Do not live in a ditch

Are you living

in one of these ditches?

Is someone you love living in one?

These ditches

concern a person's relationship with God.

God

wants to

free us

from living in a ditch.

Here is

a

list of the Ditches

I am

highlighting.

These

ditches

will be

explained further down.

Ditch One -

Those in this ditch might say...

I beat myself up 

about

how sinful I am.

Every times I hear about

obedience to God or repentance - 

I feel condemned. 

Ditch Three -

Those in this ditch might say..

I don't think about or evaluate my spiritual life.

I know I am fine with God because

I am a much better person than most of the people I know. 

To quickly go to Ditch 3 

 Click here

Ditch Four -

Those in this ditch might say...

I am going to heaven.

I think about God

every

now and then.

I fellowship

with other believers

at church or in my friend group.

I make sure that

I am not a Bible thumper.

I do not want to look like one of those irritating Christians

who talk about God all the time.

The topic of sin is only for people who are not Christians.

To quickly go to Ditch Four -

click here

To read about

HOW

God wants us to think and feel as his child -

click here

> > > >   TAKE NOTE   < < < <

Each

Ditch

discussion

will start

with the arrow below.

First Ditch

1. Living in a state of worry and anxiety

that I am NOT pleasing God.

This group

thinks thoughts such as...

I am afraid that God thinks I am a terrible person.

I never do enough for God.

I am too sinful.

I am too _____.

I always _____   (do this bad thing).

And sometimes those in this group think...

I do not see how God could love me.

This ditch keeps people from experiencing

the

Joy of the Lord -

which is our strength and our heritage.

The Joy of the Lord is my Strength!

Nehemiah 8:10 b

This ditch steals

vitality and strength from people.

This ditch keeps people from

becoming

mature Christians.

Why do I say that?

Because we must face our sin

in order to repent and turn away from it.

-

Even Christians

need to learn to have victory over the sins in their life. 

People in this group

get so upset

at the thought of any sin they do

that they avoid

actually facing their sin issues. 

To have

Victory over a sin,

we must face that sin

by acknowledging to God that we have committed that sin.

Then we repent to God.

Then

we stir up our determination to avoid that sin.

And -

It is wise

to create a strategy to keep us from doing it again.

-

It is very difficult

to even acknowledge a sin

when you  feel  condemned and overwhelmed

by the idea of personal sinfulness.

-

This group needs to feel

more secure

that God loves them and that God is their loving coach.

God doesn't condemn those who

have made Jesus

the Lord of their life.

Instead,

God lovingly coaches them toward VICTORY over sin.

God wants to coach us

to be the best we can be

for his glory! 

-

And when we mess up and fall into sin,

he comes as a loving coach to put his arm around us

and

remind us that he loves us.

God then

encourages us to repent

and then

he encourages us to

get back up and pursue

VICTORY!

Some coaches are loving and some are tyrants.

God is a loving coach to his children.

When I look at the picture below -

I see a loving coach who is an encourager. 

When I look at the picture below -

I see a man who is reading his Bible with a teachable heart.

He is secure in God's love.

He sees the Bible as God's love letter to him.

He is ready to hear God's correction if he needs it.

He is ready for God to coach him. 

God wants us to live our life

thinking and feeling

like a child

who has

very loving

 - and emotionally healthy -

parents.

This type of 

 child

adores his parents and is adored by his parents.

This child

is eager to please his parents

but does not worry about pleasing them.

This child

gets sad

with regret

and

changes his ways

when he

disobeys his parents

because he loves his parents.

This child

lives in a place of

delight -

fully knowing

he or she is fully loved - and is very emotionally safe

when dealing with his parents.

-

The picture below

illustrates how God wants us to feel about him.

This is how God wants us to view him - 

with delight and with confidence in his love.

Ephesians 5:1 TLB 

explains,

" Follow God's example in everything you do

just as a 

much - loved child imitates his father. "

And " that Father "  in Ephesians - is God.

We all

have that parent - his name is Father God.

Even if

our earthly parents were terribly abusive

or just

terribly flawed -

we have

Father God

who

loves us fully and completely.

And concerning

the wounds we got in our past,

God wants to heal us of our emotional wounds.

Jeremiah 30:17 a NKJV

says

" For I will restore health to you

And heal you of your wounds,’ says the Lord," 

Our Heavenly Father

loves us

and

if

we truly   KNOW   him

then

we  delight  in him!

A child who lives in a state of

delight

and of knowing

he or she is fully loved -

is not living

in a anxious state of worry or tension.

That child

enjoys his or her relationship with our

Heavenly Dad. 

And that child treats

God

with respect and honor.

That child

tries to obey.

