GIRL VS. WORLD.
I like the ring of this title. Hmm...
So I often see the way the world is running, and look at the lives of non-believers and wonder WHY the heck I even have standards. I know it's a very selfish thought, but following Jesus can be hard sometimes, and sometimes I think about what it would be like if I had no guilt or shame for doing things the world claims as completely innocent.
I looked in the back of my Bible and the topic of discipline was presented. Spiritual discipline, mental discipline, and discipline of one's actions can set one person apart from another. Two people could look the exact same, dress the same, and talk the same, but the discipline of their very beings is something that seperates the two.
The Bible mentions the world many times, how it is set apart from Jesus. Jesus says His kingdom is not of this world:
John 18:36 NIV
Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”
And we're also commanded to reject conforming:
Romans 12:2 NIV
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is— his good, pleasing and perfect will.
We are called to be disciples of Christ to set our lives apart from the world. Jesus calls us to be the salt of the earth-- which can mean we are to purify the earth. He also calls us to be the light of the world, and allows us to shine our lights to the world so they may see Him.
It is definitely difficult to follow Jesus-- it requires us to stand for Him when others don't. God made a perfect earth, but humans brought sin into the world! And now it is our jobs as Christians to share Christ's light with the world, and to be disciplined so that we won't be condemned with the earth, as said in 1 Cortinthians:
Nevertheless, when we are judged in this way by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be finally condemned with the world.
1 Corinthians 11:32 NIV
I love this passage in Titus, too:
For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
Titus 2:11-14 NIV
It will require us going against our nature to do what He commands. But being set apart will not only save us, but can help save others as well.
Dear God,
We're sorry that we slip up sometimes. But thank You for loving us anyway. Thank You for sending Your Son that we can be free from shame and continue following You. Help us be set apart, and shine the lights that You gave us for the whole world to see.
If there are any people that need You right now, give us the strength to help them, even if it means standing out a little, for we know that our future with You is much more valubale that the way the world views us.
Amen.
I like the ring of this title. Hmm...
So I often see the way the world is running, and look at the lives of non-believers and wonder WHY the heck I even have standards. I know it's a very selfish thought, but following Jesus can be hard sometimes, and sometimes I think about what it would be like if I had no guilt or shame for doing things the world claims as completely innocent.
I looked in the back of my Bible and the topic of discipline was presented. Spiritual discipline, mental discipline, and discipline of one's actions can set one person apart from another. Two people could look the exact same, dress the same, and talk the same, but the discipline of their very beings is something that seperates the two.
The Bible mentions the world many times, how it is set apart from Jesus. Jesus says His kingdom is not of this world:
John 18:36 NIV
Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”
And we're also commanded to reject conforming:
Romans 12:2 NIV
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is— his good, pleasing and perfect will.
We are called to be disciples of Christ to set our lives apart from the world. Jesus calls us to be the salt of the earth-- which can mean we are to purify the earth. He also calls us to be the light of the world, and allows us to shine our lights to the world so they may see Him.
It is definitely difficult to follow Jesus-- it requires us to stand for Him when others don't. God made a perfect earth, but humans brought sin into the world! And now it is our jobs as Christians to share Christ's light with the world, and to be disciplined so that we won't be condemned with the earth, as said in 1 Cortinthians:
Nevertheless, when we are judged in this way by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be finally condemned with the world.
1 Corinthians 11:32 NIV
I love this passage in Titus, too:
For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
Titus 2:11-14 NIV
It will require us going against our nature to do what He commands. But being set apart will not only save us, but can help save others as well.
Dear God,
We're sorry that we slip up sometimes. But thank You for loving us anyway. Thank You for sending Your Son that we can be free from shame and continue following You. Help us be set apart, and shine the lights that You gave us for the whole world to see.
If there are any people that need You right now, give us the strength to help them, even if it means standing out a little, for we know that our future with You is much more valubale that the way the world views us.
Amen.
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