David S. Winston
  • Home
  • About
  • Media
    • YouTube
  • Winston Leadership Institute
  • Books
    • AUTHENTIC
    • Strong in Spirit Devotional
  • Speaking Requests
  • Giving

Is My Christianity Good Enough?

9/22/2016

15 Comments

 
Picture
This took courage to write, and some may not like it or agree... But it's worth a shot! (warning, this post is a little lengthy so get your coffee ☕️ )

Growing up in my house I used to think that I would have to pray for many hours a day to be a good man of God. From years of watching my dad (
Dr. Bill Winston, Living Word Christian Center) get up at some crazy hour of the night/morning, I thought that was normal. Now I loved God, but I had no desire to replicate that in my life. Any one who knows me knows that I like my sleep. So when God called me into full time ministry, I was nervous.. "God does this mean I have to get up at 4:00am every day???" ? I used to feel bad for months after entering into full time ministry because it was so hard for me to wake up so early for prayer and devotional time. I loved God and spending time with Him but I just felt like I was not wired to be up so early. But as I grew in God, He showed me that it's not about seeking Him the exact same way someone else does. Pursuing God in a way that speaks more to religious tradition than to authentic relationship is not God’s original plan. And that's where I get to the point of this blog post. Many Christians look at what they are not doing on a daily basis and feel bad about their walk with God. They find themselves asking is my Christianity good enough for God?..Or even good enough for others? Do I read enough of the Bible? Do I pray for long enough? Am I attending enough church services??

After years of growing up as a Christian young man in a pastoral household, to being in ministry now, God brought me to this conclusion:
it's about relationship, not tradition or religion.
Christ is married to us as it says in the book of Ephesians. Similar to natural marriages (between a man & woman), every marriage is different and has different requirements. What if one couple decided to read a chapter of a relationship book every night before bed? And next couple didn't.  Does this mean that one couple is better than the other? No of course not. What if I told you the couple that read every night had more problems than the one that didn't, and they read every night to help solve their problems. Know that each marriage has specific needs. My point is that just like a marriage, your relationship with God is your own. It's not for us to judge someone's marriage. It's not for us to inspect their marriage. The only thing that is appropriate for us to do is ENCOURAGE their marriage. Your relationship with God is going to be different than someone else's. But that's what God had in mind. He didn't design us as robots, he made us as humans with similar basic needs, but many different passions, desires, and struggles. The worst thing you can do is feel ashamed about your relationship with God, no matter what condition it is in. God accepts you and loves you no matter what. He wants to be close to you, but He won’t force Himself on us. He will wait patiently for you. 

Let's stop and think for a moment: How much do you think Adam prayed or read the bible? Well the bible didn't exist, and we have no record of any prayers from Adam to God. But we do know that Adam was consistently and continually in the presence of God, as he was made in the image of God. That was the whole idea. The goal of our relationship with God is to be more like Him each and every day. That's what Christianity is all about...being more like Christ. Doing what He did in the earth and even greater things (John 14:12). Things like  bible reading, prayer and service help to accomplish that goal!

The thing that we should do is encourage others (and ourselves) in the standard of the Word of God, and that's it. We should not judge others according to our thoughts, preconceived notions, or religious rhetoric. Is it ok if others judge and criticize our relationship with our spouse, kids, parents, etc? No. So why is it appropriate to judge someone else's Christianity based on how many Bible passages you think they read, or how much you think they are praying? We can never judge another man’s faith. That's only for God to judge. Know that you can be free from the judgment! The success of your relationship with God is not based in the opinions of others, but in the sincerity of your heart and in the intensity of your pursuit of God.

I used to think that if I didn't pray for at least one hour straight every day, I was clearly failing. But God showed me one day, if all this prayer is not leading us to be more Christ-like, it could be in vein. (Unfortunately I have known people that pray for hours a day but still seem to act in a way that is not Christ-like.) See our relationship with God and how we walk out our Christian faith should always encourage us to be more like christ and encourage others as well. In 1 Thessalonians  5:17 we are told to “pray without ceasing”. But Paul is not referring to non-stop talking, but rather an attitude of God-consciousness and surrender that we carry with us all the time — a continual dependence upon and relationship with the Father. If praying without ceasing simply means talking with God all day and acknowledging His presence, then many Christians might be guilty of missing the mark - even the ones who have dedicated prayer times. God wants relationship, not to be fit into a schedule. What if I told my wife Niki that we would only talk between the hours of 8:00a to 9:00a most day? She would not be having that at all! So why should we expect God to be satisfied with it either? Of course Niki and I have times dedicated to concentrated talking and interacting with each other, but that is in ADDITION to communicating and interacting all day long (and yes text messages count ?). 
REMEMBER THIS: It is not about how long you pray or how much bible you read, but rather how much is the praying and reading changing you, making you more like Jesus. You should also see a change in your life and in situations that you are involved in. 

