There was no use meeting trouble half-way, because if it wanted you, it found you anyway, whether you ran from it, sat waiting for it, or went out to meet it.”
              –Luke Short  (Vengeance Valley)

    “The wicked is ensnared by the transgression of his lips, But the righteous will come through trouble.”
              –Proverbs 12:13 (NKJV)
———————–
Do you ever get weary from the constant attack?  It may be on your physical body, or your emotional state.  The attack may be on your mind.  However, all these combine with an attack on your spiritual welfare.  Satan will use many tools, weapons, and tactics to attack you.  Do not be frustrated; remember that there is a God in heaven, your Father, who is looking out for you.
    David was facing a severe attack from enemies.  They were after him in myriad ways.  They were looking at him, waiting for him to make a move, and no matter what he did they twisted what he said.  Psalm 56 shows his plight and turmoil.

         1 – Be merciful to me, O God, for man would swallow me up; Fighting all day he oppresses me.
         2 – My enemies would hound me all day, For there are many who fight against me, O Most High.
         3 – Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You.
         4 – In God (I will praise His word), In God I have put my trust; I will not fear.  What can flesh do to me?
         5 – All day they twist my words; All their thoughts are against me for evil.
         6 – They gather together, They hide, they mark my steps, When they lie in wait for my life.
         7 – Shall they escape by iniquity?  In anger cast down the peoples, O God!  (NKJV)

Charles H. Spurgeon said, “It is possible for fear and faith to occupy the mind at the same moment (verse 3).  To be reliant upon God when occasions for alarm are abundant–is the conquering faith of God’s elect.”  Sometimes Psalm 56 is called “The Blunderer’s Prayer.”  David found himself in a situation that he did not rightly recognize.  Perhaps you have blundered into such a situation–found yourself in the wrong part of town at the wrong part of the night.  Have you ever made a stupid mistake?  If you happen to find yourself in such a situation remember God is there with you.
    Trust God!  Did you read that right?  Did you hear it?  Did you get it down into your soul?  TRUST GOD!  Life may be unpleasant and painful and our enemies can make it even more so, but God is there.  Nothing can happen to you without His knowledge or allowance.  He will let them go only so far.  We may hurt physically, we may be down emotionally, our mind may be burdened, but in our spirit we have that confidence that God is there.

         “When I’m afraid, I’ll trust in thee;
          In God I’ll praise His Word,
          I will not fear what flesh can do,
          My trust is in the Lord.”
                 –Old Scottish Psalter

The world is out of joint or maybe I just don’t fit in.”
              –Zane Grey  (Wyoming)

    “Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord.  Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you.”
              –2 Corinthians 6:17 (NKJV)
————————-
How to Live in a Pagan, Apostate, and Foolish World

Key Verse:  “We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.”  –1 John 5:19 (NASB)

Go back and contemplate verses 2:15-27 of 1 John.  There are a few key phrases there that we need to identify if we are to survive in this wicked world.
    First, “Do not love the world…”  The world is not the natural or physical world.  It does not mean the life of the world in general–family relationships.  It is not the state nor is it a career or engaging in business.  What does John then mean when he speaks of “the world”?  
    The “world” in this phrase means the organization and mind and the outlook of mankind as it ignores God and does not recognize Him.  It can be broken down into four parts:  1) man thinking he is independent upon God; 2) life based upon the world system (i.e., woke, cancel culture, globalism, etc.); 3) man give little or no thought to God only of self; and 4) the person who thinks in the terms of time.
    Second, there are three categories of sin.  They have to do with lust, and lust defined here is an inordinate affection or desire; the abuse of something which is natural and legitimate.  Those in the world will lust after things that were made proper and right and attempt to abuse them.
    The first of these is the “lust of the flesh.”  The flesh is that which comes from nature, from our physical bodies.  The person who lusts after the flesh lives only for sensual gratification (i.e., food, drink, sex, etc.)  The abuse of natural things and they find themselves being controlled by them.
    The second of these is the “lust of the eyes.”  This person lives by false values.  They judge on appearances–seeing, imagining, thinking.  They are full of vanity and love the pomp and appearance; the outward show of things.  Interesting how much entertainment has entered the church–false values, the outward show.  The lust of the eyes causes a person to covet “things.”
    Finally there is the “pride of life.”  This can start out very subtly but then will magnify as time goes on unless there is real repentance.  The “pride of life” consists of self-glorification.  They are ambitious to the expense of hurting others and in fact will find real contempt of others and their success.  The love the pride of influence based on wealth, power, position, appearance, etc.  They have the attitude “I belong to …” (fill in the blank: such and such a family, such a special club, such a fraternity…)  There is a subtle danger of those who denounce the sins of the flesh becoming guilty of the pride of life; a “I’m so proud I’m humble” attitude.  Notice how this was present in the fall of Lucifer.
    John finishes this portion saying that, “the love of the Father is not in him.”  He is incompatible with the things of God.  What he wants and wishes are contrary to the serving of a holy God.  The person who loves the world does not understand the principles of sin.  He does not realize that sin, and this world, will be destroyed–they are not part of eternity.  It is the person who does the will of God that “will live forever.”
    Yet, often, far too often we find ourselves following after the world.  We need to take inventory of our lives.  Why do we do the things we do?  Are we becoming part of the world system, or are we serving a righteous God and following His will?
Do not wander back to the darkness, but walk in the light following the Holy Spirit as He guides by the Word of God.

