How much time is too much...HELP

[SlaveofChrist]

Well, I have thought about this question a lot, as I am sure many people have.
We are called to give our lives to Christ, etc. but how far do we go?
I am really struggling with this question right now. I play golf and I just finished my last high school season. I am attending The Master's College next year and I am wondering if I should play there? God gave me a talent, but playing at a high level takes so much time, so what do I do? If I were to play I would have to spend AT LEAST an hour every day practicing, EVERY DAY:shrug:
Thats a great deal of time.

So, what do I do? And what does everybody else do? Everybody has something on which they spend a great deal of time that isn't necessarily glorifying to God (video games, sports, music, etc.), so how far do we go?
Do we cut those things out?
I love the game of golf but I am willing to give it up if God wants me to, so do I?
You love your FILL IN HERE but does God want you to give it up?

[joelkaki]

Well, I have thought about this question a lot, as I am sure many people have.
We are called to give our lives to Christ, etc. but how far do we go?
I am really struggling with this question right now. I play golf and I just finished my last high school season. I am attending The Master's College next year and I am wondering if I should play there? God gave me a talent, but playing at a high level takes so much time, so what do I do? If I were to play I would have to spend AT LEAST an hour every day practicing, EVERY DAY
Thats a great deal of time.

Yah, that's kind of an issue with me as well, though with basketball rather than golf (I need something kind of fast-paced). I really don't spend that much time practicing at home or at the gym right now just because I don't have the time.



So, what do I do? And what does everybody else do? Everybody has something on which they spend a great deal of time that isn't necessarily glorifying to God (video games, sports, music, etc.), so how far do we go?

Part of the thing with me is that I train in basketball and try to get better because I am going to need help paying for college, and if I could get an athletic scholarship, it would help alot. So in that sense, I consider my sport a good thing.



Do we cut those things out?
I love the game of golf but I am willing to give it up if God wants me to, so do I?
You love your FILL IN HERE but does God want you to give it up?


I don't think we must cut them out. I think it is OK to do something you really enjoy, but only as long as you keep your focus on Christ and serving Him.
I would say that you could continue to play, but you would just say that you would get your other responsibilities done before you go play.

Joel

[Steven]

well tiger woods did both, he played the Masters tour and played golf too. But, whether that pleases The Master or not, well that's between you and Him.

I hope have been helpful in your masterly quest

- Steven

[lostseptember]

Live your life for Christ wherever you are! It's kind of like breathing, you don't have to decide which to do..play golf or breathe. So play golf, play basketball, etc. AND live for Christ!

God bless you!

[mickiel]

Today @ 01:22 AM post located here (http://www.theologyweb.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&postid=99943#post99943)
lostseptember:

Live your life for Christ wherever you are! It's kind of like breathing, you don't have to decide which to do..play golf or breathe. So play golf, play basketball, etc. AND live for Christ!

God bless you!

I agree with this posters opinion. In spiritual matters, there is no enough. How can one pray enough, fast enough, study enough, these things do not exist. Is one prayer a day enough, is 100 prayers a day enough, is attending 5 worship services a day enough, the answer is always the same, no matter how much time you spend, it will never be enough. Live for Christ wherever you are, whatever you do, because there is never enough.

[SlaveofChrist]

If I owe a great deal of money, do I cease to pay it just because it seems at the time like I will never pay off my debt? Probably not.
If I have the opportunity to make a lot of money to pay off that debt, do I take that opportunity? Probably do.

I think that is a more accurate analogy

I may never be able to do enough for God, but I can at least try

[mickiel]

Today @ 08:12 AM post located here (http://www.theologyweb.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&postid=100212#post100212)
SlaveofChrist:

If I owe a great deal of money, do I cease to pay it just because it seems at the time like I will never pay off my debt? Probably not.
If I have the opportunity to make a lot of money to pay off that debt, do I take that opportunity? Probably do.

