Holiness

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.” Philippians 4:8

Over the course of the past year God has been convicting us to be more vigilant about what we read, watch and listen to. He has impressed on us that everything that enters our mind/spirit feeds us. This food can either be healthy, nurturing, up building food, or it is poison. There really is no middle ground. If something we are reading, watching, or listening to is not building and feeding our spirit it is poisoning us and many times opening doors for the enemy to work in our lives.

For many years we had been blind to this truth. Of course, we stayed away from the really obviously demonic, but we allowed the world and the lukewarm members of the body to convince us that there really was no danger. “That is a really good movie. What does it matter if there is nudity, infidelity, or graphic violence? I know that those things are wrong but watching them is not going to cause me to go out and do the same.” Or, “I’ve been working hard and I’m exhausted so I just want to relax and enjoy a show or a steamy romance novel. I don’t agree with the values that they portray, but there really is no harm.”

We would like to kid ourselves and think that we can partake of the things of the world and they will not affect us, but the Word tells us in I Corinthians 5:6b that, “… a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough”. Also, “… or what fellowship can light have with darkness?” (2 Cor. 6:14b) If we are filling our spirits/minds with darkness there is no room for light. I John 1:5, 6 says, “God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.”

Admittedly, it is often not easy, but we must die daily to our fleshly desires. I have been a fan of “The Simpsons” and “The Office” for a long time, but if I am really honest I would say that neither of those shows builds my spirit. To the contrary, they either blatantly or subtly portray violence, foul language, infidelity, sexual relations outside of marriage, and various other themes that are contrary to my beliefs and principles. If I spend time filling my mind with those things it is certain that I did not spend that time feeding my spirit, and it is also likely that I have opened doors for the enemy to build strongholds in my life.

The path to holy living is littered with temptations and detours. Sadly, it appears that most Christians today have given in to the deceitful lies of the enemy and instead of standing with each other against the devil we try to convince each other that there really is no harm in these activities.

A couple years ago I had the opportunity to spend the evening with a group of students from a prominent Mennonite College. After we had finished eating our dinner I was shocked and dismayed when almost the entire group (and the professor) went out onto the dance floor at the restaurant (when the restaurant was chosen we had no idea that there would be music and dancing in the evening) and joined the other patrons in an hour of gyrations. I ask myself, “What is the ultimate purpose of this type of dancing?” It is to provoke sexual excitement, period! The same goes for books with detailed descriptions of love scenes, movies with sex scenes, etc.

If we are taking part in these activities and filling our minds with garbage, how are we ANY different from the world? We are meant to be “light on a hill”. If we treat sex as casually and cheaply as the world, how will they know it is something beautiful, sacred and mysterious? The Bible tells us to keep the marriage bed pure and honorable. This cannot happen when we bring somebody else (images from a book or movie) into our marriage bed. How do we expect to have a pure and holy relationship with our spouse with these images in our minds?

In 2 Cor. 6:17 Paul quotes Is. 52:11 when he says, “Therefore come out from them and be separate.”

Dear friends, lets stand together and exhort each other to holy living. Let’s not be afraid to speak up and say, “I don’t think we should be watching this, listening to this, reading this, joking about this, or talking about this.” I distinctly remember a couple years ago when a brother wanted to share that his daughter appeared in a picture with a sports star, but he warned that on the same website it was possible to encounter some images of cheerleaders. I really appreciated his message to everyone (especially the men) that we need to be careful what type of images we are viewing. We need more of that type of courage to stand up for what is right.

I am praying for revival in the church, but if we want to hear God’s voice and see his power displayed in our lives we need to remove the darkness and not allow the devil a foothold in our lives. I imagine being able to meet with my brothers and sisters and share together (with as much excitement as we talk about sports) about what God’s been doing in our lives

Pray for me that I might be able to choose holiness and stand against the devil’s schemes.

Your brother in the fight.

The Battle

Recently I have been reminded, again, that the enemy is relentless in his schemes to destroy us. The church that we had previously attended here is currently embroiled in problems with the pastor (again!). They are having serious marital issues and of course this is causing all kinds of stress and discouragement for the congregation.

As we have learned even more about the dysfunctional nature of marriages here in Nicaragua I have become more and more convinced that the enemy does not work in the same way in all parts of the world. It appears that here in Nicaragua he focuses on destroying the family unit and therefore destroy the message of Christ to a lost world. Infidelity is the norm, a sensual way of dress the custom, and lack of trust for one's spouse to be expected.

The solution is war! Out-and-out war in the heavenly realms. I have committed to come against the schemes of the devil. Enough apathy! It is time we realize that the fight that we have with our spouse, the disagreement in the church, or our clash with our co-worker is not really about a struggle with "flesh and blood", but rather is a fight in the spiritual realm.