Category: Renewal

How we Move out of Spiritual Infancy into Maturity-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,now that you have tasted that the Lord is good- 1st Peter 2:1-3 NIV

Recently, I read a news article about a rare genetic disorder affecting children that results in speech delays, seizures and ultimately childhood onset dementia.  The disorder is usually detected around age five. Sadly, the prognosis is terrible. None of the kids live to adulthood. In a very real sense these kids grow old before they grow up.   

The article was fresh on my mind when I started reading Hebrews five: 

By this time, you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food!Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness.But solid food is for the mature- Hebrews 5:11-14  

The ultimate aim of the Christian life is spiritual maturity (2nd Peter 1:3-11, Ephesians 4:15-16, Colossians 1:9-11).

Every Christian starts out in exactly the same place: spiritual infancy. No one is born a Jesus follower. Every single person begins their faith journey in a place where they understand little or nothing about the Bible or what it really means to be a follower of Jesus. A Christian is fully mature when they have committed to obeying the commands of the New Testament, can extend grace to others, forgive others, can control their own impulses and can teach and lead others (John 14:23-24, Philippians 2:12-13, Titus 2:11-13, Hebrews 5:11-13).   

A Christian can stop bearing fruit or begin to develop weird spiritual confusion because they never grew up in their salvation and became a spiritual adult (1st Corinthians 13:11).   In one sense Christian growth is simple, anyone can grasp the principles of Christian growth and achieve maturity.  It wasn’t meant to be rocket science. Yet, in practice growing can be tough. In order to grow we have to fight our natural predispositions towards sinfulness, pride, laziness and the notion we can do it in our own power. We can’t. Christian growth is impossible without the continuous help of the Holy Spirit. We must ask the Holy Spirit daily to empower us to do six things:     

Purposefully let go of wrong behaviors and attitudes- 

 A critical key to growth in our spiritual journey is the continued process of intentionally letting go of wrong behaviors and attitudes. Every behavior the Bible tells us to let go of is an ordinary, natural part of our fallen nature but antithetical to our new life as Jesus followers (2nd Corinthians 5:17, Colossians 3:5-10, Ephesians 4:20-32, 1st Thessalonians 4:3-8). Sometimes this process of letting go of the old is called “crucifying the flesh” or “taking up your cross” (Luke 9:23). Whatever you call it, it’s a critical first step after salvation in spiritual growth, without it, spiritual transformation is impossible.  

Make a practice of distinguishing good from evil in everyday life- 

Christians become mature through a purposeful practice of discerning good from evil in day-to-day life (Hebrews 5:14). We do this by taking every opportunity, situation, attitude, behavior, television show, podcast and relationship we come across and looking at it through the lens of the Bible. If the Bible indicates that thing is harmful we walk away from that thing for the sake of our spiritual health and growth (Colossians 3:5-13, Ephesians 4:17-32, 1st Corinthians 6:9-20). Doing this on a regular basis will not only make us mature but also wise and discerning (Hosea 14:9, Proverbs 18:15). Bonus.  

Meet consistently with other Christians for worship and teaching–    

Contrary to popular opinion, the “church thing” is not an elective activity for serious followers of Jesus. Christians need to bounce ideas off of each other. It keeps us from getting weird in our theology and thinking (Hebrews 10:24-25, Proverbs 27:17). Furthermore, Christians are a body (1st Corinthians 12:12-27). An arm (or any other body part) cannot continue to grow apart from the body it is supposed to be attached to. It will die. Spiritual growth works much the same way.  

Let the word of God get into you-  

The Bible was never intended to be a book we read strictly for information or knowledge. Knowing facts about the Bible is critical. Without a foundation of solid theology Christians get weird. That said, the ability to recite the Bible forward and backwards is futile if our knowledge does not have a transformative effect on our thinking and behavior.  In order for the Bible to transform us we have to read, think about and meditate on the word of God constantly. It is the only way to change our behavior from the inside out.  

