Growing In Faith
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Posted: January 21, 2023
Author: Kerry Lytle James 1:8, New Living Translation "Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable and everything they do." |
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"No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money." (Matthew 6:24, NLT)
Ask yourself this: are we allowing one foot to stay in the world while the other is in God’s church? We are in the world, but we aren’t supposed to be of the world. God understands that we can’t put ourselves in a bubble separating ourselves from the world. However, we aren’t supposed to get caught up in the world’s way of living: selfishness, greed, strife, envy, gossip, enmity with God, etc. We are to be different, set apart by how we live our lives.
Well, it got me to self-examine my conduct. There are times when I get caught up in what is going on in the world. I give into fear. I get angry. There are times that I get envious. In other words, there are many times I fall short in how a Christian should be.
I know that we all sin and fall short of the glory of God. I know that this is why we need Christ. However, it doesn’t give me an excuse to not have my feet always firmly planted in Christ. It does not give me an excuse to not hold every thought captive in Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5), so that I can overcome the stronghold of the world. Christ gives us all the Holy Spirit to help combat the world around us. He understands our struggles. In fact, He prayed for His disciples, and I believe for all of His people, for God to not take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one, Satan, the ruler of this world (John 17:15).
He knows that alone we can’t conquer the pulls of the world. That is why we need Christ and His Spirit to guide us daily, to strengthen us when we are weak, and to help us to discern what is “the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:2b). In order to do this, we have to be “all in” daily. We have to listen to the Holy Spirit within ourselves. We have to make sure we put on the full Armor of God first thing in the morning because “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12).
Satan wants us to become distracted by the world. He wants us to become lukewarm. We can’t let him win. We have something greater than this world to help us, guide us, forgive us, cleanse us, love us, and eventually give us eternal life. So, therefore, when we face trials or we watch too much news to the point we become angry or whatever else that tries to trip us up in our walk in Christ, we need to change our viewpoint. We need to “set [our] minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth” (Colossians 3:2, NLT). Let go of things that are of the earth, and “put on therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, a heart of compassion, kindness, lowliness, humility and perseverance; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other” (Colossians 3:12-13, NLT). And above all “walk in love, which is the bond of perfection” (Colossians 3:14, NLT).
The truth is, it is impossible to fully follow Jesus when you are still chasing after this world. Believers in Christ are called to be “set apart ones.” We don’t straddle the line. We stand on the right side of the line and call others to life. John 10:10 (NLT) says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
Don’t miss out on the abundant life Jesus has for you and I. Plant both feet. Embrace what God says is good. And take part in the adventure and life He has called you to, both here and in heaven.
It is impossible to fully follow Jesus when you are still chasing after this world.
