"For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"
Mark 8:36
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Jesus prayed for future believers,
"I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth." John 17:15-17
Obedience to God v. Friendship with the World
We are all confronted with temptations in this world, and the Bible states that there is nothing wrong with wanting a pleasurable life. The difference is shown in Jesus' example - Jesus was tempted, but He did not sin. God gives us good gifts, and He wants us to enjoy them. But having friendship with the world could entail seeking pleasure at other’s expense, or it could be at the expense of serving God. We must learn how to choose wisely - friendship with the world versus obedience to God. When it comes down to it - all we really need is God's approval, through obedience to Him. Once the Holy Spirit fills us, we then see that all of this world's seductive attractions are cheap substitutes for what God has to offer. (Read James 4:4)
John wrote to older people, young people, and children (1 John 2:12-14) warning them not to love the world and anything in it.
"Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever." (1 John 2:15-17)
Worldliness is not limited to external behavior either, such as the places we go, people we meet, or activities. Worldliness is also internal, because it begins in the heart. It can be characterized by three attitudes: preoccupation with physical desires; obsession with one's importance or status; and the lust of the eyes and craving and accumulating things. In contrast to these attitudes, God values self-control, commitment to humble service, and a spirit of generosity.
This is how we can be sure that we are '...not of the world'.
BEAUTIFUL WOMAN
Monday, May 12, 2008
Monday, March 10, 2008
No Condemnation
Do not let anyone try to bring condemnation on you.
"For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned; but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. "John 3:17, 18.
The devil is good at trying to belittle the work of God in our lives, also in bringing up past shortcomings and sins. What God has done is on God, we do not need to defend God, or justify what He has done. God can take care of Himself. And past sins, when we have asked for forgiveness, are put into the 'sea of forgetfulness', it is as if it had never happened.
If we believe in God, believe in His Word, and believe in the Name of His only Son, then we are not condemned, and no one can bring condemnation on us.
"No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD." Isaiah 54:17
We depend on God's righteousness. And so there can be no condemnation from others.
"For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned; but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. "John 3:17, 18.
The devil is good at trying to belittle the work of God in our lives, also in bringing up past shortcomings and sins. What God has done is on God, we do not need to defend God, or justify what He has done. God can take care of Himself. And past sins, when we have asked for forgiveness, are put into the 'sea of forgetfulness', it is as if it had never happened.
If we believe in God, believe in His Word, and believe in the Name of His only Son, then we are not condemned, and no one can bring condemnation on us.
"No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD." Isaiah 54:17
We depend on God's righteousness. And so there can be no condemnation from others.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
NEW BEGINNINGS
IT'S A NEW SEASON AND IT'S A NEW DAY - A SEASON OF NEW BEGINNINGS
I pray everyone reading this post had a blessed time in the LORD recently with family and friends over the Christmas Holidays.
We are now in a new Season. The year 2007 was a year of completion, which makes 2008 a year of new beginnings. Isn't this exciting!
In the Kingdom there are seasons that God takes us through as individuals and as a church.
I believe that God is calling for His Sons and Daughters to be prepared for this new season, and the best way to prepare is through prayer and fasting.
We must move from the 'ordinary' Christian attitude and lifestyle, as if we are going to live in these mortal bodies for ever, and prepare for the 'exordinary', eternal life that God has prepared for us.
This calls for us to seek His Kingdom and Kingdom purposes and principles, and turn from the world's values and ways of doing things. And in everything we do, to give Him the Glory.
God is doing a new thing, are you ready for it?
I pray everyone reading this post had a blessed time in the LORD recently with family and friends over the Christmas Holidays.
We are now in a new Season. The year 2007 was a year of completion, which makes 2008 a year of new beginnings. Isn't this exciting!
In the Kingdom there are seasons that God takes us through as individuals and as a church.
I believe that God is calling for His Sons and Daughters to be prepared for this new season, and the best way to prepare is through prayer and fasting.
We must move from the 'ordinary' Christian attitude and lifestyle, as if we are going to live in these mortal bodies for ever, and prepare for the 'exordinary', eternal life that God has prepared for us.
This calls for us to seek His Kingdom and Kingdom purposes and principles, and turn from the world's values and ways of doing things. And in everything we do, to give Him the Glory.
God is doing a new thing, are you ready for it?