Pray about everything- 

I am convinced God wants us to ask Him for stuff (Matthew 6:11, Matthew 7:7-12, Matthew 21:22). However, I am also convinced that if all we ever do is ask God for stuff we will miss out on the most important aspect of prayer: connection with God (Mark 11:16-18, Acts 1:14, Acts 2:42).  In order to connect with God, we must pray about everything all the time (1st Thessalonians 5:17). 

And finally. 

We must encourage one another (Hebrews 3:13, 1st Thessalonians 5:11, 1st Thessalonians 4:18). When we choose to encourage others, we see the good in people and the world around us. When we see the good we inevitably see God’s hand in the everyday things going on all around us. Seeing God work increases our faith. Increased faith leads to increased maturity.  Boom.    

What Do the Election Results tell us?

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming– 1st Peter 1:13 NIV

Okay, so a couple of things:

First, just in case you happened to be on another planet for the last five months or so and missed it, there was a mid-term election last week. 

It was kind of a big deal. 

Second, I’m fairly conservative in my political views. I am not conservative because I believe baby Jesus was born with a copy of the constitution in His teeny-tiny hand.  Nor, am I conservative because I believe a person must think a certain way politically in order to become a Christian. I am a conservative because I tend to believe Jesus would be on the side of individual responsibility and personal accountability. Mostly, because responsibility and accountability lead to healthy outcomes and happy people. I also think Jesus would be on the side of life (because He created it) and I’m pretty sure He would be all-in when it comes to limiting the gender spectrum to male and female because it is the design he chose for this world (Genesis 1:27, Genesis 2:23-25)  

For most conservatives the election was a full-on bummer. It was not what we wanted, or prayed for. I know it could have been way worse. That said, it was still, objectively speaking, extremely discouraging. Who would have thought soaring inflation, layoffs, war, cultural chaos and four-dollar a gallon gas would not be punished at the ballot box? But it was not. 

Here’s the thing:

 Christians are commanded to make disciples (Matthew 28:18-20). One aspect of that command is a call to transform whatever culture we happen to be living in into a better, healthier, more Christ-like version of itself. Because that’s the call, we probably ought to spend some time thinking about this election and what it says about the current state of affairs in this country. We also need to figure out God wants us do about that state of affairs.

So here goes:

It is becoming increasingly more clear that we are living in a post-Christian society. The values Christians have traditionally held dear are no longer a part of the greater cultural narrative.   One illustration of this reality is abortion. Fox News conducted a massive exit poll post-election. Their goal was to discover what issues motivated voters this election cycle. The number one answer was the economy. However, abortion was a very close second. It was pro-abortion supporters who swung the election.   

 This means a large portion of our society cares more about keeping abortion legal than they do about their own economic well-being and future prosperity (Leviticus 18:21, Jeremiah 32:35). Most lefty politicians voted in campaigned entirely on keeping abortion as available and unrestricted as possible. Love of abortion is not the only sign our civilization is in trouble. Violent crime against complete strangers is way up. Euthanasia is rapidly becoming a new normal and the possible benefits of infanticide are very much up for discussion. It will undoubtedly be offered as an option for new parents at local hospitals in the very near future.  

Yikes. 

 Our society is literally hurtling backwards in time towards pre-Christian, heathenish ethics. Most folks are motivated by their individual impulses rather than a desire to build a better future for their children and grandchildren. Our obsession with freedom could actually lead to our own extinction. Literally. A large portion of our population is doing everything possible to keep from reproducing and it could be our downfall.  Human beings are becoming more and more savage as our society has begun to value personal freedom over personal responsibility. Our infatuation with freedom will inevitably lead to less actual autonomy. Governments will step in to control people if they cannot or will not control themselves (Romans 13:4). 

Sigh. 

