by David Brenneman
"Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love." 1 Corinthians 16:13-14
"But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him. Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing." 1 Thessalonians 5:8-11.
"All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things edify. Let no one seek his own good, but that of his neighbor." 1 Corinthians 10:23-24.
"All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything." 1 Corinthians 6:12.
What has mastery over you?
What has a foothold, a grip, a chain around your neck?
What have you been convinced of that you tell yourself isn't really that bad that in all truthfulness the Bible says isn't to be trifled with?
We all have something that from days gone by Satan's gotten into our hearts and minds that isn't spiritually healthy to be partakers thereof.
"But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup." 1 Corinthians 11:28.
"Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test?" 2 Corinthians 13:5.
"But each one must examine his own work, and then he will have reason for boasting in regard to himself alone, and not in regard to another." Galatians 6:4.
"For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep. But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world." 1 Corinthians 11:30-32.
Think about the things that you're allowing to run free through your heart and mind. Things that do nothing to sanctify the Lord in your heart. Things that if Jesus physically stopped by to visit that you, if you were honest, you would be fearful to bring up or participate in. I have them, you have them.
We have things that we are still reaping the sour fruits of that we experimented with early in our lives that we haven't found freedom from. We have things that rather than fight them that we just let these sins run their course.
We are to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. I likely don't try hard enough or I wouldn't be still dealing with such things.
Same goes for you my Dear Reader.
The behind the scenes of your life are the work of God through the Spirit of God to conform us to God the Son.
We can easily be swayed by the right description, right flavor, right memory. We see generations swayed toward accepting sinful practices as if there were nothing wrong with them then these same people wonder why they're not successful at life.
While we have access to the wonders of the so-called genius of mankind we shouldn't partake or participate in much of it if it certainly puts the work of God in Christ Jesus at risk in our lives.
It's no wonder that much of the world is taken in by AI. We have a generation or two that's being taught not to be critical thinkers. Satan's schemes include people not thinking for themselves. Getting them to surely be sheep lead to the slaughter. Happily running off a cliff.
Not just AI but in the news that we see and hear reported to us. Their agenda is to convince you to let them do all the hard thinking for you. Just accept what they tell you because they have your best interests in mind.
Political figures want you to blindly trust them and their efforts. Most don't care at all as long as you support them enough to get them a second term.
We are always looking for entertainment that takes us away from thinking about life and life's real choices and challenges.
We have been convinced that studying isn't for people who really want to get ahead.
Yet we're told quite the opposite in the Bible. To be in the Word daily. To be examining our lives to see if we have anything hindering our walk with Jesus. To pray without ceasing. Prayer being a weapon that Satan's got no defense against other than to twist our thoughts so that we try to pray for the wrong things.
Pride has everything to do with our life's choices. People convinced that their ways have nothing wrong with them. That it's the fault of the other person.
We can make anything more important than a healthy diet of the Word of God and prayer. We can make a television series a god in our lives. We can make podcasts a god in our lives. We can make work a god in our lives. W can make sports a god in our lives. We can even make family and friends gods in our lives.
Anything we are holding, other than our own cross, can be a god in our lives. I do this, you do this. We all do this.
In my younger years I used to forget to read my Bible and just dismiss it thinking I will just catch up tomorrow. Then tomorrow came and I forgot again. Then the day I was supposed to have my reading journal filled in was coming and I had to really stop and catch up.
Today I will sacrifice sleep to stay caught up. It's worth more to me than my sleep. Getting up earlier than most to be reading my Bible to write these posts is worth it. I get to see where God's taking it and after 6 years it's still going strong.
This isn't to say that I can't get sucked into thoughts about this or that. That my priorities aren't always right. I get forgetful easy enough. I am getting older after all.
My encouragement to you is to indeed examine yourselves to see where you can improve your relationship with Jesus. See where you are wasting the mere minutes per day that you have. See where you are falling short.
Pray for help in getting your life right before Him with whom we have to do.
Look behind the curtain of your life and see what needs to change and change it.
It's not just transformers that are more than meets the eye.
All New American Standard Bible Scripture Excerpts used by permission. (C) 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. A corporation not for profit.
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