If we walk in the light as He is in the light…the blood of
Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. —1 John 1:7
“No one fully knows what sin is until he is born again. […] I
must “walk in the light as He is in the light…”— not in the light of my own
conscience, but in God’s light. If I will walk there, with nothing held back or
hidden, then this amazing truth is revealed to me: “…the blood of Jesus Christ
His Son cleanses [me] from all sin” so that God Almighty can see nothing to
rebuke in me. On the conscious level it produces a keen, sorrowful knowledge of
what sin really is. The love of God working in me causes me to hate, with the
Holy Spirit’s hatred for sin, anything that is not in keeping with God’s
holiness. To “walk in the light” means that everything that is of the darkness
actually drives me closer to the center of the light.” CHAMBERS
We face temptation, sin and the consequence of sin every day. We live in a world that is groaning under the
weight of sin. It might be good to
contrast the manifestations of sin and the Spirit.
(Galatians 5:16-25)
“… walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the
Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with
each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by
the Spirit, you are not under the law. The
acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord,
jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy;
drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who
live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit
is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness
and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to
Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we
live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit."
We were born into the world that makes it necessary to have
armies, police, and prisons. That was
not God’s design but the consequence of sin.
So God sent Jesus and His Spirit to save us from that and the ultimate
consequence .. hell. We continue to live
in this world and endure its corruption brought on by sin. We must contend with the acts of the flesh … and
many times they bring great loss, grief, emotional pain to us. Every family experiences the tragedy brought
on by sin. That is reality. But in
the midst of that, we show the world the fruit of the Spirit. Our flesh will be drawn to the world. We will be tempted to respond in the flesh,
but that is not who we are. We are
children of the most high God. Our citizenship
is in heaven. We have the Spirit of God
in us. By keeping in step with the Spirit,
we become lights that point people to Jesus.
I read a comment on Facebook that contrasted the world’s praise for
someone who wanted to change their gender (you can change physical characteristics, but you can't change DNA. God is the creator all man can do is change the form of what has been created and use creation for purposes God did not intend) … and the condemnation of a professional
athlete who professed his faith in Jesus.
Don’t think this strange. Jesus told
us that the world hates Him and will hate Christians. (John 15:18) Darkness wants no part of light. The world wants no part of Jesus. (John 14:6)
Friend, when you encounter difficult times, look to Jesus. (James 4:12) “Dear friends, do not be
surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though
something strange were happening to you.”
Don’t let the trials of life and what the sinful world brings pull you
down, but turn to Jesus and He will lift you up. ELGIN
Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)
Charley Elgin
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