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The Worldly Believer |
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Every
day I am confronted with the lure of the world. All my base
instincts and desires are tugged and enticed. It is overt and
subtle, all at the same time.
Because big business needs us to join the feeding frenzy of consumerism
they have learned over the years how to get our attention. They
lure us with the various siren calls that work. We are told
that life is better when we have what they sell. We are told
we deserve it and that we must have it. And, we must have it
right now.
How does a Christian believer deal with this onslaught? How do we
live in this world, but not "of this world"?
As discussed in the Trap of Self,
we find we cannot defeat the world and our desires on
our own power. Only God can provide the power we need.
Through His plan of salvation He gave us Jesus. The goal
is to really and totally believe and trust in Jesus. We
must be complete in our giving of our self. Jesus gives
us what we truly need. He has the words of everlasting
life.
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What Would Jesus Say?
Have
you ever spent time really reading and contemplating the words
of Jesus? In his ministry he encountered people from all walks
of life: The poor and the wealthy, the sick and the healthy.
Simple fisherman and worldly tax collectors heeded his call
to "follow him". The religious elite tried to trap
him. How Jesus spoke to others and what he said are steeped
in wisdom and challenge all of us.
Jesus told us we can't serve two masters. We will either hate the
one and love the other, or we will be under constant tension
trying to satisfy both.
I have discovered for myself that it is easy to get sucked into
worldly things. The temptations are constant and the only way
to "avert my eyes" is to be looking at something else.
I must have an intense ongoing gaze on Jesus.
One of the tricks my mind…or my lustful self…plays on
me is to rationalize my behavior. Just a little of this or that
is ok. It's not like you are really being bad. This is a dangerous
line of thought…and at times I give in to it easily. What
to do?
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To Live is Christ
The apostle Paul knew of these struggles and that we all have them.
He talked at length about it and what to do. Read in Romans.
"To live is Christ". Our imperfect knowledge and earthly
flesh is not able to live free of life's worldly temptations.
Not on our own power.
When we try to resist on our own we are often overwhelmed. The messages
are bombarding us-be good to yourself, make great wealth, find
the easy way, you have great power within you. These seductive
messages are all the more powerful when couched in language
that sounds good, positive and even spiritual. Beware of the
lies. As long as we are told we can do it without turning our
lives over to the care and guidance of God then we are being
fed the Great Lie. Buy into it, try on your own to do what is
right and inevitably fail. Then comes that terrible remorse.
What you will discover when the temptations come is that you can
either give in or seek help. Until we do turn to Jesus/Holy
Spirit/God the Father we inevitably slip.
I also often cannot see the deception of the world until I turn
my eyes (and my heart) to Jesus. When I do it becomes clear
which way to go…and I get strengthened! "I can do
all things through Christ who strengthens me".
You will find you are faced with some hard choices. It may be necessary
to separate your self from certain worldly ways. The hard sacrifices
are worth it in the long run. "What does it benefit you
to gain the whole world and lose your soul?"
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Scripture taken from the Holy Bible,
NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®.Copyright © 1973, 1978,
1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout
the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.
NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® and NIV® are registered trademarks
of International Bible Society. Use of either trademark for
the offering of goods or services requires the prior written
consent of International Bible Society.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible,
New Living Translation, copyright ©1996. Used by permission
of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL 60189, USA. All
rights reserved.
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