How to Live Right in a Wrong World

How to Live Right in a Wrong World

Here are some questions that will help believers in Jesus live right in a wrong world. The source of these questions is Kent Hughes’ Liberating Ministry from the Success Syndrome. He asks these five groups of questions.

Group one: are we being desensitized by the present evil world? Do things that once shocked us now pass us by with little notice? Have our sexual ethics slackened? Group two: Where do our minds wander when we have no duties to perform? Group three: what are we reading? Are there books or magazines or files in our libraries that we want no one else to see? Group four: what are we renting at the local video stores? How many hours do we spend watching TV? What about adulteries? How many of those did we watch last week? What about murders? How many did we watch with our children? The last group: How many chapters of the Bible did we read last week?1

These are some good ‘living right’ questions to answer. The writer of Proverbs also weighs in on the subject. What does a wise man say about living right? Let’s take a look.

The Fifth Commandment: Parents Exclusive Right to Respect

[Tweet “A friend who tries to pull you from the things of the Lord is no friend at all.”]

#S4-047: Why It’s Important to Live A Separated Life [Podcast]

Why It's Important to Live A Separated Life

This is what the Spirit of God spoke up in my heart after a season of prayer and study. “You know son, you need to talk about people sinning in the church. I’m trying to get their attention but they’re not listening. I’m trying to help them avoid tragedy. It will come if they don’t hear me. The handwriting is on the wall.” By His instruction, these words come forth today. It’s time to live a separated life before God. It’s time to get the sin out.

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[Tweet “If there’s area’s of moral sin in your life, it’s time to right the ship.“]

How To Live Holy In An Unholy World

You Can Live Holy In An Unholy World

What do we mean when we say a thing is holy? Look at your Bible and it says, “Holy Bible.” What makes it holy? The land of Israel is called “The Holy Land,” and the city of Jerusalem is called “The Holy City.” Why? There is a quality about all three that they share in common. They all belong to God. The Bible is God’s book; Israel is God’s land; Jerusalem is God’s city. They are all God’s property! That is why they are holy; they belong to God.1 The same applies to believers in Jesus. We are holy because of who we belong to. That’s a positional holiness which comes via the new birth. But, there’s another part to holiness. It’s the day to day stuff of living on a sin-stained planet. In today’s post, let’s take a look at the topic of holy living in an unholy world.

[Tweet “We must search our hearts, lifestyles, and video storage cabinets. It’s time to get the sin out.”]

Why Mortifying the Flesh Is a Good God Thing

Roaming through Romans

John Flavel said, ‘It is easier to declaim, like an orator, against a thousand sins of others than it is to mortify one sin, like Christians, in ourselves; to be more industrious in our pulpits than in our closets; to preach twenty sermons to our people than one to our own hearts.’ 1 Mortifying sin was Paul’s subject here in Romans 8:12-13. What can we learn about how to put this into operation in our everyday lives?

#S2-051: How to Cultivate Gods Presence in Your Life Encore [Podcast]

The world is perishing for lack of the knowledge of God and the Church is famishing for want of His Presence. The instant cure of most of our religious ills would be to enter the Presence in spiritual experience, to become suddenly aware that we are in God and that God is in us. This would lift us out of our pitiful narrowness and cause our hearts to be enlarged 1. These are penetrating words from the pen of Tozer. Does your heart agree with these words? Do you hunger and crave the Presence of God? This is the first of a two part post on this important aspect of life in the Spirit.

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#049: How to Cultivate Gods Presence in Your Life [Podcast]

The world is perishing for lack of the knowledge of God and the Church is famishing for want of His Presence. The instant cure of most of our religious ills would be to enter the Presence in spiritual experience, to become suddenly aware that we are in God and that God is in us. This would lift us out of our pitiful narrowness and cause our hearts to be enlarged 1. These are penetrating words from the pen of Tozer. Does your heart agree with these words? Do you hunger and crave the Presence of God? This is the first of a two part post on this important aspect of life in the Spirit.

Listen to the Audio

Click to Listen | Right Click to Download | Subscribe in iTunes

How to Cultivate God’s Presence in Your Life

The world is perishing for lack of the knowledge of God and the Church is famishing for want of His Presence. The instant cure of most of our religious ills would be to enter the Presence in spiritual experience, to become suddenly aware that we are in God and that God is in us. This would lift us out of our pitiful narrowness and cause our hearts to be enlarged 1. These are penetrating words from the pen of Tozer. Does your heart agree with these words? Do you hunger and crave the Presence of God? This is the first of a two part post on this important aspect of life in the Spirit.

Why Receiving Jesus is Necessary

Receiving Jesus is the key in order to live in the eternal with God. Why is it needful? Why is it necessary? ‘Necessary’, is a word that can cause a reaction in some people.  The word implies ‘a have to’ or an imperative obligation. This causes resistance especially in those who believe that there are other roads to God. Some, for example, believe that possessing high morality is the road to heaven while others believe that all religions lead there if one is sincere and true to ones convictions. Is this true? Do all roads lead to God? Much hangs in the balance here which is why the word ‘necessary’ takes on critical status. Why is it necessary to receive Jesus?  Why don’t all roads lead to heaven? If you type the words ‘things that are necessary’ into a Google search bar, one of the first hits you will come to is ‘three things that are necessary for life on earth’. But what about things that are necessary to live life in heaven with God?

Three Steps to Overcoming Worry

There are reasons why sometimes Christians struggle to receive from the Lord. Faith comes by hearing God’s Word. If you are unknowledgeable about what the Word of God says in an area of struggle, you can’t have faith in God to help you in that area. Help from on High is received by faith. A second handicap to receiving from God is engaging in the sin of worry.  Along this line there are two verses you should become familiar with.

Enduring Tests and Trials: Stripping Away Sin; The Epistle of James 1:19-21

Swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath, the three musketeers of competent communication personally and increasing development spiritually. How much human misfortune spawns from the neglect of these wise words. How much ignorance results from inverting these words? In 1870  a bishop visited the president of a small denominational college. He blurted out his biblical conviction. “Inventions are a past affair.” The educator, of course, disagreed. “Why, in 50 years I believe it may be possible for men to soar through the air like birds!” The bishop in shock said “Only angels can fly.” Ironically, that mistaken bishop was none other than Milton Wright, the father of Orville and Wilbur. Thirty Three years later, Orville and Wilbur proved the folly of their fathers words. 1.

Enduring Tests and Trials: The True Source of Temptation; James 1:13-15

In 1970, comedian Flip Wilson and his show ‘The Flip Wilson Show’ debuted on NBC. His most popular character, was Geraldine Jones, a flirty women whose most famous line,   “The devil made me do it” became a national catchphrase. 1. James, in this portion of his letter, addresses just who makes a person sin. Only one choice qualifies and its not God and its not the devil.

Enduring Tests and Trials: Rich and Poor Alike; James 1:9-11

The trials of life mows everybody’s lawn the same height on planet earth. People’s money and social connections won’t spare stewing time in life’s great crock pot. From the penthouse to the basement, all tenants stomach hard times. Do you remember the mark of the beast in Revelation thirteen? Did you notice how all classes get the same stamp?  The assets and  connections of the rich won’t keep them from the branding. Full bodied bank accounts will get you a designer version of the mark but not much else. And the poor? Do they get a pass since they have no money to control anyway? No, the poor line up to receive the mark just like government cheese (Rev. 13:16).  666 is an equal opportunity intrusion into life. Compliance is compulsory. Resistance is futile.  Tests are like taxes, you can’t avoid them. James starts this paragraph on tests by addressing the subject with rich and poor.