From the heart of the
pastor:
“The world
is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who
does the will of God abides forever”
God provides a defining
reason for not loving this world – it is passing
away. This world is finite, momentary, temporary
and transitory. You are eternal.
Mankind is imprisoned so
easily by a passing away world. His
imprisonment is natural to him because he is without
Christ. It must not be so with you because you know
Christ and Him crucified. God says, Paul writes, “We
look not at the things which are seen, but at the
things which are not seen; for the things which are
seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen
are eternal. For we know that if the earthly tent
which is our house is torn down, we have a building
from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in
the heavens” (II Cor. 4:18-5:1).
Are the things of this
world growing strangely dim to you? You, Christian,
should be becoming more interested in and serious
about eternal things. Are you filling your todays
with God’s everlasting forever?
Every day of your life
should be an authenticator of your commitment to
starve the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes
and the boastful pride of life. Never entertain
those three and certainly do not even consider the
suggestion that they can satisfy you. Do you
remember Amnon, David’s son, who raped his half
sister Tamar? His sin resulted in his death at the
hand of his half brother Absalom. Blood was
continually shed throughout King David’s house.
Satisfaction of bestial
lusts ruptures the fabric of society. If you feed
these roaming wolves invading your life you will
soon discover yourself robbed of your interest in
and awareness of the assurance of eternal life (I Jn.
5:13). Stress is the fruit of enabled lusts.
You are not to love this
world because it is a cadaver awaiting burial. This
world is mutable. Its corruption binds it to time
and space, and one day time and space, as you know
it, will be no more. You must be suspicious of this
world’s offerings. Though it promises much, it
delivers little. Contrast this world with your God.
God is from everlasting
and lasts forever. The one who does His will abides
forever. Your obedience assures you of your
eternity. Obedience is the culture of the
Christian.
Every day of your life
will either be a sacrifice of your faith to this
world, or a sacrifice of this world to your faith.
You know that “greater is He who is in you that he
who is in the world” (I Jn. 4:4). May your life be
the triumph of the Christ over the cross.
