we say in the
States “paralysis of analysis.” I do not know if that is a condition you
suffer from, but it is possible. Sometimes we are too hard on
ourselves. One thing I like to remember is that if, at the end of the
day, I have given my best for God–if I am worn out serving God, then that
is good enough for me. I cannot do everything. I am not superman. I
need to be content with what I can do. The goal is not to solve every
problem, but to give our best. I am deeply convicted that God wants us
to be happy. God wants us to be satisfied in our work for him–not to
feel guilty all the time because we are not perfect or because there are
tasks left undone. If you know in your heart that you have made the kind
of decision described in Deuteronomy 30, they you need to allow yourself
to feel the blessings of God. This is God’s will for you. If you know in
your heart that you are really trying to do what is right, then please
find a way to enjoy simply being saved and in God’s kingdom. A good study
on this is the chapter on the Jewish festivals found in my new book “From
Shadow to Reality.” The theme of this chapter is that God wants us to
celebrate our life in Christ. If we are not having fun, something is
wrong. We are either not having fun because we have not made the decision
described above, or because we have not learned to celebrate life in
Christ. Let us learn to celebrate. God is in our lives, if we are in
fact saved.

John Oakes
;ANNIC AKA THANK-YOU