Romans 8:5-7a “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. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God.
One thing that this pandemic has caused is taking a break from the normal routine and allowed other interests to become available and accessible by the freed-up time. Even before the shut-downs and stay-at-home orders, I had been watching the ideological climate of the nation, as the watchmen of our country polled and surveyed the thoughts and opinions of citizens (secular & people of faith alike), while knowing all along that there will always be differing attitudes, beliefs and judgments because the Word of God tells us that there would be division in this judged fallen world. Jesus said in John 3:18-20 “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in [Christ as Savior]. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. The division is between the good as defined by Creator God and the sinful rebellious evil of the flesh.
The 1828 Webster’s dictionary defines the word “Good” as: 1. Complete or sufficiently perfect in its kind; having the physical qualities best adapted to its design and use; opposed to bad, imperfect, corrupted, impaired. The Bible says, And God saw every thing that he had made, and behold, it was very good. Genesis 1:31. 2. Having moral qualities best adapted to its design and use, or the qualities which God's law requires; virtuous; pious; religious; applied to persons, and opposed to bad, vitious (deliberately immoral), wicked, evil. The darkness of humanistic sin and unbelief will redefine “good” as evil, and evil as good to meet their reprobate flesh desires.
James 4:1-4 “Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. The word “world” here is defined as: the ungodly multitude; the whole mass of men alienated from God, and therefore hostile to the cause of Christ, which is the God-rejecting world system.
John 8:12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
The Lord Jesus tells the way out of darkness; step out into the light; accept and follow Him. But, you have to know who you following and why before you believe enough in the concept and idea of the Gospel message of sin and salvation by the loving grace of God through a necessary substitutionary Christ to be convinced wholeheartedly, see the light of truth, repent, accept and be reconciled, transformed, regeneration and restoration from the inside out in conversion in saving faith.
John 3:35-36 “[God] The Father loves [Jesus Christ] the Son, and has given all things into His hand. He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
As a Follower of Jesus, I would like to focus this downtime and ongoing on discipleship and Jesus’ Great Commission for seeing a spiritual revival. God knows the nation and world needs it. It with take putting on the full armor of God and standing firm against opposition, but the world needs Christ; for so many do not know the Savior of the world yet, for those who are morally rebelling and walking away from the One that brings life and “real” living that is pleasing in the eyes of God. It’s going to take dedication, devotion, desire and discipleship.
1 John 5:12-13 “He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.”
It is not love to obey worldly secular mankind who promotes and demands sin against a just and holy Creator God. Unity with darkness is condemnation because sin is death; not life. Everyone sees and experiences division in the nation and world, yet the God-rejecting world system creates the division by promoting and doing what God’s Word tells everyone not to do or by not doing what the Bible tells them to do but are not doing. It gets down to faith, which leads to love & unity or unbelief, which leads to hate & division. God, Jesus & the Holy Spirit (the Triune God) that created everything is the true common ground. May the church, the body of Christ, united with the Christ - Lord of lords as its head, go and make disciples of all nations, teaching them everything that He said.
Blessings on you and yours.
Unity in Christ, Brian
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