He was a careful man.  Careful of his walk, careful of the way he dressed, careful when he handled guns, and careful in the care of his horse.  Every morning he brushed the dust from his clothes, and every morning he combed his hair.”
              –Louis L’Amour  (To Tame a Land)

    “As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.”
              –John 17:18 (NKJV)
————————
How to Live in a Pagan, Apostate, and Foolish World

Key Verse:  “We know that we ourselves are children of God, and we also know that the world around us is under the power of the evil one.”   –1 John 5:19 (Phillips)

It is important to realize that God does not ask the impossible.  When He says “love not the world” it is something that He expects us to do.  Look closely at 1 John 2:15-17.

         “Never give your hearts to this world or to any of the things in it. A man cannot love the Father and love the world at the same time. For the whole world-system, based as it is on men’s primitive desires, their greedy ambitions and the glamour of all that they think splendid, is not derived from the Father at all, but from the world itself. The world and all its passionate desires will one day disappear. But the man who is following God’s will is part of the permanent and cannot die.”  (Phillips)

These are solemn Scriptures, and yet the Lord expects us to abide by them.  
    One of our problems is that this passage of Scripture is often misinterpreted.  Some say that these verses mean that we are to segregate from society.  There is a religious life and there is a secular life; almost as if a person had a split personality.  The far extreme of this interpretation is monasticism, but there are many who practice it, such as the Amish, Old Order Mennonites and others.  Separate from society.
    Then there are those who have a partial interpretation–they define worldliness as they desire.  They have the “don’t do,” or “we will not do”–the choosing of certain things and by not doing these things they are not worldly.  There are some who say that they should not be interested in the things of the world, such as politics, social activities, economics…they say, “no Christian should ever be concerned about political matters because that is of the world.”  Some of them will become modern-day monks but shutting themselves up and shutting their eyes to the beauty of nature.
    Francis Schaeffer said, “True spirituality covers all of reality.”  Now, I want to take your attention to John 4:24.  It is a very common verse, one that we all know, yet few have the understanding of it.

         “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

We get stuck on the word “truth” in this passage.  What is truth in this verse?  J.B. Phillips does a better job of translating this.

         “God is spirit, and those who worship him can only worship in spirit and in reality.”

Truth here is reality.  We are to worship in reality!  That means whatever we do in life we should be able to worship.  Let me ask:  Do you worship at work?  Do you worship driving to and from work?  Do you worship at school, at activities, at sports?  We should be able to worship God wherever we are and if we cannot we should check where we are.  

       “If God is not in your typewriter as well as your hymnbook,
             there is something wrong with your religion.
    If your God does not enter your kitchen
          there is something the matter with your kitchen.
    If you can’t take God into your recreation
           there is something wrong with the way you play.
    If God, for you, does not smile,
          there is something wrong with your idea of God.”
                      –Peter Marshall

    I see that most Christians have two real difficulties.  First, they do not have an understanding of who God is.  True, we will never understand all, but we need the basic doctrines of God, and attempt to understand His attributes for us to worship properly.  Second, most do not comprehend what true worship is.  It is not only on a Sunday; it is not only singing up front; it is not just listening to praise music.  It is a way of life!  Paul shows us what true worship is.

         “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him…  And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men.”
                   –Colossians 3:17,23 (NKJV)

         I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
                   –Romans 12:1-2 (NKJV)

Phillips says, “intelligent worship”, the HCSB “your spiritual worship”, the Amplified ” your rational (logical, intelligent) act of worship.”
    Don’t be fearful of the world, but be able to worship in spite of the world.  Our heart belongs to God, therefore so does our worship.  “A man cannot love the Father and love the world at the same time.”  People get frustrated, and are unhappy in their Christian life because they do not want to face this text.  They want the world and God at the same time.  Then there are those who are so afraid to take a step in life that they are unhappy.  God wants us to be joyful people (go back and read 1 John 1).