Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God. (2 Corinthians 7:1 NLT) What promises? Look back one verse and you will read: "And I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty." Sons and daughters - living in us and walking among us - those are the promises referenced here. The more we understand just how much God wants us to enjoy his presence among us, the more we will desire to live in such a way that constantly welcomes him into our lives. There is much to be said about the presence of God, but none more important than the sense of awe and holiness we experience when we enter into it. There is no room for our 'sinful shenanigans in his presence. That is why we might feel a little conviction whenever we enter into his presence after making some form of sinful compromise in our lives. We are ...
It wasn’t so long ago that you were mired in that old stagnant life of sin. You let the world, which doesn’t know the first thing about living, tell you how to live. You filled your lungs with polluted unbelief and then exhaled disobedience. We all did it, all of us doing what we felt like doing, when we felt like doing it, all of us in the same boat. (Ephesians 2:1-2 MSG) Whatever came of our 'old man'? No, not your father, your old nature - the one that used to find it so easy to run toward sin. It wasn't hard for us to compromise and choose sin because we allowed the world and all its enticements to tell us how to live our lives. The loudest voice received our attention - the 'coolest' or 'newest' fad took us in. We chose to listen to the advice of worldly counselors instead of the voice of God. No wonder we fell so easily into the traps the enemy of our souls set to ensnare us! What we fill our minds with eventually becomes the very things that lead to a...