by Wendy Elizabeth Middleton
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Ephesians 3:16-19
In your inner being, that is where Christ dwells. He is the center of the Christian life, He lives inside of us, in such a way as to show Him clearly through everything we say and do. He is the vine and His firm roots support us, the branches. We know this love and this love surpasses knowledge. This love is so great we will never see the height, or the width, or the depth of it. This is a love so great that we will never know the end of it.
In your inner being, that is where Christ dwells. He is the center of the Christian life, He lives inside of us, in such a way as to show Him clearly through everything we say and do. He is the vine and His firm roots support us, the branches. We know this love and this love surpasses knowledge. This love is so great we will never see the height, or the width, or the depth of it. This is a love so great that we will never know the end of it.
From this inner being the Spirit strengthens us with power, not just muscle and sinew, but the power of God, which never fails.
This is a total transformation from the inside out. How we perceive the world changes. This new perceptive changes what we do, where we go, who we hang out with. It doesn’t mean that we drop all of old friends. It does mean that we can no longer hang out with them in places that no longer fit our new life. It does mean that we can no longer do some of the things that we use to do because those things no longer fit out new life. Things like gossip. Gossip falls under that 9th commandment. False witnessing. If we repeat rumors for which we have no real evidence, rumors designed specifically to cause harm, to lower the reputation of someone, then we are bearing false witness. You can’t dish dirt without getting dirty.
No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him. 1 John 3:6
Being a Christian does not make you perfect nor without sin, neither does it prevent temptation. Ask any recovering alcoholic, the desire to drink is still present, and the decision to not drink is only the first step. After the decision comes the hard work of not drinking. And it takes constant, sometimes minute by minute, effort. “I will not drink in this minute.” And when the minute has passed, “ I will not drink in this minute” for every minute after, until minutes become hours, and hours become days. And years later, something happens and the desire to drink is just as powerful as it was the first moment they decided not to drink. Recovery is a constant, conscious effort.
Sin is addicting, and ever present, it requires a constant, conscious effort to not sin. And the first step to recovery is to reach out to a ‘higher power.’ Christians reach out to Christ, and the indwelling Holy Spirit. This presence, because it is indwelling, is ever present as well so in this constant battle you are never alone.
Christians make mistakes, but they should never choose to do anything outside the will of God.
Larry Flint has fought several high profile court cases in connection with his Hustler magazine. He has fought to make what is wrong, seem right, or at least legal. He once said that if people didn’t buy it he would not publish it. (It being pornography) I cannot stop anyone else from buying, and therefore funding him, but I can withdraw my support by not buying his magazine, which as far as pornography is concerned was easy for me.
But the idea is larger than just pornography. I stopped buying celebrity type magazines because they support photographers who regularly invade the privacy of celebrities. It seemed to me that these photographers were not trying to get good photos, but were rather trying to catch celebrities at their worst possible moment. I can’t support that type of behavior.
When Princess Diana died this issue made headlines. Two things stood out to me:
This is a total transformation from the inside out. How we perceive the world changes. This new perceptive changes what we do, where we go, who we hang out with. It doesn’t mean that we drop all of old friends. It does mean that we can no longer hang out with them in places that no longer fit our new life. It does mean that we can no longer do some of the things that we use to do because those things no longer fit out new life. Things like gossip. Gossip falls under that 9th commandment. False witnessing. If we repeat rumors for which we have no real evidence, rumors designed specifically to cause harm, to lower the reputation of someone, then we are bearing false witness. You can’t dish dirt without getting dirty.
No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him. 1 John 3:6
Being a Christian does not make you perfect nor without sin, neither does it prevent temptation. Ask any recovering alcoholic, the desire to drink is still present, and the decision to not drink is only the first step. After the decision comes the hard work of not drinking. And it takes constant, sometimes minute by minute, effort. “I will not drink in this minute.” And when the minute has passed, “ I will not drink in this minute” for every minute after, until minutes become hours, and hours become days. And years later, something happens and the desire to drink is just as powerful as it was the first moment they decided not to drink. Recovery is a constant, conscious effort.
Sin is addicting, and ever present, it requires a constant, conscious effort to not sin. And the first step to recovery is to reach out to a ‘higher power.’ Christians reach out to Christ, and the indwelling Holy Spirit. This presence, because it is indwelling, is ever present as well so in this constant battle you are never alone.
Christians make mistakes, but they should never choose to do anything outside the will of God.