Ditch One

page suggestions

Music to feel loved by God

Feeling close with God

All our God's love page links are HERE

Feeling like a child of God not an orphan

Father God's love

Walking with Jesus

This group knows that

Jesus did the work to save us from hell.

But those in this group do not

understand

the New Testament's view of

obedience.

Before I lose some of you

who think

obedience is only taught in 

The Old Testament

please

click here to read a couple of New Testament verses.

Also read

Revelation chapters 2-3

where Jesus scolded the churches for their sin and 

lack of repentance.

Jesus told them

there would be

negative consequences if they did not repent.

The Lord does scold us when we need strong discipline.

Some of us

need stronger, harsher words

than others.

Others of us

will repent and change

just by hearing

a gentle correction from God.

The Philadelphia Church in Revelation chapter 3

was complimented 

and rewarded

for obeying the Scriptures.

JESUS

said,

Those who love me obey me.

John 14:23

Obedience

is

making decisions based on Bible commands

and Bible principles.

When we obey

we choose the morally right thing

as defined by God. 

What people in this ditch do NOT realize is -

God continually tells people

in the Old Testament and the New Testament

to be aware of sin and AVOID sinning.

It is all over the Bible.

Even in the book of

Revelation,

as

Jesus is speaking to the churches

after

his death - 

Jesus is telling Christians to stop sinning.

The people in this group

do not understand the definition of

"following Jesus."

Following Jesus will result in obedience.

Then Jesus told his disciples,

"If anyone wants to follow me,

he must deny himself,

pick up his cross and follow me continuously." 

Matthew 16:24 ISV

Here is an illustration:

In the old days before cell phones and GPS,

I had situations

where I got lost in

my car

in a strange town

and

a person was kind enough

to get in

his or her

car

and guide me back

to familiar territory.

Imagine

that you are the other person helping me.....

I'm following your car

and

you turn right

and

I keep driving straight.

What

would you be thinking?

Most people would think....

"What is wrong with Beth?

She said she would follow me

and then

she doesn't follow me. Is she crazy?"

Folks

FOLLOW means follow. 

In our world today

the Bible command to

- Follow Jesus -

has become

almost

meaningless.

The definition of

Follow Jesus

has lost

its anchor to logic. 

Many of you reading this are eager to follow Jesus

but have

loved ones who are in this group.

I urge you

to pray for them

and

try to think of ways to wake them up.

The devil has been successfully

using this ditch more and more since around 2010.

I never noticed people

saying 

" obedience to God is not important "

before 2010 or 2011.

Now - Currently - 

I hear people say

" obedience is not important"

all the time on Christian media,

and in my personal life.

I had to leave my church because of this false doctrine. 

This false teaching can take people to hell.

See my page Matthew 7:21-23 that talks about why most

people go to hell.

Also see my page on Matthew 7:13-14

about the narrow road to heaven and the wide road to hell.

Joseph Prince

is one of the most well-known teachers of this false doctrine.

All Christians would say "I love God."

but

do they?

Here is an illustration:

A woman tells you, "I love to watch baseball games."

Then she says,

" I love everything about baseball games but...

The game is played on a field that is always too hot or too cold for fans.

There are too many people in the dugout and too few in the outfield.

The rules are too rigid.

The games are too long.

The fans are too loud.

They don't let all the players have a turn at pitching.

The players' outfits aren't stylish. They never update their uniforms.

The players get so dirty. Yuk.

The catcher has to crouch down in a terrible position for his knees. Sometimes I just stare at the catcher and think about how hard that is on his knees.

It makes me sad that...

The two teams do not look out for each other's feelings. 

And they throw the ball too hard. 

Throwing the ball that hard could hurt someone.

I'm afraid of getting hit by a ball when I go to a game.

And it takes too long to drive to a game.

But...

it is too hard to see what I want to see on TV -

I like to see all the players

at once

on the field. 

The TV games hone in on certain people and on

stuff I don't care about. 

And at a game, when something exciting happens -  people in front of me stand up and I can't see.

I always feel so bad for the team that loses. 

I always leave a game feeling sad. "

Then

the woman

concludes her statements with

" But... I love baseball games. "

~ ~ ~

I ask you to

please...

Reflect on the above verbal illustration.

Do you believe that person loves baseball games?

Or...

Do you think that person lacks

self-awareness? 

Jesus says that

"If you love me, you will obey me."

John 14:23

Some people say they "love" God

but they are not self - aware

that

they really don't. 

 - Another illustration - 

When I was growing up, an elderly relative of mine

( who is no longer living )

would

frequently spend 10 minutes or more

complaining

about

all kinds of things,

and then say,

"But I'm not complaining."

Just saying

that

you are not complaining -

does not make it so.

