C   h   r   i   s   t   i   a   n     F.  A.  Q.'s

Material on this page is posted by www.XCurrent.org. Please share your thoughts and feedback with Pastor Mike.

Fellowship

Common Questions about friendships and relationships

1. Now that I am a christian, what about my unsaved friends?

Invite them to church; Share with them about your new decision for Christ.

Matthew 5:13-15 - "You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it useful again? It will be thrown out and trampled under foot as worthless. You are the light of the world, like a city on a mountain, glowing in the night for all to see. Don’t hide your light under a basket. Instead, put it on a stand and let it shine for all." - NLT

2. What if my friends choose to reject Christ, does this mean I cannot be friends with them anymore?

No, you can still be friends, but remember...you become like the people you hang around.

Big Principle: In every relationship and situation, you will either be moving forward for Christ or moving backward from Christ. There is no middle ground.

3. OK, where do I find the right kind of friends?

Cell Groups, Cross Current, Church.

Christians are not geeks or losers!!!

Hebrews 10:25 - "And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage and warn each other, especially now that the day of his coming back again is drawing near." - NLT

4. What about dating?

We don’t want to make you into priests or nuns, but Biblical principles encourage us to only date Christians.

II Corinthians 6:14,15 - "Don’t team up with unbelievers. How can goodness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? What harmony can there be between Christ and the Devil? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever?" - NLT

5 Steps For Removing Sin From Your Life and Relationships

1. Recognize what you are dealing with as sin...and repent. - Get alone with God and seriously repent of your sins until you feel a peace in your heart. Call your sins and disobediences by name when you repent. Specific prayers get specific answers. Remember, when you repent, you are always forgiven, so refuse to accept condemnation. - Romans 8:1

2. Quote and memorize scriptures. - Spend time digging in the Word, meditating, praying, and in uplifting Christian fellowship. You’ve spent years daydreaming and culminating in the wrong directions, now it’s going to take good time management to counteract the effects of that wasted time. Carry the sheet on the next page around with you and say them out loud (even if at a whisper) several times a day. These are truths and promises from God that can provide mental, spiritual, moral, and emotional healing. Read over these verses at least two or three times a day until they become a part of you.

3. Remove every fuse-shortener in your life . - (See the bottom of the sheet) - Without hesitation or compromise, to continue to play around with even one will slowly eat away at you and block total genuine victory in this area. Remember, small comprimises lead to big troubles. In one brief moment of comprimise, you can undo what God has worked on for a long perid of time.

4. Get an acountabilty partner . - Before you leave Cross Current tonight, if possible, say "I’ve made a commitment in the area of <whatever> and would like you to support me in this. I would really appreciate it if you could just pray for me and call to check on me, to make sure I’m dong alright.

5. If times of failure come, stay down only long enough to repent! - The biggest lie the devil will tell you is that "God doesn’t want to hear from you anymore." Forgiveness isn’t based on whether or not you deserve it. If that were the case, none of us would be saved in the first place.

1. After repenting, (whether you feel forgiven or not), get back up, dust yourself off, and keep going.

2. Refuse to accept guilt.

3. Figure out why you fell.

4. Keep spending time in prayer, in the Word, and in Christian fellowship.

The Principle of Fuse-Shorteners

A fuse-shortener can be any one of three "P’s". Those "P’s" are a; person, place or pattern that triggers areas of compromise in your life. There may be nothing wrong with this fuse-shortener in and of itself. The problem lies in what it leads to!

Scriptures

This is just a list of a few verses you can use to get started. Remember that praying Scriptures to the Lord is very powerful. Try to choose one a day and start memorizing it...roll it over in your mind (meditate)...say it aloud...visualize these verses moving and working in your life...etc.

1. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Phil. 4:13 - NKJV

2. But remember that the temptations that come into your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can’t stand up against it. When you are tempted, He will show you a way out so that you will not give into it. 1 Cor. 10:13 - NLT

3. And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." 2 Cor. 12:9 - NKJV

4. I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free. Ps. 119:32 - NIV

5. For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 1 John 5:4 - NIV

6. So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7 - NLT

7. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. Rom. 16:20 - NLT

8. You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 1 John 4:4 - NKJV

9. And I am sure that God, who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on that day when Christ Jesus comes back again. Phil. 1:6 - NLT

10. If I say, "My foot slips," Your mercy, O Lord, will hold me up. Ps. 94:18 - NKJV

11. And now, all glory to God, who is able to keep you from stumbling, and who will bring you into His glorious presence innocent of sin and with great joy. Jude 24 - NLT

12. Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will stretch out Your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and Your right hand will save me. The Lord will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever. Ps. 138:7,8 - NKJV

13. Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him. James 1:12 - NIV

14. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for He faced all of the same temptations we do, yet He did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it. Heb. 4:15,16 - NLT

15. He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. Is. 40:29-31 - NKJV

16. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 - NIV

17. Use every piece of God’s armor to resist the enemy in the time of evil, so that after the battle you will still be standing firm. Eph. 6:13 - NLT

18. Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. Is. 41:10 - NKJV

19. For God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey Him and the power to do what pleases Him. Phil. 2:13 - NLT

20. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Rom. 8:38,39 - NIV