Larry Flint has fought several high profile court cases in connection with his Hustler magazine. He has fought to make what is wrong, seem right, or at least legal. He once said that if people didn’t buy it he would not publish it. (It being pornography) I cannot stop anyone else from buying, and therefore funding him, but I can withdraw my support by not buying his magazine, which as far as pornography is concerned was easy for me.
But the idea is larger than just pornography. I stopped buying celebrity type magazines because they support photographers who regularly invade the privacy of celebrities. It seemed to me that these photographers were not trying to get good photos, but were rather trying to catch celebrities at their worst possible moment. I can’t support that type of behavior.
When Princess Diana died this issue made headlines. Two things stood out to me:
1) Diana’s life was a living hell because of the invasive nature of these photographers. After her death one of her ‘fans’ was on the front cover of the local paper showing off all the photos she had of the Princess. This fan loved Diana so much she didn’t care how her photos were obtained, as long as she had them. This isn’t a fan this is a fanatic. This is not love this is obsession.
2) The press stated that Diana didn’t mind using the press to further her humanitarian goals. Until that moment I always assumed that a free press was a tool of society to be used to further common interest goals of society.
In the wake of Princess Diana’s death I realized that the free press was nothing more than another false prophet speaking only that which itching ears wanted to hear. (2 Timothy 4:3) It’s message of “Be afraid, be very afraid, Be afraid of everything, all the time” is in direct opposition to the word of God. “Fear not for I am with you, neither be anxious for I am your God.” Isaiah 41:10 So I stopped watching the news years ago.
Television constantly brings into my home the idea that casual sex is not only okay, but is desirable for relieving tension. And the commercials are just as bad. There was one that advertised a pill for a sexually transmitted disease. It started with the guy saying “I have it” and a girl saying “I don’t” and we are going to keep it that way by taking this pill. The pill lessened the symptoms of the disease, making it easier for the guy to have sex. But at the end of the commercial, where the announcer speeds through the possible side effects in rapid speak, you find out that the pill in no way prevents the spread of the disease.
So all it really does is to increase the chances of the girl getting the disease! I would laugh if it weren’t so pathetic, and scary. Casual sex is just as dangerous today as it was in Biblical times. Sexually transmitted diseases are just as epidemic now as they were then.
Sin is pervasive it is everywhere and eliminating the sources of sin is impossible. It is necessary for the Christian to consciously not choose evil every minute, of every hour of every day.
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
There are so many things in the world that do not fit my lifestyle as a Christian. And I choose to not participate. I am picky about the TV shows that I watch. I am picky about the books that I read. I am picky about the places that I go. I am picky about the organizations that I belong to. I am picky about the charities that I donate too.
I do not pick and choose what part of the Bible I will obey. I pick and choose everything else based on obedience.
Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. 1 John 2:6
Simple – Ain’t – Easy
Sometimes it’s downright hard
But it is worth the effort
Wendy
In the wake of Princess Diana’s death I realized that the free press was nothing more than another false prophet speaking only that which itching ears wanted to hear. (2 Timothy 4:3) It’s message of “Be afraid, be very afraid, Be afraid of everything, all the time” is in direct opposition to the word of God. “Fear not for I am with you, neither be anxious for I am your God.” Isaiah 41:10 So I stopped watching the news years ago.
Television constantly brings into my home the idea that casual sex is not only okay, but is desirable for relieving tension. And the commercials are just as bad. There was one that advertised a pill for a sexually transmitted disease. It started with the guy saying “I have it” and a girl saying “I don’t” and we are going to keep it that way by taking this pill. The pill lessened the symptoms of the disease, making it easier for the guy to have sex. But at the end of the commercial, where the announcer speeds through the possible side effects in rapid speak, you find out that the pill in no way prevents the spread of the disease.
So all it really does is to increase the chances of the girl getting the disease! I would laugh if it weren’t so pathetic, and scary. Casual sex is just as dangerous today as it was in Biblical times. Sexually transmitted diseases are just as epidemic now as they were then.
Sin is pervasive it is everywhere and eliminating the sources of sin is impossible. It is necessary for the Christian to consciously not choose evil every minute, of every hour of every day.
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
There are so many things in the world that do not fit my lifestyle as a Christian. And I choose to not participate. I am picky about the TV shows that I watch. I am picky about the books that I read. I am picky about the places that I go. I am picky about the organizations that I belong to. I am picky about the charities that I donate too.
I do not pick and choose what part of the Bible I will obey. I pick and choose everything else based on obedience.
Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. 1 John 2:6
Simple – Ain’t – Easy
Sometimes it’s downright hard
But it is worth the effort
Wendy
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