As we're coming to the end of the year, alot of people are talking about their New Years Resolution, something the want to do in 2008. The things I'm blogging about today, are things Christians need to battle and guard against not just in '08, but every year and every day.
I know this is a long post and I'm sorry if it's too confusing, if you have a question about something I said please feel free ask me in a comment.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
God Bless,
Jade
My family recently received a catalog from a Christian bookstore, and as I looked through and saw all the Christian music arists, read about the books they were selling, and saw the movies the were advertizing and selling, I thought " what's happened?"
The Christian artists look just like the mainstream artists. By looking at them you would NEVER guess they were Christians. We've bought several books from a CHRISTIAN bookstore that were written by CHRISTIAN authors that we've had to throw away because of bad language, bad scenes, etc. Same thing with movies: bad language, bad scenes, immodest clothing.
CHRISRTIAN bookstores are advertizing and selling all this filthy junk!!
And what's worse is that we CHRISTIANS are buying that filthy junk.
There are people in the Church who, if you passed them on the street you would think they were anything but a Christian. Wearing tight, immodest clothes, and heay dark make-up.
They're watching all the same movies that their non-Christian friends watch, listening to the same music, and reading the same non-Christian, athiestic books. They're not doing what Romans 12:2 says: "And do not be 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."
Christians are conforming!!!!!!
We keep allowing a little more sin into our lives, and a little more, and a little more, and we think it won't have any affect on us! Proverbs 4:23 says "keep you heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life." The Hebrew word for diligence is mishmar, meaning guard and watch. So, if we fill our hearts with sin, then what will flow from our hearts are things that God hates. But. if we fill our Hearts with God's word and things that are pure, then things that are pleasing to God will flow from our hearts.
Christians are not supposed to blend in with the world. We're suppose to be the light of the world! Our lives are supposed to reflect the Good News about Christ (phillipians 1:27).
But, instead of being lights and reflecting the Good News, we try to "sugar coat" everything. We try to be Christians AND please the world at the same time. Matthew 6:24 says "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other...."
We can't stradle the fence! We need to love and serve God whole heartedly.
Titus 1:16 says "They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work."
We're supposed to reflect God in all that that we do, from the inside out, in every area of our lives, all the time!
My family is very careful about what we watch, read, listen to, and wear.
But, sometime I find myself trying to please God AND the world, and I also see that I'm not always reflecting the Good News in every area of my life.
These are things that, with God's help I'm working on and battling every-single-day.
It's easy to go with the flow of the world, but it's hard to do what God wants and what is pleasing to Him, when the whole world is telling you to do something different.
We need to strive to please God and not the world, and we're going to have to stuggle with this every day because satan is prowling around like a roaring lion, waiting for someone to devour and he will do anything to make us serve him and not God, he will use things in this world to lure us away from God, so we need to ask God to guard our hearts and help us say "no" to the world.
The Christian artists look just like the mainstream artists. By looking at them you would NEVER guess they were Christians. We've bought several books from a CHRISTIAN bookstore that were written by CHRISTIAN authors that we've had to throw away because of bad language, bad scenes, etc. Same thing with movies: bad language, bad scenes, immodest clothing.
CHRISRTIAN bookstores are advertizing and selling all this filthy junk!!
And what's worse is that we CHRISTIANS are buying that filthy junk.
There are people in the Church who, if you passed them on the street you would think they were anything but a Christian. Wearing tight, immodest clothes, and heay dark make-up.
They're watching all the same movies that their non-Christian friends watch, listening to the same music, and reading the same non-Christian, athiestic books. They're not doing what Romans 12:2 says: "And do not be 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."
Christians are conforming!!!!!!
We keep allowing a little more sin into our lives, and a little more, and a little more, and we think it won't have any affect on us! Proverbs 4:23 says "keep you heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life." The Hebrew word for diligence is mishmar, meaning guard and watch. So, if we fill our hearts with sin, then what will flow from our hearts are things that God hates. But. if we fill our Hearts with God's word and things that are pure, then things that are pleasing to God will flow from our hearts.
Christians are not supposed to blend in with the world. We're suppose to be the light of the world! Our lives are supposed to reflect the Good News about Christ (phillipians 1:27).
But, instead of being lights and reflecting the Good News, we try to "sugar coat" everything. We try to be Christians AND please the world at the same time. Matthew 6:24 says "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other...."
We can't stradle the fence! We need to love and serve God whole heartedly.
Titus 1:16 says "They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work."
We're supposed to reflect God in all that that we do, from the inside out, in every area of our lives, all the time!
My family is very careful about what we watch, read, listen to, and wear.
But, sometime I find myself trying to please God AND the world, and I also see that I'm not always reflecting the Good News in every area of my life.
These are things that, with God's help I'm working on and battling every-single-day.
It's easy to go with the flow of the world, but it's hard to do what God wants and what is pleasing to Him, when the whole world is telling you to do something different.
We need to strive to please God and not the world, and we're going to have to stuggle with this every day because satan is prowling around like a roaring lion, waiting for someone to devour and he will do anything to make us serve him and not God, he will use things in this world to lure us away from God, so we need to ask God to guard our hearts and help us say "no" to the world.
I know this is a long post and I'm sorry if it's too confusing, if you have a question about something I said please feel free ask me in a comment.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
God Bless,
Jade
