Different Drum

Wonder why I keep beating the same drum about how children of God should behave like it if they are serious (and not call themselves by His name if they’re not - 2 Tim. 2:19)? Because in the Bible, God gave us a picture of what it means to belong to Jesus. When we are members of the Body of Christ, who is HOLY, then it is like our defiling Him when we sin deliberately. (Heb. 10:26-29) This is particularly true when we sin against our bodies (i.e. sexual immorality - any intimate physical relationship other than that in marriage between one man and one woman), because we are one Spirit with Him and He dwells IN us. (Eph. 5:22-23, 1Cor. 6:12-20, Col. 1:24-26) So committing those sins is actually profaning the temple where He dwells. Whoever is willing to defile and profane Christ and His temple does NOT love Him and apparently, does not even KNOW Him or they would understand how WRONG it is. (1John 3:6, 1Cor. 3:16-17) They would value His holiness, beauty, glory, honor and gift of eternal life MORE than the absolute GARBAGE this world has to offer, including temporary physical pleasures.

When we who believe live like the rest of the world, not caring about what pleases God, that is compared in the Bible to selling our inheritance rights for a bowl of soup like Esau did. (Heb. 12:14-17) This is not something to take lightly–not by a long shot! (1 Peter 4:17-18) We are told that to love the world is hostility toward God and it will jeopardize our glorious inheritance. (James 4:4, 1John 2:15-17, 1Cor. 6:9-10, Gal. 5:19-21, Rev. 21:7-8, Rev. 22:10-21) Choosing to “fit in” amounts to loving ourselves and others more than God. (Matt. 10:37-39, 2Tim. 3:12-13) That is not how we go about ensuring we will hear “well done, good and faithful servant” when He returns. (Matt. 24:26-25:46, John 12:25-26, John 14:2-3, 1Thess. 4:16-17, 1Cor. 15:51-52)

The Holy Spirit dwelling in believers has not always been the case–it’s a profound mystery of this age regarding the Church (not an institution or building, but the gathering of all called out believers in, and followers of, Jesus.) (Eph. 3:6, Col. 1:18) We have received mercy and the opportunity to be grafted in to Israel’s blessings due to their disobedience (for which most of them were “hardened of heart.”) There is a “full number of Gentiles” to come in and then God will “unblind” Israel. (Romans 11) So in other words this is a limited time offer–it ends when our personal time is up or when the full number of Gentiles comes in and Jesus returns (all of which only God knows when they will happen).

We have entered into the blessings of the firstborn Son of God (Rom. 8:29, Col. 1, Heb. 1:6, Heb. 12:22-24), yet most of us don't treasure this unimaginably great inheritance enough to give up worthless "treasure" for a short time here on earth? If that’s the case, then we will get what we deserve, which is at the least great loss of reward if we truly do believe (1Cor. 3:15) and at the worst, we will not end up where we thought we would if we are only pretending to believe, as though we could fool God. (Rev. 2:20-23) God is as He said He is in the Bible–we are NOT free to invent our own “improved” version of Him–one who “understands” why we “can’t” stop committing our favorite sin, perhaps? Just know this–everyone is either FOR or AGAINST Jesus. (Matt. 12:30, 1John 2:23)

Paul said we need to examine ourselves to see if we’re even in the faith if sin still enslaves us. (2Cor. 13:5, Romans 6) It's incredibly sad how many are deceived. (Jude 1:4, 2Pet. 2:18-22) No wonder Jesus said it was a narrow gate to pass through. (Matt. 7:13-14) People just keep doing the same as has always been done (except that what is “acceptable” gets worse over time, snowballing), and doing the same as they see people around themselves doing, forgetting that Jesus said the broad path leads to destruction!

I wish when I beat this same drum over and over again, that everyone who needs to would hear it and the tune would get stuck in ALL of our heads until we actually sing along (heed the warnings, like those in Rev. 2-3). The Bible tells us to encourage one another in our walk with God–He knows it’s not easy to go against the flow. (Heb. 10:24-25, Heb. 3:13, Titus 3:8, James 5:19-20, Matt. 5:14-16) This “song” (God's message to the Church) needs to stick with each of us throughout every day. It is so ironic that when we say we want to “march to the beat of a different drum,” we mean focusing on ourselves as unique individuals–but that's the wrong kind of "different drum." God called us to die to our old sinful selves and live to Christ. (Gal. 2:20, Col. 3, 2Cor. 5:14-15, Rom. 6:6) That is the way to get off the broad path and onto the narrow one. That is the different drum to march to–not the one the deceived world marches to, but the one our Savior marched to.

