Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. James 4:4 NKJV
Wow, that gets your attention now doesn't it? What does it mean? We Christians are supposed to be tolerant, forgiving & non-judgemental aren't we? As a matter of fact, we are. What we are not supposed to be is accepting of or participating in the sins of the world. We must reach out to those who are lost without allowing them to drag us into the things of the world. How? Well, let's see what the Bible has to say...Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. (James 4:7-8 NKJV) How do we draw near to GOD? We spend time communicating with Him in prayer. We read His Word. We sit under annointed preachers of the Word. We choose godly friends. We're also told that a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways...(James 1:8 NKJV).
Often, we think we can dabble in sin and get away with it. GOD's Word says differently. We're told in Numbers 32:23b, "and be sure your sin will find you out". The fact that we've accepted Christ and committed our lives to Him does not give us a license to commit willful sin. When we do, yes when--not if, because we are rebellious children--there are consequences. One way being that our testimony is tarnished and our effectiveness for GOD's Kingdom is diminished. As for me, I never want to bring shame to GOD & I definitely want to have opportunities to serve Him and minister to others.
How can we be in love with GOD and in love with the world at the same time? There are no fence-straddlers. We are either being used by GOD or being used by Satan. Exodus 34:14 states, "for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God". You may be questioning that statement and thinking you aren't guilty of worshipping any other gods--how about money, possessions, popularity, a relationship, etc? Those things easily become idols in our lives if we aren't careful.
Jesus Himself said "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."(John 14:6) Notice He didn't say I am "A" way, He said I am "THE" way. Don't be fooled by those who say there are many paths to GOD--that is false teaching at it's best and a downright lie of the devil. Are you an Oprah fan? She subscribes to this doctrine. She has a great following--sadly, Satan is using her to lead people astray. But wait--she does so many good and charitable things...Yes, she does--but you can be a goodly person without being a godly person. I'm here to tell you that if Oprah is saved, she needs to repent and if she isn't--that she will bust Hell wide open regardless as to how much good she has done in the world.
I know for a fact that I have allowed worldly things into my life. I'm fully aware that I do & say things regularly that damage my testimony. I pray GOD will forgive my spiritual adultery and allow me to be useful in His Work. How about you? Where do you stand? Remember, a friend of the world is an enemy of GOD. Personally, I want to be called a friend of GOD...
Blessings!
Tony
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Weeds, Wildflowers or Roses?
While I'm still far from normal--some would say I never have been--I'm attempting to move forward after losing my sweet bride. Truth is, I have some pretty good days & some that are purely awful but GOD sees fit to send people my way to uplift and encourage me still the same. The following seems rather random to me, but it's been percolating in my head for a few days now so I decided to put my thoughts down & see if it spoke to anyone. Here goes...
If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! Matthew 7:11 NKJV
Often we bounce along down the rough & rocky road of life, making mistakes and bad choices along the way. One bad decision seems to lead to another, and then to another. Suddenly, we begin to feel as if we deserve nothing good in life because our view of ourselves becomes distorted. We see ourselves as worthless--unworthy of of the blessings GOD so desires to bestow upon us. Instead of accepting the beautiful rose He offers from His garden, we're content with a few wildflowers from along the roadside or worse yet--just a patch of weeds.
The rose is a symbol of all things bright and beautiful--the gifts He has in store for us if we open ourselves completely to His Will, follow His commands and live a Christian life. The wildflowers are the things we allow to distract us and cause us to detour from GOD's path for our lives--a consolation prize if you will. We accept them because we think we are undeserving of good things from His hand, or in an attempt to be humble. GOD wants to give us His best, but because we can't boldly accept that--we shorthange ourselves, and in doing so, shortchange GOD in the process. Sometimes, we sell ourselves short (and GOD as well) and are content to wallow in the weeds. The weeds are the useless things of the world--trash, if you will.
The problem there is that, in being content with the weeds, we live more like the world than as Christians and damage our testimony as well as the Kingdom of GOD in the process. If we're OK with the weeds, why would lost people have any desire to become Christians? They see us living just like them with the exception of calling ourselves Christians. If Christianity is simply seen as a set of rules that heap guilt on a person--well, why would anyone want that?
It's time we, as Christians, tend to our gardens and get rid of the weeds in our lives as referred to in Galatians 5:19-21 which states, "Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God." We need to stop being distracted by weeds & wildflowers and start cultivating GOD's beautiful roses. We should take Him at His Word and live our lives accordingly, seeking out the gifts He has for us and blessing others along the way.
I know I've been guilty of wallowing in the weeds and contenting myself with wildflowers as well as doing things on my own rather than asking for GOD's guidance & direction. Where are you? Among the weeds, the wildflowers, or are you pruning the rosebushes in anticipation of a beautiful bloom?
Blessings!
Tony
If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! Matthew 7:11 NKJV
Often we bounce along down the rough & rocky road of life, making mistakes and bad choices along the way. One bad decision seems to lead to another, and then to another. Suddenly, we begin to feel as if we deserve nothing good in life because our view of ourselves becomes distorted. We see ourselves as worthless--unworthy of of the blessings GOD so desires to bestow upon us. Instead of accepting the beautiful rose He offers from His garden, we're content with a few wildflowers from along the roadside or worse yet--just a patch of weeds.
The rose is a symbol of all things bright and beautiful--the gifts He has in store for us if we open ourselves completely to His Will, follow His commands and live a Christian life. The wildflowers are the things we allow to distract us and cause us to detour from GOD's path for our lives--a consolation prize if you will. We accept them because we think we are undeserving of good things from His hand, or in an attempt to be humble. GOD wants to give us His best, but because we can't boldly accept that--we shorthange ourselves, and in doing so, shortchange GOD in the process. Sometimes, we sell ourselves short (and GOD as well) and are content to wallow in the weeds. The weeds are the useless things of the world--trash, if you will.
The problem there is that, in being content with the weeds, we live more like the world than as Christians and damage our testimony as well as the Kingdom of GOD in the process. If we're OK with the weeds, why would lost people have any desire to become Christians? They see us living just like them with the exception of calling ourselves Christians. If Christianity is simply seen as a set of rules that heap guilt on a person--well, why would anyone want that?
It's time we, as Christians, tend to our gardens and get rid of the weeds in our lives as referred to in Galatians 5:19-21 which states, "Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God." We need to stop being distracted by weeds & wildflowers and start cultivating GOD's beautiful roses. We should take Him at His Word and live our lives accordingly, seeking out the gifts He has for us and blessing others along the way.
I know I've been guilty of wallowing in the weeds and contenting myself with wildflowers as well as doing things on my own rather than asking for GOD's guidance & direction. Where are you? Among the weeds, the wildflowers, or are you pruning the rosebushes in anticipation of a beautiful bloom?
Blessings!
Tony
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