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
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