Different
"Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 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. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever." 1 John 2:15-17
The "world" here in these passages does not refer to people, but everything that our sinful natures crave. None of which comes from God, but from our own selfish desires. As followers of Christ, we are called to be different. We are in the world, but not of the world. Yes, we live here, however, we are not to be influenced by the world, but rather influenced by the Holy Spirit living inside of us.
What sets the believer apart from the rest of the world? It is Christ living inside of you. What do people see when they see you? Do you act any different from those who are lost? Do the words that come out of your mouth sound different? Are the words seasoned with grace? If you are a follower of Christ, your life should show the world this. If you do the same things that "pagans" do, yet claim to be a Christian, no one is going to take you seriously and in fact, you are mocking God.
Being a Christ follower is more than just lip service. Anyone can say that he or she loves God and are saved, however, if their actions don't line up with what they say they believe, the word tells us they are a liar. "God is light, in Him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with Him, yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do no live by the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin." 1 John 1:5-7
I believe that when we are walking by the Spirit, people can sense there is something different about us. You don't have to shout "I am a follower of Christ," because your life is already speaking that. Jesus is our perfect example. He loves unconditionally. He shows no partiality. He forgives. He speaks truth. He helps people and He shows mercy. This is how we are to live. On our own, this is impossible, but with the Holy Spirit, all things are possible.
Paul tells us to examine ourselves to see if we are truly in the faith. 2 Corinthians 13:5 Each one of us needs give serious thought to those words. How do you live when no one is watching? How do you live on the days of the week you aren't in church? Are you going to church on Sunday to just check that off of your list or is there a real desire to fellowship with other believers and hear the word of God preached? What is taking up most of your time? What are you watching on tv? What music do you listen to? Who are the friends you spend the most time with-are they Christ followers? Friend, I am not trying to discourage you, but rather, I want to encourage you to take a good look at your heart. Christ died on the cross and shed His blood so that you and I could have an intimate relationship with Him and be forever free from the grip of this world and the chains that once held us captive. When the Holy Spirit comes and lives in you, He begins to change you from the inside out. The things you once did, you no longer want to do. He takes away our selfish desires and replaces them with His perfect and beautiful desires. This is called transformation and it is a process that will continue until the day we are called home. None of us have arrived yet, but should have the desire to want to be more like Jesus and to know Him more and more.
Life with Christ is not about rules and regulations, but about freedom and a precious relationship with the God who created the heavens, the earth and everything in it. We love because He first loved us. He cares about every detail of your life. Even the hairs on your head are numbered. (Matthew 10:30) The thoughts that He has for you are precious and if you were to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand (Psalm 139:17-18) Friend, He loves you so much. You and I owe it to Him to give our bodies as a living sacrifice-holy and pleasing to Him-this is our spiritual act of worship (Romans 12:1). Choose this day whom you will serve. Let Jesus come in and takeover. Live in reckless abandon to the One who gave it all for you.
The "world" here in these passages does not refer to people, but everything that our sinful natures crave. None of which comes from God, but from our own selfish desires. As followers of Christ, we are called to be different. We are in the world, but not of the world. Yes, we live here, however, we are not to be influenced by the world, but rather influenced by the Holy Spirit living inside of us.
What sets the believer apart from the rest of the world? It is Christ living inside of you. What do people see when they see you? Do you act any different from those who are lost? Do the words that come out of your mouth sound different? Are the words seasoned with grace? If you are a follower of Christ, your life should show the world this. If you do the same things that "pagans" do, yet claim to be a Christian, no one is going to take you seriously and in fact, you are mocking God.
Being a Christ follower is more than just lip service. Anyone can say that he or she loves God and are saved, however, if their actions don't line up with what they say they believe, the word tells us they are a liar. "God is light, in Him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with Him, yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do no live by the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin." 1 John 1:5-7
I believe that when we are walking by the Spirit, people can sense there is something different about us. You don't have to shout "I am a follower of Christ," because your life is already speaking that. Jesus is our perfect example. He loves unconditionally. He shows no partiality. He forgives. He speaks truth. He helps people and He shows mercy. This is how we are to live. On our own, this is impossible, but with the Holy Spirit, all things are possible.
Paul tells us to examine ourselves to see if we are truly in the faith. 2 Corinthians 13:5 Each one of us needs give serious thought to those words. How do you live when no one is watching? How do you live on the days of the week you aren't in church? Are you going to church on Sunday to just check that off of your list or is there a real desire to fellowship with other believers and hear the word of God preached? What is taking up most of your time? What are you watching on tv? What music do you listen to? Who are the friends you spend the most time with-are they Christ followers? Friend, I am not trying to discourage you, but rather, I want to encourage you to take a good look at your heart. Christ died on the cross and shed His blood so that you and I could have an intimate relationship with Him and be forever free from the grip of this world and the chains that once held us captive. When the Holy Spirit comes and lives in you, He begins to change you from the inside out. The things you once did, you no longer want to do. He takes away our selfish desires and replaces them with His perfect and beautiful desires. This is called transformation and it is a process that will continue until the day we are called home. None of us have arrived yet, but should have the desire to want to be more like Jesus and to know Him more and more.
Life with Christ is not about rules and regulations, but about freedom and a precious relationship with the God who created the heavens, the earth and everything in it. We love because He first loved us. He cares about every detail of your life. Even the hairs on your head are numbered. (Matthew 10:30) The thoughts that He has for you are precious and if you were to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand (Psalm 139:17-18) Friend, He loves you so much. You and I owe it to Him to give our bodies as a living sacrifice-holy and pleasing to Him-this is our spiritual act of worship (Romans 12:1). Choose this day whom you will serve. Let Jesus come in and takeover. Live in reckless abandon to the One who gave it all for you.
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