Passage of the Day: 1st John 2: 15 – 17 … 15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. … 17 The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever. [note the underlined emphasis on verse 15]
My Journal for Today: John MacArthur, in his Strength for Today devotional on this date, asks, “Do you find yourself being repelled by the world?”
Oh sure, maybe we get “sucked in” or enticed occasionally to Satan’s system, which is “the world” [as described in 1st John 2: 16] because of our still sinful and deceit-ridden hearts (see Jer. 17: 9). However, in Christ, true Christians generally can recognize another of the signs of our salvation outlined in today’s passage – that of a general disdain for the way the world does business. As MacArthur goes on to put it, “When someone becomes a Christian, he (or she) acquires a new set of goals and motivations; the world and its lusts (i.e., values) no longer attract, but repel, (the real Christian).” As believers and followers of Christ, we find ourselves, more and more over time, being drawn to Godly, Kingdom values – i.e., things eternal (see v. 17 today); and the more Spiritually mature the Christian becomes, the more he/she will be IN the world but not OF the world.
This growing disdain of “the world’s” way of living is called a “Christian world-view;” and it’s a term that is being used more-and-more in the times I write this to describe the way Christians approach life, discern it’s Satanic systems, and make choices that are Godly, rather than selfish ones. And in these post-modern days the Christian world view seems, at least to this Christian observer, to be polarizing itself more and more away from the Satan driven methods in our world. So, if/when you begin to note your heart/mind separating from the worldly ways, you should recognize this as another sign that you are truly saved. It becomes another “red flag” of our salvation; and it should help to build our confidence in Christ’s eternal presence [i.e., His Holy Spirit] in our hearts/minds.
My Prayer Today: Help me to clearly see Your way, Lord, and to avoid the world’s. Amen
Showing posts with label Christian worldview. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christian worldview. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Monday, May 02, 2011
May 2, 2011 … Opposing the World = Hatred
Passage of the Day: John 15: 18 – 19 … 18 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated Me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.”
My Journal for Today: I don’t think it could be denied today that there is great enmity between the Christian world view and that of so many other sociopolitical forces, organizations, and religions in this world. However, in reality, we Christians should not be surprised that our Christ-centered world view is so despised, even to the point of outright persecution by various geo-political-religious factions.
As today’s passage indicates, from Jesus’ own words, once we are chosen by God and we choose to receive Christ as our Lord in faith, our new operating system (i.e., a heart as defined in 2nd Cor. 5: 17 or Gal. 2: 20) works in direct antipathy to the “kosmos,” i.e., the world, as devised and operated by Satan through sinful man. No … there should be no surprise that we, who hold a Christ-centered world view, will be hated in and by this world.
Christians simply do (or at least, should) see things differently from non-believers; and we are compelled to act differently as well. And that’s why the Apostle Paul exhorted Christians “…that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe.” (see Phil. 2: 15)
So, I guess that begs the question for me [or us]: “Do I [we] shine like a Christ-like star in the midst of a dark and perverse generation?” Not brightly enough – at least for me, I’m afraid. Certainly and collectively the church does not shine a bright enough star with a divorce rate which some report to be even higher than that of the so-called secular world. What kind of a star is shining from the data reporting that over 50% [some surveys report over 70%] of Christian men are deeply into habitual sexual sin? How can we do what Jesus charged in Matt. 5: 16, … to shine our lights so that God, the Father, will be glorified, … if we are no different from or even worse than the world? How can we profess a love for God, if we love the world and create idols of from that world in our lives (see 1st John 2: 15-16)?
Yes, we are IN the world; but we cannot be OF the world and be Christians. It’s only when we take God’s word seriously, prayerfully devoting our lives as “living sacrifices” (see Rom. 12: 1, 2) to the truth of the Bible that we’re going to be able to shine Christ’s light into this darkened world.
My Prayer Today: Shine Your light in me, Lord! Amen
My Journal for Today: I don’t think it could be denied today that there is great enmity between the Christian world view and that of so many other sociopolitical forces, organizations, and religions in this world. However, in reality, we Christians should not be surprised that our Christ-centered world view is so despised, even to the point of outright persecution by various geo-political-religious factions.
As today’s passage indicates, from Jesus’ own words, once we are chosen by God and we choose to receive Christ as our Lord in faith, our new operating system (i.e., a heart as defined in 2nd Cor. 5: 17 or Gal. 2: 20) works in direct antipathy to the “kosmos,” i.e., the world, as devised and operated by Satan through sinful man. No … there should be no surprise that we, who hold a Christ-centered world view, will be hated in and by this world.
Christians simply do (or at least, should) see things differently from non-believers; and we are compelled to act differently as well. And that’s why the Apostle Paul exhorted Christians “…that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe.” (see Phil. 2: 15)
So, I guess that begs the question for me [or us]: “Do I [we] shine like a Christ-like star in the midst of a dark and perverse generation?” Not brightly enough – at least for me, I’m afraid. Certainly and collectively the church does not shine a bright enough star with a divorce rate which some report to be even higher than that of the so-called secular world. What kind of a star is shining from the data reporting that over 50% [some surveys report over 70%] of Christian men are deeply into habitual sexual sin? How can we do what Jesus charged in Matt. 5: 16, … to shine our lights so that God, the Father, will be glorified, … if we are no different from or even worse than the world? How can we profess a love for God, if we love the world and create idols of from that world in our lives (see 1st John 2: 15-16)?
Yes, we are IN the world; but we cannot be OF the world and be Christians. It’s only when we take God’s word seriously, prayerfully devoting our lives as “living sacrifices” (see Rom. 12: 1, 2) to the truth of the Bible that we’re going to be able to shine Christ’s light into this darkened world.
My Prayer Today: Shine Your light in me, Lord! Amen
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