CONSIDER THIS: AUTHENTIC

 AUTHENTIC….”But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart….1 Samuel 16:7

CONSIDER THIS: Shakespeare once said “be true to thyself and thou shall not be false to any man”. One of the definition of the word “authentic” is being “accurate in representation of the facts; trustworthy…and genuine”, according to most dictionaries.  The world can spot a fake Christian over a period of time, after observing the speech and actions of that person. God sees our actions, intentions and our spiritual heart, which is who we really are.

If we say we are a Christian, we are saying we are a reflection of Christ. Would both God and those around you agree with that?  One more time, let us be resolved to not just be authentic in our inward faith, but in a life full of integrity before both man and God.  It is only a heart full of no double-mindedness and no twisting things into pretzels to make them fit a template, that can truly move forward in Christ, in a new year and at any point in our brief time here on earth.

ACTION: The Apostle Paul himself exhorted us to examine ourselves daily to see if we “be in the faith”. Paul did not say this because we need to get “saved again” (which is impossible). All of this self-examination is so necessary moving forward. Therefore, let’s take the following few steps:

• Pray the Lord reveal any hidden sin in you…from even way back in your childhood, of which there has been no repentance or closure. Trust me – there are many which were hidden and which God Himself will bring to mind, if you ask and He allows since ALL sins were forgiven at the point of conversion. When He brings them to mind. Repent of them and it is so simple – they will be gone! This is important. Our sins are forgiven when we get saved, but there are things in our hidden past which must be resolved before God and, I know from experience, He will wipe the entire slate clean. Hold nothing back. He knows, so be authentic.
• Pray the Holy Spirit takes absolute control in both your prayer and devotional life as well as your daily life, where you live and work and eat and drive etc. If you do this, He will guide you into a new plane of Spiritual maturity and power of which you never would.