Yesterday I was listening to some of the Psalms on my Bible audiobook, and I thought; this is what I’ve been missing, the feeling of having a connection to God, of it being like a warm comfort blanket, knowing that everything is okay, walking in lightness knowing that Jesus carries all my burdens.
I’ve missed it over the course of this long Italian summer. For two and a half months the schools are closed, and with travelling, having visitors and getting a new puppy, it’s been busy.
Now school has started up again, I’ve got more time to myself, and I’m getting back into my daily routine of doing some work (my head cleared a bit yesterday after writing my post about puppy brain!), and as I go about household chores I’m usually listening to a sermon online, or the Bible or something related to an article I’m writing. As I’ve been doing work for some Christian magazines I’ve realised that even while I’m not going to church right now, I learn and stay in the faith and close to God with my article research as well as meeting up with other believers.
Because we need church. We need to read the Bible and pray, and we also need other believers. While sheep is an insult in the truther community it is actually who we are. The Christian comedian Alistair Williams makes this point in one of his comedy sketches (link here). In God’s beautiful design, and the metaphorical use of sheep and shepherds in the Bible and in the world, he tells us quite clearly, that we are sheep, we are meant to flock together, and we can easily go astray.
While I didn’t exactly go astray this summer I was aware of my faith weakening a little around the edges, of there being more influence of non-believers, than believers in my life. I felt the absence of God, and that I needed to get back.
Not everyone does make it back. Sometimes people fall away from the faith, or get mixed up in some kind of false doctrine. Satan is a great infiltrator. I’ve just been watching the Third Adam documentary series from Spencer Smith which reveals how some forms of Christianity are actually designed to lead people towards the antichrist.
It’s so important that we pray for wisdom and discernment from God’s Holy Spirit, that we spend more time in his word, and with other believers as we do in the world.
If there’s one thing I’ve learnt from this summer it’s that I want to guard my faith more closely. I want to say no to certain things, and make sure God comes first.
There’s nothing that can substitute in-person meet-ups with other Christians, but when I can’t make it in-person here are two of the churches I listen to online - Blessed Hope Chapel, Bridge Lane Christian Fellowship, and I also just started listening to Mike Winger. Be careful of what randomly pops up on YouTube. The Bridge (new age to Jesus group), and Christians Exposing Deception are great places to get recommendations for good teachers. Pray for wisdom and discernment always.
‘Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.’ - Matthew 7 13-14.