When Friends Lead You Astray

Totally had a God moment this morning (or afternoon seeing as I woke up at 11:30).  I opened my Bible to somewhere in Leviticus and then flipped through it, looking for something to stand out.  The first thing to do so was a heading that said "Worshipping Other Gods" and I thought "Hmm, there's been a lot of that lately."  So I read it.  It's all of Deuteronomy 13, so obviously it's too long for me to type here.  But here's a link so you don't have to go search the house for your Bible.

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deuteronomy+13&version=NIV

While I was reading it, I realized it wasn't just about worshipping other gods.  It was about what to do to/how to treat someone who has tried to turn you away from God.

Now before you freak out because you think I'm trying to tell you to slaughter anyone who tells you not to believe in God, 1) that's a little sketch 2) God doesn't want us to kill people 3) there would be very very few people left if we all did that. 

Matthew 18:8 reads, "If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away.  It is better for you to enter life crippled and lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire."  Meaning if someone or something is causing you to sin or to turn away from God, get rid of them/it!  I know from experience that it's hard and that you WILL be judged and you WILL be persecuted.

Two years ago I had a Facebook account without the approval of my parents.  I cussed, gossiped, started rumors, et cetera on it, while simultaneously dishonoring my parents.  What a mess!  After a retreat entitled "Image Is Everything" with my church, I realized that I was made in God's image and that I wasn't reflecting that in my life.  So the night I got back from the retreat, I disconnected my Facebook account without a moment of hesitation and stayed off of the computer for about 2 months.  I was persecuted by my own friends for a long time and still am to this day.  They demand why I disconnected it and my reply has always been, "It was tearing me away from God."  And you can guess how they took that.  Yeah, not very well.

Basically, by cutting myself off from a medium with which I was being "evil," I was cutting off the part of me that was diseased.  I was slaughtering the part of me that was trying and succeeding in getting me to sin and turn away from God.  In my case, it wasn't just my friends leading me astray, it was myself as well.

I was reading Psalm 119, the longest book of the Bible, the other night and I noticed that the whole Psalm is praising God's law and declaring the author's undying love for it.  He says, "I hate double-minded people, but I love your law.  You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in Your word.  Away from me, you evildoers, that I may keep the commands of my God!"  (Psalm 119:113-115)  He is telling God that he loves His commands more than anything else, and is telling all of the "evil-doers" around him to get away so he can love his God more passionately.  Do you need to do that?  Maybe it's time to "yell" at the "evil-doers" around you to get away so that you can love and follow your awesome God with your whole life.  I've found with experience that the best way to do it is through a note.  Tell them about God's love for them and why it is you find it hard to stay friends with them and be a true follower of Christ at the same time.  If you feel led to do so, try it.  I felt pushed by God to write a friend of mine a note that ended our friendship, and it all worked out for the better.

So, yes.  I know breaking off from your best friend is hard.  I know that breaking addictions is hard.  I know that breaking a habit is hard.  I know that believing is extremely hard.  I've had to go through all of these myself.  When you go through these things, you just have to remember that God is with you and will never leave you and that whatever doesn't kill you can only make you stronger.  (:

Have faith and stay strong.  It might be tough at times, but I believe in you.

If you're a girl and under the age of 20-ish, I totally without a doubt suggest you find and purchase the book "Lies Young Women Believe and the Truth that Sets them Free" by Nancy Leigh DeMoss and Dannah Gresh.  It's an amazing book and is a great help for when you don't understand what to believe.

I also suggest reading the Bible.  (:  When you're worrying about not being able to hear God speaking to you, pick it up.  Read it.  HEY!  You just read God's letter to you.

Keep faith.  Keep heart.

Pray for my friend ~Anonymous~.

<3 Warrior

A post note made on 11.26.10:  I actually just stopped talking to my best friend of one year.  I realized a couple weeks ago that the first and only time I ever talked to him about God was on November 14, 2009, the first day we started talking.  And I never mentioned Him to him again.  Ever.  So I stopped talking to him.  Not like ignoring him, but just not talking to him.  I haven't spoken to him in about a week or more, and it's an amazing feeling.  Like I'm not being held down or hidden.  I'm not hiding my love for God from my friends anymore, because all of them want to hear it or don't yell at me for trying to tell them about God.  I regret a lot of the time I spent with my friend, because it was wasted time that I could have used to glorify God more.  But now I know that God was teaching me a lesson on friendship and love and evangelism.  It makes me love Him so much.  I really want to give Him a huge hug right now.  I can't wait to get to heaven so I can thank Him in person for all of the crap I've gone through in my life.  Because I know He was with me and never left me.  Ever.

Post-post note made on 4.23.11:  Check out my post http://thisismyriflethisoneismine.blogspot.com/2011/01/this-past-week.html to hear about how I followed my own advice and wrote a note to one of my bestest friends ever that was leading me astray!  God WILL bring good out of it!  I promise!

Another verse to consider:  Romans 16: 17 I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them.