Friday, December 14, 2007
THE FIRST CHRISTMAS PRESENT
“God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son. Anyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life." John 3:16
I worked for awhile in a department store, in a large mall in Atlanta during Christmas time - the huge crowds in the store and parking lots did not convey the Christmas spirit. I remember a Christmas a few years ago when I learned what Christmas 'gifting' was all about.
I had six children in my house at the time, all girls, 11-15 years old. On this Sunday morning before Christmas, getting ready was proving more difficult than usual. We had to be at church an hour before the first service at 9 a.m. so the children could get ready for the Christmas play. We were hurrying around, getting costumes together, fixing hair. When two of the girls were resistant (throwing tantrums), a couple were moving slow, and a couple didn't want to get out of bed, and I was at my wit's end after a week of homeschooling. I think we were all just tired of each other. We finally got out of the house and to church on time, where I was told I was not needed. I didn't know how to react because I was never without 'my girls'.
In a rare show of independence, I decided to go by myself for some coffee at the chicken place down the street. We rarely went out to eat, except once a month to 'Micky D's', or once a year, after I got my student loan refund, to a real restaurant. But here I was, middle of the month, middle of the semester going out by myself. I had about 30 minutes, sitting, sipping coffee, nothing to do, no place to be. Then it was time to go back to the churgh for the play. As I walked into the darkened sanctuary, one of the lead male singers began to sing, "...what a way to save the world..." . It's a song about how God used an ordinary man and woman for His purposes. Behind him on a screen were scenes from the movie 'Jesus of Nazareth'. It was real sweet, the singer had a nice tenor voice, the scenes were scenes we are accustomed to at Christmas - the nativity scene, Mary and the baby Jesus, close up of the Shepards. I was comforted and peaceful. As I witnessed these scenes, suddenly the movie cut to a grown Jesus on the cross, close ups of Mary, a mother watching her son die, crying as her heart literally was breaking. And then suddendly something let go in me, I felt a release of the stress I'd been under and cried out involuntarily. I realized how selfish I had been. I thought how I had dared to complain because of the children God had given me, when He had also given me His only Son, who then died for me and rose again - for me, because He so loved me. I could never repay Him - and I would never know how much it cost, to see my sins on that cross.
'For God so loved 'me' that He gave His only begotten Son...' This was the First Christmas Present...
I worked for awhile in a department store, in a large mall in Atlanta during Christmas time - the huge crowds in the store and parking lots did not convey the Christmas spirit. I remember a Christmas a few years ago when I learned what Christmas 'gifting' was all about.
I had six children in my house at the time, all girls, 11-15 years old. On this Sunday morning before Christmas, getting ready was proving more difficult than usual. We had to be at church an hour before the first service at 9 a.m. so the children could get ready for the Christmas play. We were hurrying around, getting costumes together, fixing hair. When two of the girls were resistant (throwing tantrums), a couple were moving slow, and a couple didn't want to get out of bed, and I was at my wit's end after a week of homeschooling. I think we were all just tired of each other. We finally got out of the house and to church on time, where I was told I was not needed. I didn't know how to react because I was never without 'my girls'.
In a rare show of independence, I decided to go by myself for some coffee at the chicken place down the street. We rarely went out to eat, except once a month to 'Micky D's', or once a year, after I got my student loan refund, to a real restaurant. But here I was, middle of the month, middle of the semester going out by myself. I had about 30 minutes, sitting, sipping coffee, nothing to do, no place to be. Then it was time to go back to the churgh for the play. As I walked into the darkened sanctuary, one of the lead male singers began to sing, "...what a way to save the world..." . It's a song about how God used an ordinary man and woman for His purposes. Behind him on a screen were scenes from the movie 'Jesus of Nazareth'. It was real sweet, the singer had a nice tenor voice, the scenes were scenes we are accustomed to at Christmas - the nativity scene, Mary and the baby Jesus, close up of the Shepards. I was comforted and peaceful. As I witnessed these scenes, suddenly the movie cut to a grown Jesus on the cross, close ups of Mary, a mother watching her son die, crying as her heart literally was breaking. And then suddendly something let go in me, I felt a release of the stress I'd been under and cried out involuntarily. I realized how selfish I had been. I thought how I had dared to complain because of the children God had given me, when He had also given me His only Son, who then died for me and rose again - for me, because He so loved me. I could never repay Him - and I would never know how much it cost, to see my sins on that cross.
'For God so loved 'me' that He gave His only begotten Son...' This was the First Christmas Present...
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