-

Becoming

more

self - aware

is needed for

Spiritual Growth.

Ditch Two

page suggestions

Obedience

Shield of Faith tips

Matthew 5 insights into desiring to obey

The Bible verse for creating Strong Believers

Full Armor of God prayers

Champions for Christ

Please consider

reading the section

on this page

about

HOW

God wants you to view him and

FEEL

his love.

Click HERE

Ditch Three

3. Living in a state of comparison.

Whenever

the people in this group

think about

their relationship with God,

they compare themselves

to people who appear less holy than them.

This keeps them

feeling

so good about themselves

that

they are

insulated

from

becoming self-aware

concerning

their need to grow more like Jesus.

Many  in  this  ditch

fool  themselves

into  thinking

they are Christians and they are not.

See my commentary on First John which addresses this. Especially look at chapter 2:3-6.

Any thought about their personal sins

gets a response of

"I'm so much better than other people

that I don't have to

worry about myself."

This ditch

creates a spiritual blindness

that puts distance between them and God.

In the Bible verse below

it will probably be hard

to hear that

God considers

our sins as f i l t h

Proverbs 30:12 ESV

says...

" There are those

who are clean in their own eyes

but are not washed of their filth. "

~

The Hebrew word translated in English as

 f i l t h 

is

defined as   -  filth, excrement, or dung.

Cut & paste in your browser

https://biblehub.com/hebrew/6675.htm

Proverbs 30:12 in the CSB translation says,

" There is a generation

that is pure in its own eyes,

yet is not washed from its filth. "

It does look to me like

we have a generation

full of people who think they are pure

but are blinded by sin.

Some people in this ditch become self-righteous. 

Living in this ditch

makes it very easy

for some people

to become self - righteous.

And it

can

create

an attitude of self-righteousness - that - 

not only hinders

their spiritual growth

but it repels others

from wanting to get to know

" a God "

like the one they say they serve.

Note:

The Pharisees

in the Bible

are a great example of this ditch.

Jesus speaks

about the Pharisees

in

Luke 18:9 - 14 ERV.

It says...

There were some people

who thought they were very good

 and

looked down on everyone else.

Jesus used this story

to teach them:

¹⁰ “One time there was a Pharisee and a tax collector.

One day they both went to the Temple to pray.

¹¹ The Pharisee stood alone, away from the tax collector.

When the Pharisee prayed,

he said,

‘O God, I thank you that I am not as bad as other people.

I am not like men

who steal, cheat, or commit adultery.

I thank you that I am better than this tax collector.

¹² I fast twice a week,

and I give a tenth of everything I get!’

¹³ “The tax collector stood alone too.

But when he prayed,

he would not even look up to heaven.

He felt very humble before God.

He said,

‘O God, have mercy on me. I am a sinner!’

¹⁴ I tell you, when this man finished his prayer and

went home, he was right with God.

But

the Pharisee,

who felt that he was better than others,

was not right with God.

People

who make themselves important

will be made humble.

But those who make themselves humble

will be made important.”

Luke 18:9-14

Ditch Three

page suggestions

Matthew 7

First John

Morning Scriptures

Champions for Christ

Please consider

reading the section

on this page

about

HOW God wants you to view him and

FEEL

his love.

Click HERE

Ditch Four

4. Living in a state of  - distance from God.

The people in this ditch,

think

they have

a good relationship with God,

yet

they rarely think about God.

They put God in a special compartment

in their mind and life.

A compartment that they control.

This person thinks he or she is going to heaven

but thoughts of God

beyond that assertion

are mostly non - existent.

-

They do not perceive any problems 

with their relationship with God.

Matthew 15:8 NCV

Jesus said,

These people

show

honor to me with words,

but

their hearts are far from me.

Many people do not realize

how close

God wants us to be with him.

God knows

that

without a close relationship with him,

we will

easily wander into all types of sin.

God knows

that

without being close to him

we will

feel more and more comfortable about

compromising with the world.

Father God wants us to be

TRANSFORMED

to look more and more like Jesus.

As Romans 12:2 NKJV

teaches us...

" And be not conformed to this world:

but be transformed

by the renewing of your mind,

that you may prove

what is that

good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. "

We renew our mind

through reading the Bible with a teachable heart.

The people in this ditch

have a form of the Christian religion -

a form that lacks

the power to change them to look like Jesus.

2 Timothy 3:5

talks about people

having a form of religion

but their type of " belief "

does not result in the power to change their conduct. 

Their unchanged life

says to the world that

the Gospel has no power.

2 Timothy 3:5 AMP

says....

" Holding to a form of

[outward]

godliness (religion),

although

they have denied its power

[for their conduct nullifies their claim of faith].

