The US Army isn’t the only one telling its men and women to be all they can be. God’s army of men and women, teenagers, and boys and girls, likewise, declare the importance to strive for excellence.
Scripture puts it like this: “be holy as I am Holy (1 Peter 1:16). When looking at our current Christian landscape, one might conclude that this statement is a suggestion, but this is far from a casual remark! Rather it is a command to whosoever calls himself a Christian.
We may not feel like being all that God wants us to be, but the war we are in necessitates it. While we know about the threat of terror via ISIS and the perils of ebola and the tyranny of human trafficking, we are too often unaware of a greater war, namely the daily spiritual persecution we face.
Webster’s defines persecution as the act or practice of persecuting especially those who differ in origin, religion, or social outlook, and John 10:10 paints a graphic picture of its intensity.
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
While the context of this verse links ‘thief’ with the religious leaders of Jesus’ day, the thief is anyone that comes up against The Shepherd, and Satan is the epitome of this thief.
The tactics that Satan wields are both powerful and subtle: anything to put us off kilter in living well for God: tactics such as watching something inappropriate on television, or willingly taking time to trade off-color jokes with your co-workers, or thinking the fight you had with your spouse is of little consequence…because you always have them, or not addressing your children’s rude behavior because all the kids are now doing it, etc.
While we may pay little attention to these things, these careless actions of ours are building up our tolerance for such behaviors!
Let me give you a make-shift, crude-but-useful test for ‘holiness’. If you don’t think that little children should be doing what you are doing, then STOP.
Stopping is not hard. It is impossible without Christ. We may for a time discipline ourselves towards improvement, but ever so subtly, life happens, and we slip back into a rut.
I am not suggesting that being a Christian makes all this easy; rather, being Christian will give us all we need to fight the battle (1 Peter1:3). And, here is why:
because Christians will realize that the standard of holiness is God Himself
Because we are in this war, I handed out a FAITH LOG (which you can access here) to those at the discipleship journey today. My reasoning is that if we are not consciously moving in faith, we are in danger of drifting away…and of becoming prey to the enemy of our souls.
Some have said that the benefits of being Christian are out of this world (aka “heaven”). While noting that, let’s also recognize that the perks are right here and now: the rest of John 10:10 reads thus: and I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
If we are not experiencing that abundance, may I suggest that the thief is causing you turmoil.
Being a disciple is a high calling, and I have been blessed to lead our group. Pray for me, pray for us as we move forward for His glory.
Contact me if you have questions.
Blessings on your journey
-Michael
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