All that being said. The current chaos could turn out to be a good thing. The culture will likely get worse. Sometimes bad is better. Hard times cause people to think. Whereas prosperity tends to lead to greater acceptance of whatever the cultural norms are and God knows we don’t need any more acceptance of the current cultural norms.  

So, what is a Christian to do? 

First. 

As strangers living in a strange land (and that’s what Christians are) we must do our level best to live within God’s design for the human race (Genesis 1:27, Hebrews 11:13-16, 1st Peter 1:1-2). Christians should get married, have a bunch of kids, work out their problems and stay married. They should also buy houses, build healthy community and strive to be the kindest, most generous people in their cities and towns (Jeremiah 29:4-8). Living joyfully, well and within the boundaries of God’s design is the first step in “making disciples” in our messy, godless, death obsessed culture.

Then. 

We must be prepared to explain to our friends and neighbors the reasons why we do what we do (1st Peter 3:15). We need to pray like crazy for wisdom and power and boldness. Then we need to open our mouths and tell anyone who will listen about Jesus and the hope He brings to even the most messy and shattered lives. We need to give the world the hope we have received and trust our merciful and good God to bring about the change we need.

What is the Difference Between Renewal and Revival and how do we get Both?

Lisa M. Price1 Comment

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me– Psalm 51:10 NIV

 Our world is a flaming-hot mess right now.

 This is not a new thing.

 Sin and the messiness sin inevitably produces is as old as humanity (Genesis 1-3).

However.

It could be argued the world has been in a spiritual and ethical freefall for the better part of a century.

 Hedonism replaced Christianity as the predominant worldview in Western society a century ago. As a result, the average person does not even know how to think about life from a moral and ethical perspective. Abortion is thought to be a human right. Marriage is one of plethora of options available for sexual fulfillment and individuals are free to define marriage any way they want.  Attitudes towards sexuality have changed dramatically in recent years, with pedophilia being the latest in a long list of sexual behaviors that have become normalized, or are quickly becoming normalized. Most children are raised by godless influencers on google and YouTube while Moms and Dads blithely chase down self-actualization. Each new generation is more godless than the last. 

 Sigh. 

 The moral and social upheaval has accelerated at an unsettling pace over the last three years. Coronavirus is at least partly to blame. Coronavirus ravaged the economy of every nation on earth. The psychological distress brought on by economic hardships has shone a spotlight on the social dysfunction festering beneath the surface of society for decades.  COVID-19 also accelerated the political corruption that already existed. Politicians used the pandemic as an excuse to grab power and make rules they themselves refuse to follow. Democracy hating revolutionaries seized on the confusion brought on by the virus and used underlying racial and economic tensions as an excuse to loot, burn and murder.  These rioters said they wanted a better, more just society but their real aim was and is to create a new social order with a godless government.

 Sigh.   

 Our world is in a state of chaos because most people are spiritually dead.  They don’t know God or care about right and wrong. Most individuals do what they want with no regard for God or what will happen to them after they die (Romans 1:18-32, 1st Corinthians 1:18).  Revival is something that occurs in those who do not know God.  When authentic revival takes place, people who are spiritually dead and unresponsive to spiritual truth (non-Christians) have a spiritual awakening and are brought to spiritual life (Ezekiel 37:1-14). When this happens, their heart undergoes a profound change. They fall in love with Jesus, repent of their sins and begin to see life the way God sees life. As their thinking is transformed their behavior changes too (Romans 12:1-2, 2nd Corinthians 3:18) One consequence of widespread revival is that attitudes towards sin undergo a profound change and eventually every part of society is affected in some way.  Historically, anytime genuine revival has taken place alcohol sales go down, divorce rates plummet and crime rates drop dramatically.

 We could use some of that. 

 But, here’s the thing: revival generally does not occur without renewal first taking place. Renewal is a spiritual work that occurs in the hearts of those who do know God (Psalm 51). Renewal takes place when God begins to work in the hearts of people who know Him and have drifted from Him. God changes the hearts of Christians who have become disobedient or apathetic towards spiritual things. Renewal makes our faith fresh and new again. When renewal happens, Christians have a fresh hunger for holiness, a desire for truth and have a renewed longing to see revival take place in the culture. God always brings renewal before revival because renewal prepares the church to meet the needs of the new believers that come out of revival.  