Avoid

such people and keep far away from them."

Ouch!

God speaks harshly about this spiritual condition.

I encourage you to read that verse in

different translations. 

Cut and Paste in your browser.

https://www.biblegateway.com/verse/en/2%20Timothy%203%3A5

Through a close relationship with Jesus - 

we have POWER to change.

Jesus wants to be our best friend and our LORD.

God wants continual conversation - which he calls prayer.

The Lord wants us

to daily consult with him about our upcoming decisions.

We all

have experienced

truly horrible things

in our life.

The next sentence is   not   referring to those things.

With most things in life,

it is not what was done to us

that keeps us upset.

Instead,

it is our thoughts about what was done to us

that are actually continuing to upset us.

The way we evaluate situations

makes a big difference

in the

consequences

we continue to experience

from those situations.

-

Meaning -

It is easy

to stay

in

sinful attitudes

such as 

unforgiveness or anger 

when we do not evaluate conversations and situations

as God sees them. 

-

Please consider reading

Ephesians 4:17 - 32. 

God wants to remind us of

1 Corinthians 13 -

where we find

love

defined.

If you need help with forgiveness - click here

Ditch Four

pages

What do these Bible salvational words mean?

First John

Matthew 5 Insights

Full Armor of God prayers

Please consider

reading the section on this page

about

HOW God wants you to view him and FEEL his love.

Click here

There is more great stuff below.

Prayer is important for change.

There is a prayer for you in the next section.

And a video for you after the prayer.

Prayer

Prayer

Would

you

join me in praying?

Dear Lord,

This is my proclamation prayer to you -

I will rise up with the Power of God.

I will FOLLOW you

each day.

I will run and not be weary.

I will conquer sin.

I will go to new heights of conquering my ungodly desires.

I will go to new heights of conquering the temptations of

the devil and his demons.

I will conquer them

with

God's weapons of mass - demonic enemy - destruction.

I was

created to destroy the works of the enemy - 

not

ignore the works of the enemy.

And this is especially true

concerning my personal life.

I will praise and glorify my God in my life - today!

In Jesus' name I pray,

Amen

Copyright © 2026 Beth McLendon of Inspirational-Prayers.com

Below 

is a 

Helpful Video

Consider our page -

How to Capture your thoughts

Disclaimer: I know nothing about the speaker above.

I am only recommending THIS video.

Next -

Scripture 

Ephesians 4

Ephesians 4:17 - 32 TLB

says...

Let me say this, then,

speaking for the Lord:

Live no longer as the unsaved do,

for they are blinded and confused.

Their closed hearts

are

full of darkness;

they are far away from the life of God

because

they have shut their minds against him,

and they cannot understand his ways.

¹⁹ They don’t care anymore about right and wrong and have given themselves over to impure ways. They stop at nothing, being driven by their evil minds and reckless lusts.

²⁰ But that isn’t the way Christ taught you!

²¹ If you have really heard his voice

and learned from him

the truths concerning himself,

²²  then throw off your old evil nature —

the old you that was a partner in your evil ways —

rotten through and through, full of lust and sham.

²³  Now your attitudes and thoughts

must all be constantly changing for the better.

²⁴   Yes,

you must be a new and different person,

holy and good.

Clothe yourself with this new nature.

²⁵ Stop lying to each other;

tell the truth,

for we are parts of each other and when we lie

to each other

we are hurting ourselves.

²⁶ If you are angry,

don’t sin by nursing your grudge.
Don’t let the sun go down with you still angry—
get over it quickly;
²⁷ for when you are angry, you give a mighty foothold to the devil.

²⁸ If anyone is stealing he must stop it and begin using those hands of his for honest work so he can give to others in need.

²⁹ Don’t use bad language. Say only what is good and helpful to those you are talking to, and what will give them a blessing.

³⁰ Don’t cause the Holy Spirit sorrow by the way you live. Remember, he is the one who marks you to be present on that day when salvation from sin will be complete.

³¹ Stop being mean,

bad-tempered, and angry.

Quarreling, harsh words, and dislike of others

should have no place in your lives.

³² Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted,

forgiving one another,

just as God has forgiven you

because you belong to Christ. "

The New Testament is full of verses

telling us to avoid sin.

- Even  in

The Book of Revelation

chapters 2 - 3,

Jesus tells us to change

and

stop sinning. 

-

Please do not listen to the

devil

telling you that you can live anyway you want to.

The Bible says

in

1 Corinthians 6:20

that we are not our own.

We were bought with a price.

( Christ's blood )

It says...

" For God has bought you with a great price.

So use every part of your body

to give glory back to God

because he owns it. "

1 Corinthians 6:20 TLB

To go back to

the Ditch Two teaching - Click here