Do not most people simply drift away

Excerpt from Mere Christianity-


'Now Faith,
in the sense in which I am here using the word,
is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted,
in spite of your changing moods.


For moods will change,
whatever view your reason takes.
I know that by experience.


Now that I am a Christian I do have moods in which the whole thing looks very improbable
but when I was an atheist I had moods in which Christianity looked terribly probable.


This rebellion of your moods against your real self is going to come anyway.
That is why Faith is such a necessary virtue
unless you teach your moods "where they get off,"
you can never be either a sound Christian or even a sound atheist,
but just a creature dithering to and fro,
with its beliefs really dependent on the weather and the state of its digestion.


Consequently one must train the habit of Faith.


The first step is to recognise the fact that your moods change.
The next is to make sure that, if you have once accepted Christianity,
then some of its main doctrines shall be deliberately held before your mind for some time every day.


That is why daily prayers and religious reading and church going are necessary parts of the Christian life.


We have to be continually reminded of what we believe.
Neither this belief nor any other will automatically remain alive in the mind.
It must be fed.


And as a matter of fact,
if you examined a hundred people who had lost their faith in Christianity,
I wonder how many of them would turn out to have been reasoned out of it by honest argument?


Do not most people simply drift away?'


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Ephesian {6:18} Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints


Praying always.


2 Timothy {2:15} Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.


Study.


Hebrews {10:23} Let us hold fast the profession of [our] faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) {10:24} And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: {10:25} Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some [is;] but exhorting [one another:] and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.


Exhort one another.


Hebrews {3:13} But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. {3:14} For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;


Hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end.


Acts {17:11} These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.


Searched the scriptures daily.


Luke {11:1} And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples. {11:2} And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. {11:3} Give us day by day our daily bread. {11:4}
And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one thatis indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.


Day by day our daily bread.


John {6:47} Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. {6:48} I am that bread of life. {6:49} Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. {6:50} This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. {6:51} I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.


Jesus said- 'I am the living bread'


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Daily we need our bread whether it's food for physical sustenance- for our physical life here and now; or whether it's the food of Christ- food for eternal life. Give us this day our daily bread.


Is it any wonder Jesus used such analogy as bread? Not really. He knew what He was doing. He knew. And He knew when He said 'your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness and are dead.' Even food given daily by God to the Israelites leaving Egypt and traveling in the wilderness for forty years, even that food would not give life eternal. That food, that manna came from God out of heaven--


Exodus- {16:11} And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, {16:12} I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel: speak unto them, saying, At even ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread; and ye shall know that I [am] the LORD your God. {16:13} And it came to pass, that at even the quails came up, and covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay round about the
host. {16:14} And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness [there lay] a small round thing, [as] small as the hoar frost on the ground. {16:15} And when the children of Israel saw [it,] they said one to another, It [is] manna: for they wist not what it [was.] And Moses said unto them, This [is] the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat.


{16:31} And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna: and it [was] like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it [was] like wafers [made] with honey. {16:32} And Moses said, This [is] the thing which the LORD commandeth, Fill an omer of it to be kept for your
generations; that they may see the bread wherewith I have fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt. {16:33} And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a pot, and put an omer full of manna therein, and lay it up before the LORD, to be kept for your generations. {16:34} As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept. {16:35} And the children of Israel did eat manna forty years, until they came to a land inhabited; they did eat manna, until they came unto the borders of the land of Canaan. {16:36} Now an omer [is] the tenth [part] of an ephah.



The children of Israel ate manna forty years!


Jesus referencing the manna, the food from God out of heaven is important. God supplied the needs of His people, He fed them. Jesus supplied the need of His people He fed them His very life. If we believe on Jesus a belief that is lived DAILY just as we eat daily, if we partake of all that is Jesus- reading His word, praying, exhorting one another we will live forever with Christ.


C.S. Lewis talked of mood affecting faith. We talk of losing faith, we talk of having no faith, we tell others to have faith, faith is very important without it we can't please God.


Hebrews {11:6} But without faith [it is] impossible to please [him:] for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and [that] he is a
rewarder of them that diligently seek him.


Believing that God IS.
And not only believing that God IS, but believing that God is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.


Faith.


Yes, our moods can affect our lives in many ways, many...many...many ways.


C.S. Lewis had this to say--

'And as a matter of fact,
if you examined a hundred people who had lost their faith in Christianity,
I wonder how many of them would turn out to have been reasoned out of it by honest argument?
Do not most people simply drift away?'



Drift away. It sounds so... easy. In fact it is easy to drift away. It's easy to find a lull and let the lull soothe us, ease us away. It's easier to just skip praying, reading the Bible, studying, exhorting one another, diligently seeking God. It takes action on our behalf to keep faith alive.