 The church needs God to renew His people because for the most part, Christians have ceased to care about revival. Instead of praying for a movement of God we have settled for isolating ourselves from the sinners in our culture. The church has become far too focused on our own needs. This is demonstrated by the fact that most Christians are more worried about having their personal rights respected than in doing what’s right. We tend to see the world in terms of us (Christians) and them (non-Christians) and many of us would likely struggle to come up with one thing we would willingly give up to see someone else saved. Christians rarely pray and when we do pray our prayers tend to be fairly self-motivated, as a result we rarely feel personal conviction and when we do we seldom act on it.  

 Sigh.

 The need for revival is always obvious when its required. The need for renewal is generally much less obvious but more critical because we will not get the first until we get the second. Renewal comes on God’s people when they collectively pray and ask God for it. God moves when His people seek Him with all of their heart, soul and strength (Jeremiah 29:13, Matthew 22:37). Renewal occurs when Christians do the things they did when their hearts were on fire for God and when individuals couple right behavior with asking God to give them the right attitude (Revelation 2:5). I believe God wants to bring both revival and renewal to our world but He won’t do it until Christians around the world collectively ask for it.


Like we really mean it.

 

 

 

 

Living Victoriously in a World Gone mad-

Lisa M. Price2 Comments

 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others- Philippians 2:3-4 NASB

 It was another insane week in a world gone mad:  

 Protesters and looters are still at it. Politicians on the left have fallen all over themselves applauding the madness. Politicians on the right are asleep at the wheel (metaphorically speaking). Cities are burning. Churches are closed. Schools are closed. Business are closed. Health care officials have decided it’s okay to loot without a mask despite earlier insistence that EVERYONE should follow all social distancing and masking guidelines at ALL TIMES. Then just when it felt as if we had finally reached the apex of violence, hypocrisy and absurdity people began suggesting in all seriousness that cities defund police departments. A few days after that discussion began in earnest protesters took over a large section of the Capitol Hill area in downtown Seattle and declared it the “capitol hill autonomous zone” otherwise known as CHAZ.

 Sigh.

 This post isn’t about any of that. I briefly contemplated sharing my thoughts on defunding the police. Then I remembered society has been neatly divided into two groups. The first group doesn’t need to be told defunding the police is the worst idea in the history of forever. The second group doesn’t read this blog. Needless to say, that topic was quickly tabled. Instead, I want share some thoughts I have had on how we, as followers of Jesus can live life, respond to the growing madness and behave in ways that are redemptive, wise and healing in times that seem determined to test us all. This is no easy task. It takes a blend of constant self-examination and prayerful action. The following five ideas are a place to start:

 Shut your pie hole till you have something helpful and lifegiving to say-

 No one loves a snarky, antagonistic meme more than I do. However, sadly, this is not the time for that. Nor is it the time to stridently argue for perspectives we haven’t considered all sides of. Our world needs healers and truth-tellers not firebrands who passionately scream half-baked ideas at the sky. Christians must get in the habit of seeking out as many well-thought-out opinions as possible from as many wise, humble, God-fearing people as possible (Proverbs 11:14, Proverbs 15:22, Proverbs 19:20, Proverbs 24:6).  Before we actually share our thoughts, we should study, pray and be certain our thinking aligns with the Bible rather than the current culture. There are no words for how much I appreciate every reader of this blog. It humbles me to think that anyone would seek my views on anything. That said, I sincerely hope I am not anyone’s only source of information on any issue. There really is wisdom in an abundance of counselors.

