"Life's challenges are designed not to break us but to bend us toward God." Author Unkown




Thursday, 4 June 2020

The Lifestye of set-apartness


In the societies of the world today, there is extraordinarily little regard for what the Word of God has to say about daily living.  It is all about self needs, self-love, do what makes you feel good, what gives you the edge as a trendy individual, and fitting into the mold of what everyone else is doing.  Keep reading there is something here for the Christian and the non-Christian.  I believe there is a word for you today.

The ideology of religion and Christianity has been confused and intertwined by the masses to confuse and hide the truth and of course this is foremost on Satan’s agenda to bring confusion into the minds of people and deter them from the truth-God. 

I will not attempt to use the fancy and sometimes confusing theological terminologies (I have nothing against that if it is your cup of tea) but there are times when a matter calls for just being plain and simple. 

Religion - the idea of a greater source or power, God beyond humankind, something which orders the greater scheme of things.  There are those that incorporate and dictate certain disciplines but lack the spiritual connection with the Sovereign God. There are also some religions that involve the worshipping and praying to various gods relative to creation, earth’s elements and in some cases a self or culture selection of a divine human being.  They also indicate that one is in control of one’s own destiny and that one is a god in and of oneself.

Christianity - the obvious difference is Christ the person, with the belief and conviction that He dwells in the hearts of men who accepts Him as their personal Saviour.  His earthly story begins when He came from heaven to earth, born as a baby to the virgin Mary.  The main purpose for coming to earth was to reconcile mankind back to God.  It does not end there but in Christianity there is a hope that we will have eternal life in heaven with God; should we remain on the path of righteousness until death or until He returns.  This brings me to the purpose of this writ the concept of living a life of purity.

I imagine that when Jesus delivered the Sermon  on the Mount/Beatitudes (Matt. 5:1-12, 13-14) it was a really bright and sunny day and having his disciples, along with the crowds that followed him, sitting on a grassy hillside Jesus paused  thinking; this is the perfect time to render a teaching on the moralities of life and Christian living. 

Purity – to be chase; to abstain from immoral sexual conduct,  modes; plain decency, innocent; void of guilt, not given to trickery in any dealings…Matthew 5: 8 states, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” simply put right? But for further clarification I love how my Thomas Nelson Woman’s Study Bible (a beautiful birthday gift from my family) puts it ‘a lifestyle of set-apartness, including thoughts and actions’.  This speaks to the lifestyle of a Christian“…, Holiness without which no man shall see the Lord.” The Sermon on the Mount is for everyone, but it speaks directly to the expectation of Christian living.  Having a religious perspective would move one to memorise and recite the beatitudes and maybe try to live by most of it, but as a Christian the perspective towards character building and transformation.   Carrying the label of Christianity states that one has accepted Jesus as Saviour with the assurance of the indwelling of God’s Holy Spirit in one’s life.  The Holy Spirit dwells within to give direction and strength and boldness to live this type of life out loud among family, friends, and colleagues alike. Living a life of purity is nothing that can be achieved alone with self-will and discipline but by The Spirit of God who lives within.  So, purity, what does that look like in the life of a Christian?

