The War: Habit or Holiness
Micah is doing pretty well today. She tried 3 breastfeeds yesterday (with 2 back to back) and finished 2 1/2. She also gained 3 ounces yesterday after not gaining any the day before (probably scale variations). And, I really believe she has gotten cuter since my last update. Based on her slow and steady progress, we believe we will be here into October.
Unfortunately, if you are checking in for a Micah update, that is all I have right now. Keep checking back, but this post is about something else. It's something I need to get off of my chest, something that has become a burden to me this week as I consider the world Micah is going to grow up in...
As Christians, we need to remember we are at war. Moreover, we need to act like we are at war. So, if you will pardon my rather poor composition (being distracted by life here in the NICU), here's the thought...
THE STRATEGY:
THE STRUGGLE:
Whether you think in terms of "culture war" or not, the enemy's forces of disinformation and subterfuge are coming at you constantly. Let me ask you: Anyone see the two men in bed together on TV's "The New Normal" (an attack on God's plan for heterosexuality)? Anyone read about the latest "Teen Mom" conflict in People Magazine (an attack on God's plan for families)? How about this morning's Doonesbury comic strip (a flat out lie about the evidence for Creationism and the lack of any evidence for Evolution)? Anyone hear about the new slasher movie available on Redbox (an attack on the inherent value of people)? If you have, all I can say is "I'm sorry."
I am sure there are other examples, but these are the ones I came across accidentally this week. That is, despite my real efforts to avoid garbage like this, I do walk through most of my day with my eyes open. It might be more accurate to say that these images were forced on me. It is an attack. A deliberate assault on godliness and holiness in our everyday world. It is designed to wear us down and erode the moral fabric of those of us who are trying to follow Jesus. There is a war for our nation, a war for our families, and a war for our souls. The sad news is that the enemy is winning the war because most of us aren't even aware there is a fight.
THE STARTING POINT:
Well, I really feel like it's time for followers of Jesus to start remembering that our God doesn't call us to holiness without a reason. He has a plan, a battle plan. He has a goal for our lives and every choice we make determines whether or not our lives are working toward that goal. God wants to use us. He wants us to be salt and light in the church and in the world. He wants us to live out of holiness not out of habit.
So, what is holiness? To be holy means to be set apart, to be consecrated to God, to be "other than" the rest of the world. So, are we holy? Or, are we just like the world? Do we shape our homes, our relationships, and our lives by different criteria than our neighbors who don't know Jesus? Are we intentional in how we spend our days?
Most of us want to please God. We want to be used by Him as salt and light in the world. We want to be part of the solution and make our worlds a better place to be. We want to be different. We really do want to be holy. The problem is that we've begun living our lives out of habit rather than out of holiness. It is so easy to do.
So, what is a habit? Simply put, a habit is an action done without thinking. It is what happens when we do something so often, so casually, or so socially that we stop considering why we do it, or whether or not we even should do it. We just don't think about our actions. We have certain friends because we've always had them. We read certain types of books or listen to certain types of music, because that's just what we do. We gloss over certain sins because we've gottne used to them. Now, habits can be either good or bad, but honestly, most of our habits are bad habits.
We've got to start with reconsidering the things we've forgotten to give any consideration to.
THE SOLUTION:
We've got to go back to living our lives on purpose. Specifically, we need to control the things that influence us rather than be controlled by them. We've got to do it for ourselves, for the Lord, and for our children. This might call for some simple changes, or it might require real and dramatic transformation. Probably it will take some of both.
So, reconsider your habits.
Do you read the newspaper? Why? When was the last time you actually considered what is in a newspaper?: ads for things you don't need, politically corrupt commentary and comics, the sports section!... Really, do you need any of that stuff? Maybe you do. I don't. Some of it may appear to be harmless, but does any of it point to Jesus? If it doesn't point to Jesus, perhaps we should reconsider whether it is harmless or not.
The same can be said for satellite or cable, advertising, billboards, trash magazines, movies, video games, social networking!, etc... When was the last time you prayed about it before logging onto your facebook account? When was the last time you deliberately refused to scan the covers of the magazines at the check out stand? When was the last time you felt like you actually needed to watch something on TV because God led you to do it? When was the last time you took a stand and refused to do business with a company because it uses its profits to promote an anti-God agenda?