 Pick the side Jesus would pick-

 Here’s the thing. Jesus was on the side of the weak and marginalized but He was also on the side of obedience to authority structures (Mark 12:40, Matthew 18:6, Mark 12:15-17, John 4, John 8:1-11). He loved all races enough to die for them (Matthew 15:22-28, Matthew 8:8-13, John 10:16). And He loved the sick and hurting every bit as much as He loved the rich and those in positions of authority (John 3:1-2, Matthew 8:16, Matthew 9:12). We live in a time where placing dividing lines between people has become standard-operating-procedure. Christians can’t do that.  Jesus taught that our greatest need as people is not to have our “side” validated but to have our souls saved. This truth must be the driving force behind our interactions with all people of all races.  

 Grow up-

 I am working to establish a discipleship program in our church. This has got me thinking about what it means to be a mature Christian. I have concluded spiritual maturity is less about what we know in terms of academic knowledge (although knowledge is critically important) and more about BEING in Jesus and modeling our lives after His life. Jesus modeled self-sacrifice and putting the needs of others first. Therefore, our religion is not truly Christian if our life becomes hyper-focused on having our individual desires met. Being a mature Christian at this period of history means we must seek to glorify Jesus first and look out for the greater good of others second. Our own preferences must come a distant third.

 Find balance between being an encourager and a truth-teller-

 Christians should be encouragers (1st Thessalonians 5:11, Hebrews 3:13). God’s will is for every person to become a better, healthier version of themselves. Everyone needs human encouragement to get to where God wants them to be. However, it is equally as important we tell people the truth. This means that we should never encourage sinful thinking or behavior (as defined by Scripture) in the name of making people feel good about themselves or their choices.

 Be careful about jumping on popular bandwagons-

 PLEASE. Just because an organization believes one thing that is true it does not mean it’s a group Jesus would endorse or involve Himself in.  For the love of all that is good and decent at the very least do a sixty second google search and read the organizations statement of beliefs before adding its hashtag to your latest social media post. 

  The times we live in are unlike any I have experienced in my lifetime and we are blessed to live in them. We are blessed because God has historically done His best work in the darkest of times.  It is our responsibility as believers to align ourselves with Him in everything so we can be the redemptive presence our world desperately needs right now. 

 

How to get the Revival our World Desperately Needs-

Lisa M. Price2 Comments

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land~ 2nd Chronicles 7:14 NIV

 Our sin sick world is long overdue for a revival.

  All one has to do is turn on a television set, attend a high school dance, or read the comments section of an on-line political article and it becomes abundantly clear very quickly that we could use some intense supernatural intervention in our world.

 Like now.

 The dictionary definition of revival is:

An improvement in the condition or strength of something.

An instance of something becoming popular, active, or important again

 Contrary to 20th century thinking authentic Christian revival is more than a just a series of lively church gatherings where the all ready saved get excited about God again. Genuine revival always moves far beyond the four-walls of the church and has a positive and prolonged spiritual impact on the culture surrounding the church.  In an authentic revival the church grows and thrives and communities are permanently changed, both morally and economically. No serious and or wise Christian would argue against the need for the Church to affect the culture once again.  

 I do not pretend to know everything there is about everything. It’s just too exhausting. However, there is one thing I do know for absolute certain. The lack of revival is not due to a lack of need. Arguably, every country in our world is a flaming-hot-mess. I could go on all day about all the social, spiritual and moral problems plaguing different countries, including our own, at this point in history.  In spite of all that the church has not witnessed a genuine revival: one that has affected the culture as well as the church in more than a century. It could be argued that the fact our culture has not experienced genuine revival in my lifetime is sign of God’s disapproval of our choices both inside and outside the church (Exodus 9:12, Proverbs 28:14, Jeremiah 5:3). Robust spiritual health is always an indication of God’s blessing.

 Without revival the entire Western world will spiral into moral darkness and eventually self-destruct.  Sadly, there are some very valid spiritual reasons Christian churches are not experiencing revival in North America and Europe.

