HOW TO ESCAPE FROM YOUR PRESENT RUT

It is a wonderful thing to see a new Christian grow. When one is born again they are like a baby. Babies are unstable. Babies really can't do a lot of work. However, they do bring a lot of excitement into a church family. As they grow, it is also exciting to watch them learn to do things for God. If they continue to study and practice the basics of the Christian life, they will eventually get mature and settled in their walk with the Lord.


However, a Christian who has been saved for a long time is not necessarily a GOOD Christian, because a GOOD Christian is a GROWING Christian. A Christian who has been saved for a long while can feel that he has "arrived". That is, he has a routine of serving the Lord, and he sticks to it. He knows basically where he stands doctrinally. He's a giver – he gives offerings and even gives of his time and abilities. However, it is possible for an older Christian to become stagnate. He can get into a RUT. When he does, oftentimes he will eventually backslide, even if it's in ways that no one notices.  You see, many people backslide while sitting on a church pew.


Being in a rut is so close to someone who is established in the truth that it forms the center of the word! If you add a “t” on the front, and an “h” on the end of rut, you get TRUTH! The older Christian must by all means avoid and escape being in a RUT.  Now on a rainy day, a rut may seem like a safe place to drive on a dirt road, because it has been packed down. However, a rut in a Christian's life must be AVOIDED. A rut may seem like a safe way to travel, but a rut can actually be a line of erosion that ends up in a DITCH or a PIT. If you get down too deep in a rut, it's hard to get back out of it again!

The answer to the problem of being in a rut is...

...NOT to Change Churches

...NOT change To More Contemporary Music

...NOT to Move From One Location To The Other

The answer to getting out of a rut is to get STIRRED up about things you already know, and to REMEMBER them! (2 Peter 1:12-13).  And I'm talking about getting stirred up the right way!  Stir yourself up!


Great coaches constantly review the fundamentals or the basics with their teams. We must not neglect the basics of our faith when we go on to study deeper truths. Just as an athlete needs constant practice on the basics of their sport, we need constant reminders of the basics of the Christian life. Peter thought it right to stir them up by helping them to REMEMBER. One of the main purposes of this epistle was to STIR UP the people of God. Two chapters later, the Bible says in 2 Peter 3:1 “This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance”. I want to STIR YOU UP today to avoid and escape being in a rut. I'm asking God to make me a spoon for HIM as you read this blog. A spoon: *Stirs *Serves *Shines


If you are in a rut you need to remember salvation (2 Peter 1:9). Remember the Body that was broken for you. Remember the blood that was shed for you. Remember the burial that did not last. Remember The blessings that resulted. What God starts He completes (Philippians 1:6). Let's not forget about the coming of the Holy Ghost (He leads, guides, comforts and empowers us). Then there's the convicting power of the the Holy Spirit. Something happened. You experienced something new, something exciting something real – a new life (2 Corinthians 5:17)!


If you are in a rut you need to remember seducers (2 Peter 2:1). There is a seducing spirit in the world today. Scripture tells us in 1 Timothy 4:1 “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits...” They deny the Lord and His Word. They deceive multitudes. They damn gullible souls to hell thereby making them twofold more the child of hell themselves.


If you are in a rut you need to remember scoffers (2 Peter 3:1-4). While they laugh, let's keep on living for Jesus . While they laugh, let's keep on leading people to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. While they laugh, let's keep on looking for the Lord to return. While they laugh, let's lay up treasures in heaven.


If you are in a rut you need to remember the rapture (2 Peter 3:9-10). Think about what lies ahead for the believer. The rapture, the glad reunion, the rewards. The future is bright for the Christian.


Are you in a rut? If so, get out of it! Change your thinking. Change the things you meditate on. If your spiritual flames are waning remember these things and STIR YOURSELF UP!


Until next time...enjoy the journey!



Ray

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