1 Corinthians 13 says that we can do a lot of good spiritual things, but if we don't have love we are nothing. Hebrews 11:6 mentions that without faith, it is impossible to please God. In the book of James (1:26) it states that if anyone thinks he is religious, but doesn't control his mouth, his religion is useless. Do you see where I am going with this? There should be a change in us as a result of our relationship with God. And constant communication with God (word or prayer) causes our speech to be different. It's like picking up a foreign accent. If you move to Africa and live there for 10 years, you automatically start to pick up the accent, just by being around others. That's where the change is. As we hang around God, we become more like Him and Jesus. We are to be molded into the image of Christ day by day, and that's the goal. So how are you being molded into that image? The more we develop our relationship with God, the more his love comes into our heart, and we can then love others like He loves us. 

Now I'm not saying that it’s ok not to have time with God. What I am saying is don't feel bad and condemned about where you are. If you miss a day, or a week of "normally scheduled" prayer time or bible time, just pick back up however you can. This is not a performance, this is a relationship. You don't have to earn Gods approval, you were approved of already through the blood of Jesus. Just don't neglect the relationship. Any relationship that you neglect, will eventually begin to deteriorate over time. You don't want that. You want constant communication with God. But some are called by God to pray for long hours, and others are not. Some are told by God to read at length or do different things according to how God has positioned them. Others are not. But it's about being obedient to God and committing to growth.

WHAT TO DO NEXT...
1. Know that you don't have to perform for God to get Him to love you and approve of you. But your consistent effort to be with Him will lead you into a better relationship with Him. Follow the Word. Do what it says - and pay attention to what God says. He will lead and guide you into the best relationship with Him. 

2. Set a goal for your relationship with Him - but a goal defined by out put. What do you want God to do through you? Do you want God to use you to change things at your job or school? Do you want God to help you write a book? Do you want to grow in love? Then set a strategy on how to pray about those things and get instructions through God and His word. My point is, setting goals in which you will need the help of God to achieve always pushes you into a deeper relationship with Him. I know first hand…I have been “pushed” many times. But I gained an intimacy with God that I didn’t have before as a result of it.

3. Work on your faith. The word of God is very clear that without faith it's impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). When you communicate with God you start understand the nature of God more and more. Then God will speak to you about stepping out and doing some things beyond what you can do. This takes trust. Trust is formed through relationship. My mother said it recently like this: If we focus in on developing the relationship with God, then faith won't be so difficult. - Veronica Winston 

Gotquestions.org says it like this:
"For Christians, prayer should be like breathing. You do not have to think to breathe because the atmosphere exerts pressure on your lungs and essentially forces you to breathe. That is why it is more difficult to hold your breath than it is to breathe. Similarly, when we are born into the family of God, we enter into a spiritual atmosphere where God's presence and grace exert pressure, or influence, on our lives. Prayer is the normal response to that pressure. As believers, we have all entered the divine atmosphere to breathe the air of prayer."

So to answer the question Is my Christianity good enough? - the answer is YES! But not because we are so good, but because Jesus is so good. You have been saved by God’s grace and that is reason enough to celebrate ?. But we're are not just called to stop there, we are called to change this world. I will leave you with this one question: Can a baby lead people, teach people, help people, and rescue people? Of course not!.... Neither can baby Christians who never grow up into mature believers. You can't change the world if you don't grow. So grow, no judgement.
15 Comments
otoniel aguirre jr
9/23/2016 07:34:07 am

Great Blog!!!! #Amen !!!

Our relationship with God can never be measured by a measure cup or a standard by someone else. I Believe the greatest relationship with God you can have is to use the #Gift God gave us for the world to see Him through us. It's the consistency of doing what we were all created to do in this world that will bring light to the dark places. God is building our character each and every day to become who we are all called to be. We all at one point or another is going from Faith to Faith.