First and foremost:  

 Christians aren’t asking for it-

 True revival comes when the majority of God’s people ask for it over and over again (Daniel 9:4-17, 2nd Chronicles 7:14). Regrettably, about twenty-five years ago corporate prayer ceased to be a thing in most churches (Matthew 18:19-20). Most large churches do not have a prayer group and the prayer groups that do exist tend to be VERY poorly attended. For whatever reason God moves when people pray. If we want to see real and lasting change in our families, churches, politics and culture we need to start praying for revival like it’s the most critical thing in the entire world. Because it is.  

 Christians are praying for the wrong things-

 Okay. I totally get it’s not my job to judge other people’s prayers. I also get it makes me something of a jerk that I do sometimes judge other people’s prayers (sorry). That being said, I don’t get why when we gather together corporately we are praying for things that don’t really matter in the grand scheme of eternity (the health of our pets, good weather, our own prosperity, etc..). There is nothing wrong or sinful about praying for personal needs (even trivial needs). In fact, in the Lords prayer, Jesus urges God’s people to ASK for what they need (Matthew 6:9-13). However, personal asking types of prayers should never be the sum total of all our prayers, and we should pray about more critical needs anytime we pray together in groups.

 Christians don’t think they need to repent-

 In the Bible revival always began when one or two people who didn’t really look like they needed to repent, repented (Daniel 9:19, 2nd Chronicles 6:21, 2nd Kings 22, 2nd Chronicles 32:26). There are few (no) people in this world (including Christians) who can honestly say that they are without sin in some area (gossip, judgment, hardness of heart, jealousy, greed, sexual immorality, hatred, discord, selfish ambition, etc.…). It is time for Christians everywhere to do some serious soul-searching to find out what it is God is calling them to let go of.

 We are looking for it in the wrong places-

  Most Christians believe deep in their hearts revival is only for unsaved heathens. As a result, the church is waiting for the world to repent rather than taking the lead and showing them the way.  Sadly, too many in the church have bought into the idiotic notion that once a person is saved (has a relationship with Jesus) that no further repentance is required or that personal spiritual revival is never necessary. Nothing could be further from the truth.  We all need revival in our lives all the time. In the past revival and repentance has always started with believers and then moved to the unsaved (Hebrews 12:5-7, 2nd Chronicles 7:14, Deuteronomy 8:5.

The Bible promises (2nd Chronicles 7:14) that when we (God’s people) ask for revival and mean it God will respond and give us what we ask for. Maybe we haven’t gotten it because we don’t want it bad enough.

I don’t know. I’m just spit-balling here.

How to get Unstuck-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

 For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge~ Romans 10:2 NIV

It’s been a week.

 It all started last Sunday night when the overlords at Facebook decided my last not-at-all-political blog post was way too political and refused to promote it. This seriously irritated me and I am not easily daunted when I’m seriously irritated about something. So, I dug through the archives, unearthed an older post,  made some edits, published the older post and got the-powers-that-be to promote that one instead.

 Hah.

 The older post was about sex and how Christian attitudes towards sexuality have evolved over the course of the last five decades. I stated in the post that I am convinced that the majority of Christians today believe what most non-Christians in the 1970’s and 1980’s believed about sex: that the rightness and wrongness of sex is determined not by a spiritual or legal commitment (marriage) but rather by a feeling of “being in love”. My theory is backed-up by the fact that sixty-four percent of adult Christians surveyed no longer believe it is wrong to have sex outside of marriage.

  An astute reader asked the following question:

 “Has anybody bothered to ask the 64% of Christians aged 18-59 surveyed if they are aware of the Scriptures that explicitly condemn fornication (sex outside of marriage)? And, then, if they ARE aware of them, why they feel they have the right to IGNORE those Scriptures?”

