FEEDING ON CRAP by Alison Moore (A Guest Blogger)

Alison Moore is an amazing young woman with a contagious faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and a tremendous ability to share Biblical truth through writing.  Her blog today deals with a subject that all who consider themselves to be fully devoted followers of Christ should consider. Read what she says and then take a few to meditate on the truth that God reveals through the it.  

“As a dog returns to its vomit, so fools repeat their folly.”

Proverbs 26:11

I have a new appreciation for this verse as I now have a vivid mental picture of what it means.

There I am sitting out in the backyard with Mackenzie, our 8 month old Labrador Retriever. She’s wandering around sniffing out a spot to do her business. Occasionally she stops, squats, attempts, but nothing happens so she walks it off and moves on to a new spot, whimpering occasionally as though she were in pain… like she was constipated. Finally she squats and gets it out, and it’s no wonder why it was so difficult for her; her poop was full of grass she had been eating in the backyard. Now that’s weird and slightly gross already but just to up the level of disgust, guess what she did then… she ate it! Or she started to anyway, luckily my brother Jason was out there to severely reprimand her. I was too busy shrieking in disgust.

So, it wasn’t her vomit but it was her own excrement and it was horridly disgusting. It was shriek worthy it was so gross. It was angering it was so repulsive and pointless. She had no need and no business to be eating her own waste. We give her perfectly good food and a body excretes what is no longer valuable to its health so there was nothing to be gained by her returning to her crap.

And that, my friends, is what it’s like when we return to our own folly. It could be an addiction we can’t shake or worry or laziness or gossip or ANYTHING that belittles and dishonors God. We know it’s not good for us, it’s not providing any nutrients to our relationship with Christ and yet we feed off it.

Sometimes we even push past the pain and struggle of getting the crap out of our lives. But then, for whatever inconceivable reason, after removing it from ourselves we return to the crap and start the cycle all over again.

My reaction to Mackenzie was disgust. Jason’s reaction was anger. And there was the repetitive question, “what is wrong with you?!”

How many times does God have to ask us that question? What is wrong with you? When will we each decide that whatever our personal folly is, it’s not worth returning to? It’s not worth repulsing and angering our sovereign Lord, our master who provides us with all the food and nutrients necessary through Him.

So stop feeding on crap you nasty!

Alison's blog is called FEEDING YOUR BEAST.  I highly encourage all those who are serious about missional living to check it out and follow it. 

Check Out Alison's Blog

HERE!

For All Of You Serious About Living An Effective Missional Life
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(This free gift is a short weekly missional devotional video designed to encourage you to live a powerful missional life where the Light of Christ shines brightly through you and into your part of this dark world).

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MISSIONAL LIVING TRAINING FOR ORDINARY CHRISTIANS

BATTLEFIELD CHRISTIANITY: Missional Living Is Not For The Faint Of Heart

Listen to how the Bible describes the missional life that we as ordinary christian are to live!

"Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.  1 Peter 5:8,9 (NIV)

Here the Apostle Peter is admonishing us to be on guard, aware of the realities that are taking place, able to fight back against our enemy and to stand firm against Satan because he's looking for an opportunity to devour us like a lion.  Now I don't know about you but that sounds a lot like life in this world is more of a warzone than taking a relaxing walk along the beach!  For many Christians in North America that's not the kind of attitude they possess. They don't look at life as a warzone or battle field. When they get up in the morning they're thinking about what they're going to wear for their jobs but they are in no way preparing to suit up for a spiritual battle.  The thought of putting on an armor and getting ready for a battle is the farthest thing from their minds.  


Instead they see life more as a picnic where they're laying on a blanket, drinking some wine and eating some crackers.  They're enjoying the moment with a loved one and soaking up the sun while thinking that this is the kind of life they need to always to be living!  

But could it be that this kind of world view and attitude is what's hindering the church of North America?  Could one of the reasons why the church in North America is so impotent is that we have failed to see that the life we live is a life at war with demonic spiritual forces around us?  Could it be that while the Christians of North America are sitting around at their picnics they have also made themselves extremely vulnerable and easy prey to Satan who is hiding in the grass ready to ponce on them and devour them?

Maybe it's about time we wake up and begin to look at life for what it really is, A LIFE AT WAR!  Maybe it's time for pastors to get serious about provide basic training in spiritual warfare for their congregation!  And if we did change our view of life from picnic to war wouldn't that also change our understanding of the role of the pastor?  I mean if you really believed that each morning when you woke up you were getting ready for a day of spiritual warfare against Satan wouldn't that change how you view what your pastor should do? Would you want a pastor who'll hold your hand and ask you how you're feeling or would you prefer your pastor to be more like a drill sergeant who'll kick in your butt and prepare you to survive?  

When we change our view of what life is (a war) wouldn't that also necessitate changing our view of what the church is to be like?  Maybe we should view the church as a BASIC TRAINING CAMP! Don't you think it would change? I think so!  Ordinary Christian it's time for you to expect, and in some cases demand,  that your pastor prepare you, train you and equip you to effectively engage in the spiritual battle you're already in! You're in fight and it's time to learn how you can defend yourself.  

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If you already have a pastor who equipping you for the fight then be grateful for them. Don't whine and complain when your pastor old you accountable for they are your drill sergeants (Men of God) who are the ones getting you ready for the fight!  They may be hard on you but that's only because they want you to be prepared.  We have a real enemy and he is an expert war strategist, so you need to be well trained.  Missional living is a life prepare for spiritual warfare. When we are effectively trained then we'll be prepared to accomplish our mission.

Go Shine The Light - Get Ready For The Fight!

If you need some help in eliminating the causes for not living a missional life then I highly recommend you check out this blog. It's powerful:  Eliminating The Causes For Not Living A Missional Life

If you are an ordinary christians wishing to live a more effective life for Christ then I encourage you to get a FREE subscription to Missional Devotionals.  By subscribing you will receive empowerment, encouragement and equipping for living a missional life that shines the Light of Christ.  Take a few moments and sign up now for your FREE subscription!

Would You Like To Receive Powerful Training & Encouragement For Living An Intentional Missional Life That Shines The Light Of Christ"

Then make sure you sign up for The Ordinary Christian's Newsletter by giving me your email and I will start sending you out amazing content on Missional Living 2 to 3 times per week. 

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