Following a long busy summer I am ready to write again but will probably not try to write as much or as regularly as my original intent was. Following Christ requires a little bit of work on our parts. I would like to just say that in following Christ we are to have the world mimic us and we should not mimic the world. In the book of Daniel there is a story about a teenager (or young man) who decided to live as close to God as possible even in the midst of bad circumstances. It states in Daniel 1:8a "But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank..." You see Daniel purposed in his heart, he decided that he would not defile himself. How often do we decide in our hearts? We have struggles each day, we go through trials, we are tempted, we're often tried to our wits end. There is an old saying that goes something like this, " If you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything". Purpose in your heart today and everyday that you will not defile yourself before God. Resolve today not to become addicted to the diet of our culture. As it says in 1Peter 2:11 & 12, "Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles (read here, non-believers), that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation." Following Christ is a daily decision, but when we purpose in our hearts to follow Christ, He gives us the strength to do just that.
As I have continued in my personal Bible reading and study this summer I have come across all sorts of material for this blog and my other blog, "Holiness, Necessary or Not?" As Christians we tend to sit as close to the fence or even on the fence just to see how close we can live to our old lives and still be a Christian. This thought is actually taken up in my other blog and I will not elaborate on it here.