I think that is a more accurate analogy

I may never be able to do enough for God, but I can at least try

I agree in part with this post, especially the trying. We can always try to do our best or at the least, what we can. But salvation is not a debt, it is freely given by God. Concerning monatary debts as in financh, why yes we must pay until the debt is paid. Jesus paid the debt of sin in full. We cannot contribute to a fully paid debt. Christ contribution was total. In a simple breakfast, the cow made a contribution , milk, and still lived, the chicken gave a contribution, eggs, and still lives, the pig however gave his contribution, bacon, but his cost him his life, that is total committment. Jesus gave a total committment to our salvation, we cannot crucify him again by trying to pay that debt, he only need die once.

[lostseptember]

I agree with Mickiel. God doesn't invite us to come to Him because we owe Him, but because He loves us and wants to make us his children not his debtors!

[SlaveofChrist]

I agree with you guys.
We cannot pay off the debt of our salvation, its already paid, but this isn't about salvation.
This is about sanctification and God asks us to do this. I am sure that God desires all of us to reach a place like Paul, so I think we should all strive to get to that place.

[mickiel]

Today @ 04:37 PM post located here (http://www.theologyweb.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&postid=100393#post100393)
SlaveofChrist:

I agree with you guys.
We cannot pay off the debt of our salvation, its already paid, but this isn't about salvation.
This is about sanctification and God asks us to do this. I am sure that God desires all of us to reach a place like Paul, so I think we should all strive to get to that place.

We cannot santify ourselves. Santification is the result of Christ forgiving us, redeeming us, and adding HIS Spirit glory to us, its still Christ, we do not factor into santification, else we can glory in our effort. Their is a spirit here that is trying to remove glory from Christ and place it into the effort of man. Why do we try so hard to make ourselves right. It is a seduction of the christian mind. satan is ever so slowly removing foucs from Christ effort, and trying to magmify mans effort. Mans effort is not enough to "achieve salvation", its so simple. Why place so much energy in "trying not to sin", trying to be holy, trying to earn salvation, IT IS FREE, already GIVEN, it is an inheritance, just live in the inheritance. If we sin, we have an advocate, the Christ, we cannot do his work, we cannot santify ourselves, we cannot wash away our own sin. That teaching is putting far too much pressure on self, we cannot bear the weight of our own sin, we will frustrate ourselves each time. Stop trying to be Jesus, be his children, HE is our santification, he is our only hope, not our own strength.

[SlaveofChrist]

There is a line between sanctification and justification. Justification=Salvation and it is by GRACE ALONE and FREE as can be, no doubt about that. Now sanctification is the process of becoming holy, set apart from the world. That is our job. That is what we as Christians are meant to do. Crucify the flesh! That is basically all we have to do as Christians. Of Course Christ helps us and there is no way we can do it without the Spirit. Stopping sin=Sanctification=Our Job.

[mickiel]

Yesterday @ 10:00 PM post located here (http://www.theologyweb.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&postid=100638#post100638)
SlaveofChrist:

There is a line between sanctification and justification. Justification=Salvation and it is by GRACE ALONE and FREE as can be, no doubt about that. Now sanctification is the process of becoming holy, set apart from the world. That is our job. That is what we as Christians are meant to do. Crucify the flesh! That is basically all we have to do as Christians. Of Course Christ helps us and there is no way we can do it without the Spirit. Stopping sin=Sanctification=Our Job.

We are santified by Christ, not ourselves. God santifies Jesus, John 10:36, and his spirit santifys us, Rom. 15:16. Santification is the job of the Holy Spirit, 1Corinth. 6:11, I think Hebrews 10:10, is very clear also- we are santified by Jesus offering his body to be crucified. Notice how satan is trying to divert the job of stopping sin from Christ to humans, under this diversion, the human can be condemned, because no human can stop sin or santify themselves. Under this teaching slaves of Christ become salves of themselves.

[SlaveofChrist]

If Christ sanctifies us and we dont take part in it, then what do we do? Anything?:shrug:

[themuzicman]

I've always lived by the three 'P's

Priorities, Priorities, Priorities.

You gotta put your life in perspective, determine what's really important to you, and live by your priorities.

