I feel the land demands honor, too. That may not seem to fit with savagery, but as a matter of fact, it does. The wrong kind of man may seem to win for a time, but never for long…The wild country has too many ways of tricking him because of the fatal defects in his character.”
–Louis L’Amour (Where the Long Grass Blows)
“Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which are against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.”
“Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which are against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.”
–1 Peter 2:11-12 (NKJV)
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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)
Evil is all around us. Look at Afghanistan right now–the Taliban is the personification of evil. Hmm, do they carry the “mark of Cain”? See, that was the problem with Cain, he was evil, he belonged to the devil and murdered his brother. Evil is something that we must fight in other countries, in those around our community, in our family, and in ourselves.
“For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another; not as Cain, who was of the evil one and slew his brother. And for what reasons did he slay him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother’s were righteous.”
–1 John 3:11 (NASB)
We have a foundation in front of us. We have seen that we are to live a righteous life; we are to love one another; and we must concentrate on who we are. I remember, years ago, reading a story about Victoria when she was a little girl. She was frivolous, silly, and lackadaisical. One of her maids took her aside (audacity) and told her to quit acting like a foolish little girl and remember she soon would be the Queen of the mighty empire of Great Britain. From that day forward she knew who she was. Douglas MacArthur, when stationed in the Philippines as a lieutenant, would put on his formal uniform when tempted to “party with the boys”, stand in front of a mirror and dress himself out. He wanted to remind himself of who he was.
Our name, last name, used to mean something. Reputation was to be kept, honor was a given, and when you walked down the street people knew who you were by your name. “There goes Joe,” they would say and it could be for better or for worse. This is not so true any more. That is good to a point, but at the same time, we should know who we are. It was said in the early part of the 19th century that you could walk down the streets of a town and point out where the Methodists lived by the music coming from their house. Hmmm, hard to tell the music apart these days.
Not only must we know who we are, we must concentrate on who we are. A member of the Special Forces will constantly be practicing his calling. He is a warrior, and he knows who he is. He doesn’t have to prove it to anyone, but he continually trains. He never loses focus on who he is. The New Testament constantly reminds us of who we are. If we do not know who we are we cannot practice what we are. That is why we have been discussing the importance of knowing that we are children of God. God Almighty is our Father; yet do we look like it? Do we talk like our Father? Do our actions show the character of our Father?
People lose their identity. They become self-seekers, become absorbed in their own moods and conditions that they forget the practical, obvious duty of the Christian life. We must practice righteousness, not sin. We must seek after His righteousness, not our own gratification. We cannot go around saying, “I am saved, and therefore what I do does not matter at all.” It does matter! We are children of the King. I would encourage you to read and contemplate on 1 Peter 2. We have been called out of darkness into His marvelous light.
—————————————–
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)
Evil is all around us. Look at Afghanistan right now–the Taliban is the personification of evil. Hmm, do they carry the “mark of Cain”? See, that was the problem with Cain, he was evil, he belonged to the devil and murdered his brother. Evil is something that we must fight in other countries, in those around our community, in our family, and in ourselves.
“For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another; not as Cain, who was of the evil one and slew his brother. And for what reasons did he slay him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother’s were righteous.”
–1 John 3:11 (NASB)
We have a foundation in front of us. We have seen that we are to live a righteous life; we are to love one another; and we must concentrate on who we are. I remember, years ago, reading a story about Victoria when she was a little girl. She was frivolous, silly, and lackadaisical. One of her maids took her aside (audacity) and told her to quit acting like a foolish little girl and remember she soon would be the Queen of the mighty empire of Great Britain. From that day forward she knew who she was. Douglas MacArthur, when stationed in the Philippines as a lieutenant, would put on his formal uniform when tempted to “party with the boys”, stand in front of a mirror and dress himself out. He wanted to remind himself of who he was.
Our name, last name, used to mean something. Reputation was to be kept, honor was a given, and when you walked down the street people knew who you were by your name. “There goes Joe,” they would say and it could be for better or for worse. This is not so true any more. That is good to a point, but at the same time, we should know who we are. It was said in the early part of the 19th century that you could walk down the streets of a town and point out where the Methodists lived by the music coming from their house. Hmmm, hard to tell the music apart these days.
Not only must we know who we are, we must concentrate on who we are. A member of the Special Forces will constantly be practicing his calling. He is a warrior, and he knows who he is. He doesn’t have to prove it to anyone, but he continually trains. He never loses focus on who he is. The New Testament constantly reminds us of who we are. If we do not know who we are we cannot practice what we are. That is why we have been discussing the importance of knowing that we are children of God. God Almighty is our Father; yet do we look like it? Do we talk like our Father? Do our actions show the character of our Father?
People lose their identity. They become self-seekers, become absorbed in their own moods and conditions that they forget the practical, obvious duty of the Christian life. We must practice righteousness, not sin. We must seek after His righteousness, not our own gratification. We cannot go around saying, “I am saved, and therefore what I do does not matter at all.” It does matter! We are children of the King. I would encourage you to read and contemplate on 1 Peter 2. We have been called out of darkness into His marvelous light.