Reply
David S. Winston
10/8/2016 02:14:06 pm

Absolutely. I couldn't agree more. Thank Tony for the feedback!

Reply
Crisiana Edison
7/5/2017 01:11:54 am

Pastor David Winston,

Thank you for this Life Changing message! I am so excited of what God is doing in your life and family!

Reply
Osazee Thompson link
9/24/2016 07:22:39 am

This was a great blog topic and finely written. I believe this blog will really help to free a lot of people in their walk with Christ. It truly is all about quality relationship with the lover of your soul and not ritualistic and traditional practices of the faith. This blog gives practical insight on developing a real relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ.

I am very excited to see that you are really stepping out into fulfilling the plan and purpose God has for your life and looking forward to more great blog content!

Osazee

Reply
David S. Winston
10/8/2016 02:14:41 pm

Thank you Osazee! I appreciate those words of encouragement brother.

Reply
Kim Clay
9/24/2016 09:11:31 am

Thank you for having the courage to write this wonderful, thoughtful and timely blog post. I know it will minister to many people, especially those who question if their Christianity and walk with God is good enough. The message encourages us to grow not because of tradition or obligation, but because we love God and want to change the world for His glory.

Reply
David S. Winston
10/8/2016 02:15:25 pm

That's right! Thanks Kim for taking the time to read and comment.

Reply
Simbarashe Sigauke link
9/26/2016 10:25:47 pm

I love the way you have dialectically demarcated religion and relationship.Personally I also used to struggle with religion in the sense that I used to read books of man like John G Lake, William J Seymor and Oral Roberts.I saw how they used to spend hours in prayer and fasting so I figured if I imitated them I would get their results but I discovered how wrong I was.Yes we must never compare ourselves to each other.I realized that God does not call groups he calls individuals.I also realized that each individual called by God has an idiosyncratic relationship, calling and assignment.We are all unique and special.I thank you for sharing your revelation on our walk with God.This came to me as a confirmation and also helped to bring clarity.

Reply
David S. Winston
10/8/2016 02:16:27 pm

Hello Simba! I'm so glad you found it helpful. Hopefully you can share it with someone else and encourage them as well.

Reply
Gloria Hernandez link
9/26/2016 11:04:04 pm

First of all great blog!!!!!".. Yes my Christianity is good for me. Because I know it is not what other people say or about my reglious.it is what I think I am and what I did to get to Christianity. I the time I felt like I didn't need to go in full time ministry. But God put me a place where I have to be In full time ministry. I also had to confront God saying is this what you want me at and are you sure you want me in full time ministry. God had a planned for my life and there were times when I messed up and had to rededicate my life or go with my Godmother to her church to get prayed for so Yes my Christianity is good for me

Reply
David S. Winston
10/8/2016 02:17:03 pm

Thanks Gloria for your comments!

Reply
Joseph Barlow link
9/27/2016 01:57:57 pm

David,
You are hearing from God. I spoke on this this past Sunday. I felt it so strong in the Spirit to speak on this.
Blessings on you, your blog, your ministry. God is raising you up. Bit by bit. Step by step. No need to ever be in a hurry. Ps. 90:17 God is establishing the works of your hands.

Reply
David S. Winston
10/8/2016 02:17:47 pm

That's confirmation! Thank you for taking the time to read and comment.

Reply
Antoinette Thompson
9/27/2016 02:18:12 pm

Great read! Thanks for sharing.

Reply
David S. Winston
10/8/2016 02:18:09 pm

Thanks for reading!

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    ABOUT THE AUTHOR

    Picture

    David S. Winston

    I want to help others discover how they can live the best of life. I have been a youth pastor and ministry executive for since 2009 and I love inspiring people to become greater! Learn more about me here.

    Winston Leadership Institute

    Archives

    January 2019
    January 2018
    September 2017
    July 2017
    March 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016

    Categories

    All
    Christian Walk
    Direction
    Faith
    Family
    Forgiveness
    Leadership Lessons
    Life
    Lifestyle
    Love
    Marriage
    Prayer
    Relationships
    Spiritual Warfare
    Worry

    RSS Feed

The best is yet to come!


©2022 David S. Winston
  • Home
  • About
  • Media
    • YouTube
  • Winston Leadership Institute
  • Books
    • AUTHENTIC
    • Strong in Spirit Devotional
  • Speaking Requests
  • Giving