People like to believe that they shouldn't HAVE to do anything at all to be 'saved' and in truth they can't save themselves if they do everything and anything they want- only Jesus can save us. But we have to believe in Jesus first. You say you believe in Jesus but guess what?


James {2:19} Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.


Read on...


James {2:20} But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? {2:21} Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? {2:22} Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? {2:23} And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. {2:24} Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. {2:25} Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent [them] out another way? {2:26} For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.


Real faith, real belief in Jesus means real action. Jesus said a lot to His followers about what they should be doing.


Mark {12:28} And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? {12:29} And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments [is,] Hear, O Israel; The
Lord our God is one Lord: {12:30} And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. {12:31} And the second [is] like, [namely] this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. {12:32} And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he: {12:33} And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love [his] neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. {12:34} And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no
man after that durst ask him any question.


Do you see- we are to love God and love our neighbor- actions. Love. And Jesus didn't leave us to wonder what love was.


Read ALL of the following, really read it. Take the time to think about all the action that Jesus was promoting wanting His followers to do. Faith isn't the end, it's only the beginning and if we 'drift away' it's because we are not living our faith we are losing it, we aren't nurturing it, we're ignoring it and it will wither until it dies.


Matthew {5:1} And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: {5:2} And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, {5:3} Blessed [are] the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. {5:4} Blessed [are] they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. {5:5} Blessed [are] the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. {5:6} Blessed [are] they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. {5:7} Blessed [are] the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. {5:8} Blessed [are] the pure in heart: for they shall see God. {5:9} Blessed [are] the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. {5:10} Blessed [are] they which are persecuted for righteousness sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. {5:11} Blessed are ye,
when [men] shall revile you, and persecute [you,] and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. {5:12} Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great [is] your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. {5:13} Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. {5:14} Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. {5:15} Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. {5:16} Let your
light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. {5:17} Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. {5:18} For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. {5:19} Whosoever therefore shall break one of
these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach [them,] the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. {5:20} For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed [the righteousness] of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. {5:21} Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: {5:22} But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. {5:23} Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; {5:24} Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. {5:25} Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. {5:26} Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing. {5:27} Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: {5:28} But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. {5:29}And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast [it] from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not [that] thy whole body should be cast into hell. {5:30} And if thy right hand offend thee, cut if off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not [that] thy whole body should be cast into hell. {5:31} It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: {5:32} But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery. {5:33} Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: {5:34} But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne: {5:35} Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. {5:36} Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. {5:37} But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil. {5:38} Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: {5:39} But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. {5:40} And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have [thy] cloke also. {5:41} And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. {5:42} Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away. {5:43} Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. {5:44} But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; {5:45} That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for
he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. {5:46} For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? {5:47} And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more [than others?] do not even the publicans so? {5:48} Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. {6:1} Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. {6:2} Therefore when thou doest [thine] alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they
may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. {6:3} But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: {6:4} That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. {6:5} And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites [are:] for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. {6:6} But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy
closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. {6:7} But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen [do:] for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. {6:8} Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. {6:9} After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. {6:10} Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as [it is] in heaven. {6:11} Give us this day our daily bread. {6:12} And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. {6:13} And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. {6:14} For if ye
forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: {6:15} But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. {6:16} Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. {6:17} But thou, when thou fastest,
anoint thine head, and wash thy face; {6:18} That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly. {6:19} Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: {6:20} But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth
corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: {6:21} For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. {6:22} The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. {6:23} But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great [is] that darkness! {6:24} No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. {6:25} Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? {6:26} Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? {6:27} Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? {6:28} And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: {6:29} And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his
glory was not arrayed like one of these. {6:30} Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, [shall he] not much more [clothe] you, O ye of little faith? {6:31} Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? {6:32} (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. {6:33} But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. {6:34} Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day [is] the evil thereof. {7:1} Judge not, that ye be not judged. {7:2} For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. {7:3} And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? {7:4} Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam [is] in thine own eye? {7:5} Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye. {7:6} Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you. {7:7} Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: {7:8} For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth;
and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. {7:9} Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? {7:10} Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? {7:11} If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? {7:12} Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that
men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets. {7:13} Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide [is] the gate, and broad [is] the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: {7:14} Because strait [is] the
gate, and narrow [is] the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. {7:15} Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. {7:16} Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? {7:17} Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. {7:18} A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither [can] a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. {7:19} Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. {7:20} Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. {7:21} Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. {7:22} Many will say to
me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? {7:23} And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. {7:24} Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: {7:25} And the rain
descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. {7:26} And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: {7:27} And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it. {7:28} And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: {7:29} For he taught them as [one] having authority, and not as the scribes.