When was the last time we looked at our lives and asked: "Do we really need this stuff?" Why do we assume that these are innocent distractions? Why do we forget that Jesus came into this world as an invader? That our world is under satan's control? Why do we feel that it just doesn't matter? That we aren't affected by these influences? That denying ourselves for the sake of holiness is "extreme?"
The solution begins with taking the time to evaluate the things we spend our lives doing, the things we give control fo our lives to, the things we entertain ourselves with. Probably, if we take the time to reconsider how we spend our time in light of the reality that Jesus died on the cross to save us from our sin, deliver us from an eternity in Hell, and give our lives meaning and purpose as image-bearers of the living God... probably we will need to make some changes.
Perhaps we will need to cancel the magazine subscription, the cable, or the newspaper. Perhaps we will need to stop shopping at the closest home improvement store and drive to the one that doesn't promote sin with our repair money. Perhaps we will need to stop watching certain movies, stop buying certain brands of clothes, or start throwing away some of our "entertainment." Perhaps we will need to go further and stop spending time with people who lead us away from the Lord, or start protecting the interactions our children have with others. Perhaps, if we remember who and whose we are as followers of Jesus, we will have to break some of our habits, develop some new ones, and start living holy lives.
THE "SO WHAT?"
The sad reality is that this little post is not likely to change the world. (I'm not sure I'd be up to that responsibility anyway.) Most of us will do nothing. We will continue not realizing that we are at war. We will continue living habitually without reconsidering the way of the choices we aren't really making for our life. We will continue to entertain ourselves and miss our God-given purposes. And, the enemy will continue to subdue our country one lie at a time. He will likely continue to win the war for our culture without even having to fight for it.
However, you and I can make his work for it. We can fight back with our choices. We can reconsider our habits. We can make changes. We can intentionally develop new habits. We can remember that God has called us to more than the life of the world; He has called us to a life of holiness, a life "set apart," a life with a real purpose. We can remember we are at war; we can act like we are at war, and perhaps we can start winning the war.
THE SCRIPTURE:
Unfortunately, if you are checking in for a Micah update, that is all I have right now. Keep checking back, but this post is about something else. It's something I need to get off of my chest, something that has become a burden to me this week as I consider the world Micah is going to grow up in...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As Christians, we need to remember we are at war. Moreover, we need to act like we are at war. So, if you will pardon my rather poor composition (being distracted by life here in the NICU), here's the thought...
THE STRATEGY:
“The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
THE STRUGGLE:
Whether you think in terms of "culture war" or not, the enemy's forces of disinformation and subterfuge are coming at you constantly. Let me ask you: Anyone see the two men in bed together on TV's "The New Normal" (an attack on God's plan for heterosexuality)? Anyone read about the latest "Teen Mom" conflict in People Magazine (an attack on God's plan for families)? How about this morning's Doonesbury comic strip (a flat out lie about the evidence for Creationism and the lack of any evidence for Evolution)? Anyone hear about the new slasher movie available on Redbox (an attack on the inherent value of people)? If you have, all I can say is "I'm sorry."
I am sure there are other examples, but these are the ones I came across accidentally this week. That is, despite my real efforts to avoid garbage like this, I do walk through most of my day with my eyes open. It might be more accurate to say that these images were forced on me. It is an attack. A deliberate assault on godliness and holiness in our everyday world. It is designed to wear us down and erode the moral fabric of those of us who are trying to follow Jesus. There is a war for our nation, a war for our families, and a war for our souls. The sad news is that the enemy is winning the war because most of us aren't even aware there is a fight.
THE STARTING POINT:
Well, I really feel like it's time for followers of Jesus to start remembering that our God doesn't call us to holiness without a reason. He has a plan, a battle plan. He has a goal for our lives and every choice we make determines whether or not our lives are working toward that goal. God wants to use us. He wants us to be salt and light in the church and in the world. He wants us to live out of holiness not out of habit.
So, what is holiness? To be holy means to be set apart, to be consecrated to God, to be "other than" the rest of the world. So, are we holy? Or, are we just like the world? Do we shape our homes, our relationships, and our lives by different criteria than our neighbors who don't know Jesus? Are we intentional in how we spend our days?
