Lecrae – “We Don’t” (Rap-a-long) feat. R-Swift. From the album “Rebel.”
Strange Bedfellows or The Real “War of the Worlds”
Romans 8:5-7 (KJV)
“5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.”
Life makes strange bedfellows. As I get older, I have come to realize that physical and intellectual growth and aging do not always mean growth in wisdom. Christians who fail to grow spiritually lack wisdom pertaining to the things of God, and often make foolish choices. As with many other things in life, the foolish acts of others are often easily detected because they play out in front of us. Perhaps it is because I am a woman that the foolishness of women at times seems so obvious, wicked and thoroughly unnecessary.
For generations, women have been taught to value themselves as they are valued by others. We can be Daddy’s girl for years before we become someone’s wife. Women have been indoctrinated for millennia to see themselves as property. Now that we are in the 21st Century and live in the bosom of an “enlightened” nation, I find that this is an old habit that is exceedingly hard to bury. Seeing yourself in any way as someone else’s property or right before seeing ourselves as daughters of the Most High God is extremely dangerous to the Christian Woman. Parents, husbands, children, jobs and friends are dear but when they are more dear to us than God, the door is open for Satan to enter because idolatry is his playground and the major product of his workshop.
An example of this dangerous folly caught my attention in a church I attended several years ago. It was a family church, and as such, much that pertained to the church’s activities were carried out by the Pastor’s sisters. The youngest sister was a single mother who was in an on and off relationship with a young man who had a drinking problem. The Pastor’s older sister one day told me that the younger sister was entreating the Lord to the young man’s salvation. She asked me to join them in prayer that the young man would come to know the Lord. Because I had observed that the younger sister was in an intimate relationship with the young man, I mentioned quietly and sincerely that younger sister’s relationship with the young man was fraught with problems, and that the prayer needed to be for her obedience to the mandates of the Lord, as well has for her boyfriend’s salvation. I also mentioned that the Bible instructs us to not be “unequally yoked” together with unbelievers and that we should abstain from sexual immorality.
The older sister looked at me as if I had hit her between the eyes with a brick. Her expression said that she was offended by what I had to say. It was as if I wasn’t supposed to see that aspect of the situation being presented, and if I did see it, I should not have spoken about it. The Bible on the other hand says clearly that older women are to instruct younger women in the church, and I was one of the oldest women in the church, so I felt obligated to teach what the Bible had to say on the subject. My insight and comments were not welcomed. That incident was the last time anyone in that church asked me to pray with them about anything. I knew then that my days at that church were numbered.
Sexual immorality has been the “pet dragon” in the house of faith for far too long.
It is written:
2 Corinthians 6:14
Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
1 Corinthians 6:18
Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.
Regardless of what is the moral fashion of the times, the Bible makes it plain. As the verses above state, the carnal or natural mind is naturally contrary to the will of God and the things of God. In other words, if left to our own devices, most of us would choose what we like rather than what is right. That we should think that the Lord will bless our sinful behavior and duplicitous requests is both ignorant, arrogant and foolish. God is righteous and holy. He expects us to be the same (Leviticus 11:45).
Many confuse righteousness with self righteousness. They are not the same. It is one thing to represent that which is good and right, and other thing to arrogantly present that which is right as if the rightness of what we are presenting is seated within us. The rightness of what we as Christians present to the world is rooted in the righteousness of Almighty God. We are but the messengers and ambassadors of the the word of God and the Kingdom of God. This is a service that should be carried out with humility and a willingness to hear and learn.
When correction is given, it should be carried out in love and humility. Likewise, correction should be received and learned from with love and humility. The Word of God, when applied to a festering wound such as sexual immorality, hurts. Those who are being corrected should not be confused by the pain caused by the application of the word of God to a guilty conscience and presume that the correction is being given in order to cause pain. The purpose of correction is to cause separation from sin. Turning our backs on sinful behaviors hurts because we are clinging to something that the Lord has determined must be removed from our lives. It hurts because when we cling to wrong behaviors we position ourselves to be torn between two worlds. Just as when it hurts when we tear a muscle or ligament, it hurts when we are torn between the ways of Heaven and Hell.
The pain of correction is unavoidable. The life that is offered to us by Jesus is “holy, harmless and undefiled” (Hebrews 7:26). Holiness embraces life values that line up with the will of God for our lives. Holiness is a life of peace that passes all understanding and is able to sustain and strengthen us through the storms of life.
Reflection: Knowing that the carnal mind in enmity against God, and that the natural mind does not desire the things of God what then is my prayer? My prayer is this:
Most gracious and loving Heavenly Father, I praise Your holy name. Thank you Lord for making a way for me to know your purity and holiness through Christ Jesus. Hallelujah Lord, thank you for the blood of the Lamb of God that cleanses me from sin. Help me Lord to live a life free of deception. Help me to cling to your values of purity. Make me to know beyond any doubt that I belong to you physically, mentally and spiritually, and that I am not free to embrace choices that are contrary to your will. Help me to remember that sexual immorality and all choices in favor of sinful behavior is like taking fire to my bosom, and in doing so I will be burned. Help me Lord, to live a life that is pleasing to you in thought, word and deed. These things I ask in the precious and holy name of our Lord Jesus. Amen. and Amen.
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“We Don’t” Video Uploaded on Youtube.com by Uploaded by theWanting on Nov 25, 2008. Verneda Lights and E-graphx Omnimedia have no ownership in this video. It is used for educational purposes only.
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Related articles
- The Facts About Sexual Immorality (pastorpaulvbsblog.blogspot.com)
- The Sexually Immoral, Impure and Covetous Person; That Would Be the Old Me and You. (goldenbible.wordpress.com)
- Salvation’s Need Of The Scripture (samuelatgilgal.wordpress.com)
- Discerning God’s Will For You (samuelatgilgal.wordpress.com)
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