I know it sounds restrictive, but I try to budget my time, so that I can use it most efficiently. Not so that I can cram everything in, but so I know where my time is going, and I ensure that the important things get done, and that I block out time for rest and recreation.

It sounds like playing golf is important to you, and within the context of what God has for your life, it's something you should keep doing, if it fits within your priorities.

My dad always said, "if you want it bad enough, you can make it happen."

Personally, I think you can serve God, serve others, meet your obligations, and devote 15 or so hours to golf each week without too much trouble. If you're married, it might be a bit more difficult, but certainly doable.

Whatever you do, if you're living your priorities and meeting your obligations, don't feel guilty about enjoying yourself.

Michael

[SlaveofChrist]

My priorities are serving God above all as every Christian should. I am not sure that God is obligated to give every Christian a happy and enjoyable life. In fact, I am sure he isn't. If you look through the NT, especially the Pauline epistles you may notice that often when he talks about joy, it is referred to in the future. I know I can have joy in Christ right now, but I am not really counting on it. I think it is much more probable that God expects us to do whatever we can for him despite the anguish, trouble, etc. it causes us in this life. We have our reward in heaven.
Christians often get caught up in the joy that God can give us and forget about the fact that we ought to be sacrificing everything for His glory.

[mickiel]

Today @ 02:43 PM post located here (http://www.theologyweb.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&postid=103126#post103126)
SlaveofChrist:

If Christ sanctifies us and we dont take part in it, then what do we do? Anything?:shrug:

The theology of the church has been slowly detoured by satan and designed to frustrate Gods people. Every aspect of frustration satan has instilled must come from scripture if he is to get to christians, bear in mind that he can only infect our interpitation of scripture, he cannot change it. So satan must intristically deal with the mind of christianitys teachers, pastors, evangelist, leaders, and all this has been built on throughout the ages. This is nothing new, he has worked over this process for years, this is the orgin of the tradition of man as it relates to Matt. 15:9. The commandments of men, is the view satan has developed. Notice Christ stated that "in vain do they worship me". Interesting that Christ is admitting that the people believe in him, worship him, which no doubt means they are TRYING to serve him, but vainity is in there, and Christ does not accept this mixture as pure.

This mixture is "mans effort as influenced by satans deception", or satan realizing that Christ is the focal point of salvation, Jesus faith, Jesus efforts, Jesus understanding, Jesus job as assigned by the Father. satans perversion of this is to lead humans into believing that salvation is attained by THEIR own doing, their effort, their sacrifice, their faith, their righteousness or right living. Nothing can be futher from the truth, but the deception has been swallowed hook line and sinker, because SCRIPTURE hAS BEEN USED.

The fact that Christ has already "done" all that is required in salvation( his death) is replaced with a perversion that salvation must be attained by works, or the human "doing something", after all, salvation cannot be free under satans perversion, its too great , notice, "a gift", we must earn it, it cannot be free, or that is purchased by Christ blood, now , under satans system, it is "our blood" that must earn it, our righteousness, our "doing something-- it cannot be free.
Matt. 6:33, seek first the kingdom of God and HIS righteousness, not ours, not our self effort-- here we can see the proper order of righteousness is it iis imparted from God and given to the human, they cannot work it up on their own. It is HIS kingdom, HIS righteousness, THEN ALL things are added to the human.

Well under satans deception God does not add all things, we must "do" something to earn this free Christ earned gift", which is why your mind is troubled by what i have written. You, as we all, have been trained under mainstream christianitys teachings, believing them to be flawless. As great as God is, his gift of salvation is just as awesome, but satan perverts this gift by deceiving the masses into believing that God is only giving it to those who deserve it. Grace has absolutely nothing to do with deserving something, it is devine pardon, but the influence of satan is too great to let a christian relax into this inheritance, there are many scriptures to prove this, but only a mind freed from the satanical influence can see their true meaning.

