1 John 2
Music has a powerful influence upon people. The beat of a song can usher us into joy, deep reflection, inappropriate behavior, and others make us feel invincible. The beat has a powerful draw upon us, often something we can’t explain, but we feel it running through our soul. Now, secular music (secular means separate from religion) we can imagine all the influences of sin, flesh, and the devil, but can such music infiltrate Christian borders? It sure can…and has.
Jesus tells a parable about a pasture land that is given to the sheep that follow Him (John 10:1-18). This peaceful pasture land is given through the gift of eternal life. The sheep represent those the Lord has called by name, loved, and cared for. Jesus said that the sheep know His voice and follow Him (into eternal life) – a stranger they will not follow (John 10:3-5).
Many people want to know how to hear God’s voice. However, the BIGGER desire (or question) must be to KNOW His voice. God speaks to us all (even before believing in Jesus)…and so does the devil (and our own lust). The issue is to recognize God’s voice above all others, so that when He speaks, you know it is the Lord.
Why do I always have to go through trials and temptation? I don’t want to continue facing the same things over and over and over AND OVER again! I just want to be free.
Have you ever felt like that? Have you ever felt like the Apostle Paul when he said that when he wants to do right, sin is right there (Romans 7:21)? OR the things you want to do you don’t do, but the things you don’t want to do, THAT you find yourself doing (Romans 7:15)? Many of us can relate to Paul’s statements of temptation and sin, but we often stop there without going any further. We continue to live in a cycle that goes from temptation-sin-repentance-temptation-sin-repentance and it never seems to stop. We want to get off the merry-go-round, but it doesn’t seem like we ever can. Why do I have to go through this? Why can’t God just take it away because He knows I want to serve Him. If I didn’t have this ‘sin’ issue, I could just run for Him.
There are many reasons why we make the decisions we do. When we look back at the outcome of some of the decisions we made, sometimes we can’t understand how we got into such predicaments, how to get out of them, or what we can do to live as God desires. Listed below is an outline of why we make the decisions we do; the consequences behind them; and how we can make good (and godly) decisions.
1. What consumes our decision making?
- Fear of Man (Proverbs 29:25; John 12:37-43)
- Motives (Proverbs 16:2; James 4:2-3)
- Friend of the World (1 John 2:15-17)
- Emotions (Proverbs 19:2)
- Sin/Temptation (John 3:19-21)
There are many movies we would like to see because they provide an outlet of entertainment and fellowship. But as you seek movies for your enjoyment, you must consider the content and message of each. Many of the movies today contain images and messages that are ungodly. Cursing, sexual messages, nudity, senseless killing, blasphemy, etc. fill the box offices looking for our hard-earned dollars.
As children of God, we must be careful of the movies we support. The movies described above do not support or provide the godly lifestyle our Father desires us to live. It only keeps us connected to the world:
Hebrews 11:1 – Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
1. Faith proves what you believe. Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. For those mentioned in Hebrews 11, the substance of what they were hoping for was the eternal city (Hebrews 11:13-16) and the evidence of what they were hoping for was their obedient life. They were living as if they believed they would receive entrance into the eternal city (eternal life). Their lives proved (gave evidence) of what they hoped for.
2. Faith doesn’t fill in the blanks. The path the Lord desire you to travel upon (before reaching eternal life) doesn’t come with complete instructions. There will be times when the Lord will not tell you where money will come from, where you will live, who will help you, or what will happen tomorrow. You must believe that He will never leave or forsake you as He promised.
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