Skip to main content

The Things That Matter

Stop loving this evil world and all that it offers you, for when you love these things you show that you do not really love God; for all these worldly things, these evil desires—the craze for sex, the ambition to buy everything that appeals to you, and the pride that comes from wealth and importance—these are not from God. They are from this evil world itself. And this world is fading away, and these evil, forbidden things will go with it, but whoever keeps doing the will of God will live forever. -1 John 2:15-17 (TLB)

Wow. Tough words. Most of us that read such things are probably thinking to ourselves that we still have affection for those worldly things and may even question whether we truly love God or not. I submit to the reader that the fact they are concerned about the matter probably shows that they do love God and want fellowship with Him. Certainly, there are times when I battle with things of the flesh--such as lust, pride and the desire for material gain. The point is, however, that it is not all-consuming and much more easily recognized than it used to be. I tend to dislike it immensely, because I sense God's displeasure with such attitudes and actions--and I wish to please Him more than I ever did before.

As I delve more deeply into God's Word and fellowship with other Christians (including regular worship and Bible study) it becomes apparent that, the more I fill myself with things of God, the less room there is for the obsessions of this world. To simply try denying myself the "pleasures of the flesh" without replacing them with pleasures of more eternal significance (in pursuit of God) does nothing more than leave a vacuum in which satan has a place to work.

For, dear brothers, you have been given freedom: not freedom to do wrong, but freedom to love and serve each other. For the whole Law can be summed up in this one command: “Love others as you love yourself.” But if instead of showing love among yourselves you are always critical and catty, watch out! Beware of ruining each other. I advise you to obey only the Holy Spirit’s instructions. He will tell you where to go and what to do, and then you won’t always be doing the wrong things your evil nature wants you to. - Galatians 5:13-16 (TLB)

 So there's the simple solution to the matter: let the Holy Spirit work in you and through you and you will not be the slave to sin that you once were. You will discover [as I have] that your desires will change and you will wish to pursue the things of God more than the desires of this earthly existence. Does this make you "sin-free?" Absolutely not, but you will find yourself sinning less and doing the will of God more as you move from being a 'carnal Christian' to a Spirit-filled one.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A New Year of Possibilities!

2012 has arrived and with it (I hope and pray) a new attitude on my part and perhaps my wife's, as well.  I have resolved to surrender to my compulsive over-eating (which is ushering me toward insulin), get in better physical shape and get active in a Bible-based Church.  It has been a while since I have had a regular place of worship and I know it would do me a lot of good by bringing me closer to the Lord. Romans 8:28 King James Version (KJV)   28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Post a Comment
Read more

Attraction Rather Than Promotion

A twelve step program I am fond of touts the mantra  “attraction rather than promotion.”   When I was younger and held prisoner by addiction to alcohol and other drugs, well-intentioned clergy, family, friends, doctors and law enforcement would try to promote the idea of either abstinence or self-control to me as I moved brazenly from one jackpot to another.  Usually I heard that I needed to “slow down” or get some sort of handle on things.  Once I was told by a psychiatrist that I needed to find a good woman to help calm me down and live an orderly life (in all fairness, when I think about the stuff I told him, I have to remember that you get garbage out if you put garbage in).  The magic of a recovery program happened for me when I heard somebody tell their story and I was able to relate to it.   The terminal uniqueness I suffered from had finally succumbed to a dent in its armor -in the reality that others may well understand exactly where I was coming...
Post a Comment
Read more

Digital Grapevine

So I just got around to checking out the digital version of the Grapevine magazine.  I have been a subscriber to the audio edition for some time now and the printed edition over the years, as well. After checking it out, I emailed customer service with one important question: can I download the issues to my laptop’s hard drive for offline reading or do I have to view it solely on the Web?  I subscribe to PC World magazine and also get a couple of digital newspapers – in each case I can download them to the machine I wish to read them on for offline use.  One newspaper even allowed me the option of downloading it to my Kindle.  I saw no such choice with the Grapevine and am hoping that’s just a feature I don’t see because I haven’t opted for the actual subscription yet.  I’ll let you know what the answer is when my query is satisfied. By the way, even if the answer turns out to be the “no” I suspect it will be, I will continue to get the audio version of the ...
Post a Comment
Read more