We live in a messed up worldā¦
Everything is offensive. Anything from what we wear, to the way we drink our coffee (I donāt like coffee btw), is scrutinized if it isnāt done the way the āmajorityā thinks it should be done. If the āmajorityā doesnāt agree with you, youāre thrown to the dogs and torn to shreds. If youāre not on CNN or other major cable news networksā¦youāre being slandered on social media by people who donāt even know you. To make matters worse, you can lose your job, and other important titles if you āoffendā the majorityās viewpoints.
This can all be taken out of context of we look at it in a negative way. Iām reminded of Jesusā¦.Heās my go-to-Man whenever I have frustrations about figuring this crazy world out. John 15:18 says this: āIf the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you.ā
As Saints of God, we must remember that we are apart of the minority, the not very popular because we donāt agree with everything the majority says or does group. We literally are the outcasts, they look down on us, they hate us. Iām reminded of something my Mama always told me when I was younger and I had issues with peer pressure, sheād always say ābaby, itās not you that they donāt like, itās what you stand for.ā Itās the same way with Jesus, the world doesnāt like us not because of who we are as people necessarily, but who we profess. Thatās a huge difference.
But as I mentioned, I struggled with peer pressure when I was younger, and as the church, we suffer with peer pressure now. Many notable pastors, leaders, as well as people who have no platform, such as myself, who just regularly attend church; have begun to change their stances on a lot of controversial issues. Not because they had to or needed to; but, because they want to keep an audience and the world platform. See, that old school Gospel message on Heaven or Hell is going sour nowadays. Many churches no longer teach on it because it ādraws people away. The world doesnāt want us to point out their sins and call them to repentance (thatās considered being judgmental) they want us to declare blessings, honor, and all is well speeches/messages. Iām not saying that it is wrong to do that. However, Iām saying that once we begin to not compel our lost brothers and sisters to repentance, weāve lost our focus on Jesus Christ and weāve forgotten the meaning of His mission which was to save the lost (John 3:16). Jesus never sugar coated, He never gave passes to certain people because He ālikedā them.
Romans 12:2 says: āDonāt copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know Godās will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.ā People of God, DONāT CONFORM! I have to ask the Holy Spirit to remind of this daily. Why? Because this world will drown out the deepest Saint of God if they stop praying, consecrating, and asking the Holy Spirit for a refilling each day. Also, reading the Word of God is essential to maintaining ourselves. All of this goes in conjunction with not being conformed to this world. Sometimes, Satan will have us thinking that weāre missing out or that weāre no fun because we arenāt doing what everyone else is doing according to the worlds standards which are actually Satanās standards. Donāt believe the hype, just like a person posting pictures of themselves smiling all the time on social media saying that theyāre happy can turn out to be a lie, so is the case with this world. On the outside they seem to be living it up, but really theyāre not. Satan is never going to show us the downside to sin, ever! So donāt be dismayed. Hold fast to God and continue to be different. Continue to compel men to be saved. Continue to call sinners to repentance, even we as Saints have to repent to God for things that we do and say. Donāt give up now, weāre almost Homeā¦ā¦ā¦
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