The one who overcomes is the one who LOVES God more than themselves, enough to want what He wants and always choose His will and His way, no matter what. That is exactly what Jesus did, and He is our example to follow. (1Peter. 2:21, 1John 2:5-6) Jesus said if we love Him, we will obey. (John 14:15-21, John 15:10, 13-14) The Bible also says that the wonderful things He has prepared are for those who LOVE Him. (1Cor. 2:9-10) Who couldn’t love Jesus after He laid down His life for us? (John 10:14-18) Let’s wake up and be ready to rejoice! (Rev. 3:1-3, Eph. 1:15-22, 2Tim. 4:8, 1John 2:28-29)

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not become partners with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. Ephesians 5:1-21

You can download this article as a pdf on the top tab at my other blog: http://layoutfortoday.blogspot.com/

Put on Christ

Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all. Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Colossians 3:2-15

Question of the Day: Would it take a gentle rinse for God to wash away all of your selfishness or a pressure washer? For me, I think that a gentle or moderate rinse would get rid of most of it, but the problem is that last bit. I'm afraid it would take a serious pressure washer to remove that. How about you?

The reason I ask is that I believe selfishness is at the root of all sin. Many say pride is at the root, but I disagree with them except to the extent they mean selfishness. All pride is selfishness and all pride is sin, but not all sin is pride, whereas all sin is selfishness. Why else are we called to die to SELF and live to Christ? Because what comes out of our hearts defiles us, that's why. Pride is one of those things, but they are all "self" and that's why we need Jesus to regenerate us and fill us with Himself. He's the only one who can help us. Only He is perfect.

For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person.  Matthew 15:19-20 a

Most people, at least at some point in their lives, are too proud to acknowledge that they are created beings who answer to God. At the core of it is wanting one's own SELF to be in control.  Some of us spend the majority of our lives denying who we are:  created beings answerable to our Creator.  By denying His existence, we are left with what we really want--to be in charge.  Even when we acknowledge that God exists, very few of us are truly willing to submit to His will in all things instead of exercising our own will.  We think we know what we want and what is best for us, but God's way is better than what we thought we wanted.  Look at the evil that has been done in rebellion against and defiance of God and His perfect, beautiful ways.  This is not the way God designed it to be, and for those who lay down their selfish pride, all will one day be perfect again.  For those who don't, the evil will increase to an unbearable level and will never end.

God has given us evidence of Himself not only in the Bible, but in everything He created.  We know in our hearts that He exists, so why do so many deny it? Because if we have to answer to God, then we have to admit that our ways are not right.  By our very nature what is in our selfish hearts is sin.  Let's look at the definitions of the list of earthly behaviors that we believers are to put to death because they incur God's wrath:

• earthly: wordly, often implies a contrast with what is heavenly or spiritual.
• sexual immorality: evil, wrong, licentious, dishonorable, depraved activity involving sexual organs, against God's design for gender and marriage.
• https://www.gotquestions.org/sexual-immorality.html
• http://www.challies.com/articles/god-hates-sexual-immorality
• impurity: contaminated, degraded, corrupted.
• passion: strong and barely controllable emotion.
• evil desire: strongly wish for or want something profoundly immoral or wicked
• covetousness: inordinately or wrongly desirous of wealth or possessions, often those that belong to someone else; greedy.
• idolatry: extreme admiration, love, or reverence for something or someone.
• anger: a strong feeling of annoyance, displeasure, or hostility.
• wrath: vengeance or punishment as the consequence of anger.
• malice: the intention or desire to do evil; ill will.
• slander: oral defamation, in which someone tells one or more persons an untruth about another which untruth will harm the reputation of the person defamed.
• obscene talk: uttering words that are offensive or disgusting by (God's) standards of morality and decency.
• lie: a false statement made with deliberate intent to deceive; an intentional untruth

I will add this one that's not on the list, but needless to say stems from selfishness.  Believers are only allowed to boast in the Lord.  pride: a feeling or deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one's own achievements, the achievements of those with whom one is closely associated, or from qualities or possessions that are widely admired.

Besides not wanting to admit and submit to God, most people are also at some point are too proud to admit they can't handle things on their own and that they need God. The center of it is SELF reliance. Needless to say, coveting, greed and stealing are wanting to have for one's SELF what others have. Committing sins against another's person out of lust and/or violence is disregard for the other person's well being in favor of the desire of one's own SELF. Speaking ill of others is a way of feeling more "right" or "better" than they are, tearing them down and building up SELF. Someone who mistreats or disrespects others, especially their parent(s), is valuing their own SELF above them. Lying is often a cover to prevent being held responsible for things done by SELF.

Let's look at another commandment (we are not under the law, but we obey it because we love and respect the One who created it for our good - if we do not believe, then we cannot please God by our actions - faith MUST come FIRST). How about honoring the Sabbath? Most people consider attending worship services to fulfill that these days (although there is more to it). Why don't people go? Because of SELF. They have something in their life that they are doing with that time instead, whether it's work, participating in or watching sports, sleeping, etc. God gives His people rest. Anyone who says they have no choice and cannot make time for God is not trusting in Him and is not putting Him first. He takes care of His own. He can do anything! Feeding, clothing and sheltering His children is not too hard for Him.