 This rather insightful inquiry got me thinking about why we are where we are today. Not just concerning sexuality but a whole lot of other issues as well.  It is simply a fact that our church pews are filled with Christians who claim to love Jesus who, are for whatever reason, not taking their cues on how to live life from Jesus (John 8:31, John 8:51, 2nd John 1:9).  The biggest problem with disobedience to God’s commands is that it halts our growth as believers and keeps us stuck in a state of worldly immaturity. This hurts everyone. It hurts those inside the church because new believers do not have mature role models to follow. It hurts those outside the church because it’s almost impossible for Christians to effectively lead others to a faith they don’t follow. Disobedience hurts the struggling Christian because they never experience the full joy of knowing and obeying Jesus and never become all they could be in Jesus. This leaves many believers feeling unfulfilled and frustrated in their faith. 

 Sigh.

 It’s convenient to blame outside factors like secular sex education and sketchy entertainment for problems inside the church. However, we have free will and outside factors cannot force anyone to do anything they don’t really want to do.  I am convinced there are at least four totally fixable reasons many Christians struggle to effectively live out Christian ethics and values. Including:

 We do not use our time well-

 There are 168 hours in every week and 672 hours in the average (four week) month. The majority of church services are precisely one hour long. The average self-identified “committed Christian” attends church 1.2 times a month. Sunday school is no longer a thing in most churches and most small groups are more about friendship than Bible study. Moreover, according to a study done by Lifeway only twenty percent of “committed Christians” read or listen to the Bible daily. Conversely, the average adult spends twenty hours a week surfing the internet, five hours a day watching television and ninety minutes a day staring mindlessly at their phone.  It should not shock anyone that we have forgotten how to think biblically, Christian teaching is not a primary influence in our lives anymore (Hebrews 10:24-25, 1st Corinthians 15:33).

  Fearing God is not a thing anymore-

 The whole notion of fearing God is thought to be rather strange and antiquated these days. We have been taught ad nauseum that the entirety of all Christian teaching can and should be summed up with “love God” and “love people” However, we have forgotten that we are commanded more times in Scripture to fear God than we are told to love Him. Loving God is noble, good and absolutely essential but we need to remember that fearing God is equally as noble, good and no less essential. Fearing God is also the first step to acquiring wisdom and the key to living a life that pleases God (Proverbs 1:7, Proverbs 9:10, Proverbs 2:5, Proverbs 14:27). Fearing God simply means that we really believe that God is who He says He is and will do what He says He will do.

  There’s a lot of biblical ignorance in the Church-

 One reason Christians don’t do what the Bible says is because they don’t know what the Bible says. It is tempting to lay the blame for this one squarely at the feet of pastors, but I am not sure that is entirely fair. It is true that most churches have adopted a “seeker friendly” model where little emphasis is placed on doctrine, discipleship or the teaching of Christian ethics during Sunday morning services. However, it is also true that we live in a time and place where everyone has access to Bibles, commentaries on Scripture and books about the Bible. Biblical ignorance is truly a choice in our day and age (Proverbs 1:29, Matthew 13:12, 2ndPeter 1:5-7).

 Too many of us get spiritually stuck after salvation-

 God never intended for salvation to be the end goal of all things spiritual in the life of a Christian. Rather, salvation is meant to be the starting place of a lifelong journey of ever increasing faith and transformation (Matthew 28:19-20). In recent years the whole notion of discipleship has taken a backseat to evangelism. We must focus on both.  

 Like it or not, getting unstuck matters, because what we do and how we choose to behave as Jesus followers matters because God has called His people (you and me) to be a preserving influence in the culture (Matthew 5:13-16, 1st Peter 2:12). When we do what God tells us to do, people who don’t know God want to know God. When we don’t, those same people rightly dismiss Christianity as just another religion that lacks the power to change anyone or anything.  The good news in all of this is that we can change what the world thinks.

 All we have to do is submit to God.

 

 

Defining “Worldliness”-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them~ 1st John 2:15 NIV

 I grew up tragically ignorant of all things Christian.

