It’s not just blatant sinful activities that we can become accustomed
to, it’s the pervading secular mind-set.
To meditate/pray upon
John 17:14-16 “I have given them your word and the
world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the
world. My prayer is not
that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil
one. They are not of the world, even as I
am not of it.”
1 John 2:15-17 ‘Do not love the world or anything in the world. If
anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For
everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the
pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The
world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives
forever.’
Jesus repeats (as we saw last week) this idea that Christians are not of
this world.
Like the proverbial frog in hot water, we can grow accustomed and
complacent toward the unbelieving worlds’ values and activities. It’s not just
blatant sinful activities that we become accustomed to, it’s the pervading
secular mind-set; too easily we seek solutions to problems not in prayer and
the application of scripture, but in the methods that are prescribed in our
secular culture.
An example of this is Materialism; this is an obvious obsession to many.
The belief that there is no spiritual world, only material, with the accompanying
desire to find fulfilment in possessions is ubiquitous. But is this a ‘faith’
that we have imbibed? Do you see wealth as God’s gift to be used for His
service or your fulfilment?
How are you
doing in this?
A really good exercise to help to sharpen our spiritual senses is
fasting. I dare you to take a 3-day fast from all entertainment that is not
directly Christ centred.
Take some time to pray (with your spouse if married) about your
generosity and giving to the church in particular. If you have children, take time
to teach them about how the use of money is so vital.
You can catch up on all the messages in the
John series at:
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