Another reason people are not active members of their local assembly of believers (the church, which is not a building) is that they don't want to be exposed to truth that doesn't agree with their own SELF-determined views.  They like to pick and choose which parts of the Bible are applicable to their own SELF. They stubbornly and selfishly "protect" themselves from anything that would upset their self-designed world by staying away from anyone they don't agree with.  That includes pastors who are God's servants to shepherd His sheep and those who are supposed to be their brothers and sisters in Christ.  They can't tolerate people who speak truth that they don't agree with, even when its biblical, but believers are meant to hold one another accountable to the only truth, which is that in the Bible.

"Spiritual but not religious" is a cop out!  It just means that someone a) does not want to make time for gathering with other believers, or b) they do not want to be exposed to any doctrine they disagree with, or c) they do not love their brothers and sisters in Christ as Jesus commanded them to, of which writers of the epistles repeatedly reminded us, or d) they do not want to be expected to give a financial offering out of funds they consider their own (but everything we have is a gift from God and belongs to Him).  Those are just a few underlying reasons, but the fact is that about 80% of professed believers do not even read their Bibles regularly and approximately 50% do not attend worship services.  If the 50% is also part of the 80% (which is very likely), then how will their lives be guided by God?  The Holy Spirit reminds us of what we have already been taught and teaches us so we can understand what we read in the Bible.  There are many supposed "prophets" on Youtube who claim to hear from God directly, but the sad fact is that their desire to be special has blinded them from discerning that the "revelations" they receive do not agree with the Bible and thus, they are false and not of God.

Seek God FIRST. Saying we are obeying that basic command but doing nothing about it is deceitful.  (Faith without works is dead--God wants to be worshiped in spirit and TRUTH.)  And if He is not first, then that is idolizing someone or something above Him! Love God with ALL your heart, mind, soul and strength, more than yourself or anyone or anything. He summarized the rest of the commandments as one: Love your neighbor as yourself--because by doing that the rest will be fulfilled. We can't do ANY of them without setting aside our selfish SELF ("dying" to it inside) and letting Him have complete control. Our new list, to replace the old one above, looks like this:

• renew: restore, re-establish (our relationship with God), make fresh and new.
• chosen: selected, elected, favored, appointed.
• holy: dedicated or consecrated to God or a religious purpose; sacred.
• beloved: dearly loved, precious, treasured, cherished, adored.
• compassionate: feeling or showing sympathy and concern for others.
• kindness: the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate.
• humility: a modest or low view of one's own importance; humbleness.
• meekness: humbly patient or docile, as under provocation from others.
• patience: the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset.
• forgiving: able to stop feeling angry or resentful toward (someone) for an offense, flaw, or mistake.
• love: an intense feeling of deep affection.
• called: invitation to leave former state (in order to follow Jesus), to join assembly with other invitees.
• http://www.ligonier.org/blog/ekklesia-called-out-ones/
• thankful: expressing gratitude and relief.

All we are and have is a gift from God. Our purpose is to love, worship, serve, honor, exalt and obey Him. Those are all wrapped up together, not a la carte. And if we truly worship and honor God above all else, then we won't believe others when they lie about Him (even if they "mean well" but are deceived). We'll read the Bible and "side with" the one, true God as He has revealed Himself to us (not the invention of any man), because whoever isn't FOR Him is against Him.

"Being on God's side" includes supporting those who hold to the truth and not supporting those who are against God.  We can't avoid evil altogether, but we can control what we watch on television, which movies we go to, what kind of music we listen to, where we go on vacation (is it a place where they go out of their way to accommodate people who are opposed to Jesus, where they encourage sin in the name of tolerance and freedom?), how high of an importance we place on things that have no eternal value, such as sports (how many sport celebrities live as enemies of Jesus?), what we consider appropriate entertainment and activities for a child of God, whether we are respecters of people (celebrities, again--very few of them worship the one, true God faithfully) when God said that He is not and neither are we to be (and do we "love" our favorite celebrities--more than God?), etc.  Are we quick to distance ourselves from anyone who rocks the boat by refusing to compromise on God's truth?  Do we want to be liked by the world more than to honor God in all we think, say and do?  If we don't think any of this matters to Him, then do we truly believe in Him for who He really is?  Do we actually believe what He said in the Bible is true, applicable to us today, and that He sees all we do and even into our very thoughts and hearts?

My prayer today is that God will take His pressure washer (and help me to bear it despite the discomfort and even likely pain) and cleanse me of every last trace of selfishness. I want to be able to set aside myself and my own comfort the way that Jesus demonstrated for us so that I can do all of His will and only His will. Only then will I be able to truly look forward to the day when He judges me with great joy, with assurance of hearing "well done, good and faithful servant." Only then will people see Christ in me and want to taste and see that the Lord is good for themselves.  What about you?

Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained. Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.  Philippians 3:12-21