Most of us want to please God. We want to be used by Him as salt and light in the world. We want to be part of the solution and make our worlds a better place to be. We want to be different. We really do want to be holy. The problem is that we've begun living our lives out of habit rather than out of holiness. It is so easy to do.
So, what is a habit? Simply put, a habit is an action done without thinking. It is what happens when we do something so often, so casually, or so socially that we stop considering why we do it, or whether or not we even should do it. We just don't think about our actions. We have certain friends because we've always had them. We read certain types of books or listen to certain types of music, because that's just what we do. We gloss over certain sins because we've gottne used to them. Now, habits can be either good or bad, but honestly, most of our habits are bad habits.
We've got to start with reconsidering the things we've forgotten to give any consideration to.
THE SOLUTION:
We've got to go back to living our lives on purpose. Specifically, we need to control the things that influence us rather than be controlled by them. We've got to do it for ourselves, for the Lord, and for our children. This might call for some simple changes, or it might require real and dramatic transformation. Probably it will take some of both.
So, reconsider your habits.
Do you read the newspaper? Why? When was the last time you actually considered what is in a newspaper?: ads for things you don't need, politically corrupt commentary and comics, the sports section!... Really, do you need any of that stuff? Maybe you do. I don't. Some of it may appear to be harmless, but does any of it point to Jesus? If it doesn't point to Jesus, perhaps we should reconsider whether it is harmless or not.
The same can be said for satellite or cable, advertising, billboards, trash magazines, movies, video games, social networking!, etc... When was the last time you prayed about it before logging onto your facebook account? When was the last time you deliberately refused to scan the covers of the magazines at the check out stand? When was the last time you felt like you actually needed to watch something on TV because God led you to do it? When was the last time you took a stand and refused to do business with a company because it uses its profits to promote an anti-God agenda?
When was the last time we looked at our lives and asked: "Do we really need this stuff?" Why do we assume that these are innocent distractions? Why do we forget that Jesus came into this world as an invader? That our world is under satan's control? Why do we feel that it just doesn't matter? That we aren't affected by these influences? That denying ourselves for the sake of holiness is "extreme?"
The solution begins with taking the time to evaluate the things we spend our lives doing, the things we give control fo our lives to, the things we entertain ourselves with. Probably, if we take the time to reconsider how we spend our time in light of the reality that Jesus died on the cross to save us from our sin, deliver us from an eternity in Hell, and give our lives meaning and purpose as image-bearers of the living God... probably we will need to make some changes.
Perhaps we will need to cancel the magazine subscription, the cable, or the newspaper. Perhaps we will need to stop shopping at the closest home improvement store and drive to the one that doesn't promote sin with our repair money. Perhaps we will need to stop watching certain movies, stop buying certain brands of clothes, or start throwing away some of our "entertainment." Perhaps we will need to go further and stop spending time with people who lead us away from the Lord, or start protecting the interactions our children have with others. Perhaps, if we remember who and whose we are as followers of Jesus, we will have to break some of our habits, develop some new ones, and start living holy lives.
THE "SO WHAT?"
The sad reality is that this little post is not likely to change the world. (I'm not sure I'd be up to that responsibility anyway.) Most of us will do nothing. We will continue not realizing that we are at war. We will continue living habitually without reconsidering the way of the choices we aren't really making for our life. We will continue to entertain ourselves and miss our God-given purposes. And, the enemy will continue to subdue our country one lie at a time. He will likely continue to win the war for our culture without even having to fight for it.
However, you and I can make his work for it. We can fight back with our choices. We can reconsider our habits. We can make changes. We can intentionally develop new habits. We can remember that God has called us to more than the life of the world; He has called us to a life of holiness, a life "set apart," a life with a real purpose. We can remember we are at war; we can act like we are at war, and perhaps we can start winning the war.
THE SCRIPTURE:
"Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect."
Romans 12:1-2
THE SUMMARY:
We are at war. God's enemy, the devil, wants you to waste your life rather than see you live a life that is holy to the Lord. His strategy is to bombard you with the lies of the world and encourage you to develop habits that keep you from reaching the potential God intends for you life. HOWEVER, you have the ability to reconsider the influences of over your life and make choices in order to be fulfill your God-given purpose as a follower of Jesus. If you are a Christian, you can change the impact your life has in your family, in your world, and in the war.
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