[themuzicman]

Today @ 11:15 AM post located here (http://www.theologyweb.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&postid=103235#post103235)
SlaveofChrist:

My priorities are serving God above all as every Christian should. I am not sure that God is obligated to give every Christian a happy and enjoyable life. In fact, I am sure he isn't. If you look through the NT, especially the Pauline epistles you may notice that often when he talks about joy, it is referred to in the future. I know I can have joy in Christ right now, but I am not really counting on it. I think it is much more probable that God expects us to do whatever we can for him despite the anguish, trouble, etc. it causes us in this life. We have our reward in heaven.
Christians often get caught up in the joy that God can give us and forget about the fact that we ought to be sacrificing everything for His glory.

"I have come that you might have life, and live it to the full." John 10:10.

I realize that we are to give everything over to God, and as Christians, we do that. However, God also gives back. While we have troubles and toils as Christian, God also provides for our relief, and gives us opportunites to enjoy life. Is He obligated? No. However, experience tells me that God is interested in our lives, and gives us back time and resources to do the things that He made us able to do.

Every since around 1994, I've not been able to play golf more than 2 or 3 times a year. First knee surgury, and then the responsibilities of ministry and family kept me from really doing much beyond that. However, God has me in another stage of my life, now, where I can join a golf league, and play weekly, and still do what He has asked of me.

So, pray about it. Maybe it's time to put the clubs away for a while. Maybe it's time you used golf as your ministry while at college. God only knows what He wants you to do.

Michael

[lostseptember]

SlaveofChrist said "I think it is much more probable that God expects us to do whatever we can for him despite the anguish, trouble, etc. it causes us in this life. We have our reward in heaven."

I think that sometimes God does ask us to do things that maybe we would rather not do, but I don't think He asks us to look for ways to make ourselves unhappy! I spent a large part of my life turning away from the blessings God wanted to give me because I thought if I wanted something then it must be sinful. I'm still careful to be discerning but I surely do enjoy the multitude of blessing God showers on me!

[SlaveofChrist]

There is a line between sanctification and justification. Justification=Salvation and it is by GRACE ALONE and FREE as can be, no doubt about that. Now sanctification is the process of becoming holy, set apart from the world. That is our job.

Thats a little self quote there. I totally agree with your last post. I think the church's current view upon salvation will be looked upon as heresy in a few hundred years. Maybe not necessarily the church's view but the views of many Christians who think "the prayer" is necessary for salvation, etc. I am saying that sanctification comes AFTER salvation. Salvation is by GRACE ALONE. Sanctification is different though.

[SlaveofChrist]

Also, I want to thank all you guys for your help on deciding whether I should play golf or not. I am thinking I'll play now but not 100% sure. I was thinking about not playing this past season but decided that I'd speant too much time and money on preparing (new set of clubs, practice, etc.) so I decided to play even though it took too much time. So, 2 weeks into the season I fracture my elbow and miss a little over a month. I was able to come back and play a little at the end but I thought that was interesting. Was God telling me something?

[SlaveofChrist]

Well- I think I'm going to resurrect this thread now that 2.5 years has passed. Maybe that is some kind of record? I just found this thread searching for name on google (looking for old golf stats)... and it was a very interesting read.

I'm not really sure what to say- maybe an update on the situation I was so concerned about 2.5 years ago. I am in my last day of classes here at The Master's College, and I definitely didn't play much golf. I probably did surf too much though. Its been a really interesting time and I am very very happy I made the decision to quit golf.
Due to the lack of sports and the indescribably dull social aspect here at TMC (the master's college) I have had far too much time to study. Up to 12 hours a day. I did all of my General Education through CLEP tests or summer school so pretty much all that study was within my Theology and Apologetics major. It was definitely the most difficult time of my life as I had to leave my friends and family and everything I love (beside God), and sit in a cramped apartment all day studying. But I learned a whole lot and I feel much more prepared to live a life glorifying to God.

And my perspective has not really changed after these few years of college. But will it change in the "real world"? We'll have to see about that. I got burned out on theology and took quite the break from ol' T-web, but now that I'm no longer in class all day, maybe I'll get back into it.
God Bless!
Doulos Tou Christou (thats one thing I learned, my screen name thing in Greek!)