THE SIT, SOAK, AND SOUR SYNDROME

by CharlesRobey

"But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen."(2 Peter3:18)

Are you growing in your Christian experience ? In your prayer life, your Bible reading, and your witnessing? Or, are you the same today, as when you were saved?

There's a small town in Alabama known as the porch city. The main street is lined with porches draped with friendly, inviting swings and rockers. You can always find someone sitting and ready to talk. One elder gentleman was once asked how he spent his time. He responded by saying, "sometimes he would rock and think, and then other times he would just rock."

Sad to say, is this Elder's philosophy not like today's mainline Christianity? There's an old adage, which probably parallels this man's mindset, "Sit, soak, and sour.” Are we sitting, soaking and souring in our Christian experience? I hope and pray not

However, is this not the way with us sometimes? We listen to our pastor on Sunday mornings. We go to our church Bible studies. We take notes and pledge to make plans. We know what we need to change to live a better Christian life. We also read our Bibles and pray daily for direction. We have good intentions. But things get busy and we go back to our old familiar way of living and we become sour. Yes, we have reverted to sitting, soaking and souring.

So let us just take a simple look at our lives and see what positive changes need to be made. OK, what are you waiting for? You can sit, soak and sour or you can sit, soak and soar! I want to sit at the feet of Jesus, soak it all in and then soar like an eagle. What about you? (Isaiah 40:3)

And indeed there is still plenty of work to be done, for one need only confer with today's news media to support the prophetic happenings taking place in today's world. (II Timothy 3:1-5, 9, 13) (II Timothy 4:3-4)

What then can I do for the spread of the gospel, you may ask? Well, the Apostle Paul gives us the answer in (I Cor. 12:1-11). You see, God's Holy Spirit gives one or more of these gifts to every believer at the time of their conversation to the gospel.

So, what is/are your gift(s), and how can you find out? Simply put, ask the Father, the Giver of all perfect gifts. (James 1:17) He is waiting to talk with you, you know. (Psalm 27:8)

Once your gift(s) is/are revealed, please move swiftly in putting these gifts to work within your family, your friends, your co-workers, your neighbors, and those you may meet on the street. In other words, just simply be busy promoting the full gospel (1 Cor 15:1-4) whenever possible.

You see, we serve an awesome God. Just as He made us all physically different, He gave various and sundry gifts to all believers, for the spreading of the gospel through the development of unity. Now it's up to us.

No excuses of not having a particular "Gift of the Spirit.” I once knew this elderly saint of God, who was home bound, but she could still talk. And she had a specific time of day which she devoted to prayer. Her comment often was, "God has not cut out my tongue, nor has He quieted my mind. Henceforth I will praise Him in prayer the rest of my days.” And when she was finally called home to be with Jesus, found in her prayer room was a listing of many prayer requests, given to her by fellow church members.

So let's all get busy for the kingdom. The fields are ready to be gleaned, but the workers are few. (John 4:35)

Author's Postscript

There are actually three biblical lists of the “gifts of the Spirit,” also known as spiritual gifts. The three main passages describing the spiritual gifts are (Romans 12:6–8); (1 Corinthians 12:4–11); and (1 Corinthians 12:28). We could also include (Ephesians 4:11), but that is a list of offices within the church, not spiritual gifts, per se. The spiritual gifts identified in (Romans 12) are prophesying, serving, teaching, encouraging, giving, leadership, and mercy. The list in (1 Corinthians 12:4–11) includes the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, faith, healing, miraculous powers, prophecy, distinguishing between spirits, speaking in tongues and interpretation of tongues. The list in (1 Corinthians 12:28) includes healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues. A brief description of each gift follows:

(Taken from gotquestions.org)

Discover the person and work of the Holy Spirit in your life! In The Wonderful Spirit Filled Life, Charles Stanley of In Touch Ministries, helps you recognize and begin to live with the guiding presence of the Spirit. You'll learn how to bring Christ's kingdom power into your home, your relationships--wherever you are. Start living the Spirit-filled