Purity - A lifestyle of set-apartness, including thoughts and actions -

Lifestyle indicates a day to day function that identifies the individual with a set of morals and character standing that sets you apart from a non-Christian, your convictions and ideas, your interactions with others.  Psalms 24:4:6NIV He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood and has not sworn deceitfully. He shall receive a blessing from the God of his salvation. This is the generation of those who seek Him, _ even Jacob.   David in one of his many rhetoric, of the wonder of Sovereign God and feeling his smallness and unworthiness before Him, asks and answers the question, vs 3&4 “who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? When you come to the realisation of the sovereignty of God self-reliance is no longer part of your life’s equation. Self-introspection causes you to question, “who am I?, to think that I could control my destiny and live selfishly after my own worldly desires most of which goes against God’s plan and purpose for my life.  We live in a world that tells us:
  1. it is okay to tell a lie if it is for a good reason, meaning if it will benefit the individual's personal agenda;
  2. it is okay to see wrong-doing and not do or say anything about it, when it does not affect your personal well-being;
  3. nobody is interested in your stand on what is right from wrong;
  4. it is nobody's business that I am having an extramarital affair, we are both accountable adults;
  5. it is okay to have a sexual relationship with my boyfriend/girlfriend we love each other / we are engaged (we are practically married);
  6. we can't control  who we fall in love with, the heart wants what it wants no matter what including homosexual and adulterous relationships;
  7. revenge is justifiable and sweet;
  8. prey on the weak and despise the less fortunate.
  9. It is okay to cheat as long as it does not hurt anyone as along as I come out on top.
  10. I did not act on it, I just thought about it.
There are so much more that can be added to this list, but I dare to say that these are all lies from the pit of hell from the voice of the enemy of our souls, Satan. Satan is the father of lies and he will use every opportunity to infiltrate our hearts and our lives to turn us away from Father God.  Of ourselves we are no match against Satan, we cannot resist his evil intents but by the grace of God when we fail, we are brought to a place of forgiveness and wholeness through Jesus Christ.  Purity - A lifestyle of set-apartness, including thoughts and actions is a daily endeavour for a child of God.  Each day God gives us grace for what faces us to overcome the challenges of the day.  We should live our lives with the mind and desire to please God in all that we do, to receive His approval at the end of it all.  Nathan’s reprimand by the Spirit of God to David after his tryst with Bathsheba and the successful plot to kill her husband, was cutting and also healing.  David prayed a prayer that we as Christians should pray daily, we have a tendency to be caught up in self-righteousness, (thank you Sovereign Father for your grace and mercies).

“Create in me a pure heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from Your presence
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of Your salvation
And sustain me with a willing spirit.
 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,
And sinners will be converted to You.
Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God,
the God of my salvation;
then my tongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness.”
Psalms 51:10-14

Surrendering of our wills, should be a part of our daily exercise in Christian living. God knows the mind and heart of mankind. Surrendering mind, body and spirit to the will of God; who wants only all that is good for his children. He knows our beginning and our end, so when He directs, you’d better believe He knows what He’s doing and yield in obedience.  David continued his prayer in Psalms 51:15-17 to say 

Ó Lord, open my lips that my mouth may declare Your praise.  
For You delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; 
You are not pleased alone with burnt offering. 
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
 a broken and contrite (repentant) heart, 
O God, You will not despise.”

My fellow Christian Believers, it is possible to live a pure life without reproach in this world, because the Spirit of God dwells within us giving us all that we need for our individual journeys.

If you have been struggling in your walk with God or maybe you’ve  given up because it all seems impossible here is Christ’s personal response to you: “…My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” And I hope that your response to Him would be, “Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” 2 Corinthians 12:9  When you are weak and find yourself no match for the enemy’s temptations in the form of peer pressure and influences, circumstances of life, then you will be strong because God’s grace is indeed sufficient.

Maybe, all of the above is why you have been putting off accepting Jesus as your saviour. Satan has be showing you what you will miss out on, and of course he will never show you the the benefits of trusting God. You are loved by God and it is not His will that you perish, He gave His only son to die for you so that you may live. That you would live a life full and free from guilt, and free of the weight of sin...why not give your life to Jesus. Let God take care of those vices that enemy tells you that you can't live without.  Let God lead your heart, so far you've made some really bad choices, but Sovereign God says to you today, "I AM the LORD who heals and delivers, I AM the Restorer, I can make all things new".  Why not give Him your heart today.  His love for you is unending and His mercies are new every morning_"It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness." Lamentaions  3:22,23

Prayer: Sovereign God, I give you honour and glory because of who You are, thank You for the gift of your Son, Jesus Christ, and His shed blood for our sins.  Thank you for new mercies every day that brings us into fellowship with You every day of our lives.  Lord that we may live a surrendered life to You daily, being light to those that we encounter on our life’s journey and that by our life living, You would be glorified and mankind would come to know you personally in Jesus’ name. Amen

May the peace of God which passes all understand keep your hearts and mind through Christ Jesus.


 Love and Blessings
Mauricia

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