 Following my conversion to Christianity as a young adult, I did my level best to expand my biblical knowledge base. My quest to gain understanding involved a great deal of reading, studying, church attendance, attending Bible studies, Christian conferences and even formal ministry training.

All that frenzied activity helped in some ways but hurt in others. My overall knowledge of the Bible grew. However, it also led me to believe the Bible said some things it actually didn’t say; for example, at one point I was literally shocked to discover that the phrase “be in the world, but not of it” was not actually a Bible verse but rather a pithy saying that became popular sometime around the turn of the 20th century.

The”worldliness” I was warned about as a new Christian was almost entirely focussed on outward appearances: language, clothing choices and entertainment. I was taught Christians were to “look” different and act different from the world and looking different was all about outward behavior.  No one talked about heart attitudes (Matthew 5:8, Matthew 5:28, Matthew 15:18-20). Since those days, the church and the people in it have changed a great deal. There is far less emphasis placed on outward appearances and more of an emphasis placed on the need for Christians to  be authentic and love people unconditionally.

This isn’t a bad thing.

 Loving people pleases Jesus (Matthew 5:44, Mark 12:30-31, John 3:16), at least until our love devolves into sloppy sentimentalism or a focus on feelings rather than the state of a person’s soul. That kind of love is closer to what the Bible calls “loving the world” rather than truly loving people.

 We “love the world” when we take our cues about how to live, love and function from the world’s system rather than from the Bible (Romans 12:2). It’s shockingly easy for Christians to love the world without even knowing it. Following are five ways Christians love the world and leave true faith behind:

 We love the world when we hate on the people in the church-

 Jesus promised us that the world would hate the church (John 15:19). He did not promise that the church would hate its own members. It almost goes without saying that the church in America has some serious issues and is in need of reform. It’s also true that some Christians have driven people away from the church with hypocrisy, perversely high standards, bad attitudes and expectations that cannot be found anywhere in the Bible. However, that does not make it okay for Christians to hate on other Christians, as some have taken to doing. It’s no wonder unbelievers don’t want to give church a chance when Christians are so critical of those in the church.

 We love the world when we refuse to call out sin-

 There is no clearer indicator we have become far too comfortable with the world than when we accept the world’s standard of morality. In many Christian circles it is now considered offensive to even hint that behaviors like divorce, drug use, homosexuality (1st Timothy 1:9-11), promiscuity and drunkenness (among others) are sinful. The effect of relaxing our standards has been dramatic. Many believers no longer feel shame, or even regret, over actions the Bible clearly calls shameful and society is devolving into a chaotic muddle due to our lack of moral leadership.  

 We love the world when we use love as a cover for inaction or silence regarding the dangers of sin-

 Our current definition of love has morphed into something early Christians never would have imagined. Love has become a justification for silence, spiritual inertia and the tolerance of every kind of evil behavior. We have forgotten that biblical love speaks the truth and tirelessly promotes righteousness (Ephesians 4:15).

 We love the world when we wallow in its behaviors and use “fitting in” as an excuse to continue wallowing-

 Contrary to popular belief, the Bible does not call Christians to “fit into” society (Romans 12:2). Christians are told to stand out and be different, at times to the point of peculiarity (1st Peter 2:9). The moment we begin to conform to the world, we cease to be effective at what God has called us to do (Matthew 28:16-20, Matthew 5:13-16)

 We love the world when we make our entertainment choices an idol we refuse to let go of-

 There was a time in the recent past when most Christians shunned secular entertainment out of fear that it would adversely affect their behavior and attitudes. They feared worldly entertainment would make them too much like “the world”. For the most part, Christians have lost that fear and now the people in the church look more like the people in the world than at any other time in church history. We need to start being real with ourselves about what we’re watching and how it affects our ability to think and reason in a Christian way. If we wouldn’t watch a show or movie with Jesus in the room, it won’t make us any more spiritual or bring us any closer to Jesus and it probably needs to go.

And, that’s all I’ve got to say about that.