By Gary Andrews
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It wasn’t long ago that I went to Sunday school with my brother-in-law. His class was a group of adult men and the love of Jesus was in them and they did not hide the fact of their intolerance of how the world is going in today’s society.
The name of the lesson was “Victorious” and the teacher, a Vietnam Combat Veteran, was well versed in the Bible and did a great job teaching and leading the discussion. Of course, as in many of our churches today, politics were talked about and how the church has got to get involved. It seems that over the last few decades the church has become complacent about mentioning politics from the pulpit because of fear of alienating someone or someone’s group. Many of us fit in the group that is afraid to speak up because we are taken in by their slander and undesirable ethics and speech. The Apostle Paul, writer of the book of Romans, described how each of us has to fight the inner battle to do what is right.
Paul tells us in Galatians 6:7-10, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”
It is an everyday struggle for us to fight against the flesh of the world. We are the ones that have to decide what is right or wrong and do what the Lord leads us to do. All of us become so involved in our career and making money that we put away what is important and this is our church, Bible study, prayers, and Christian ministry. We become so self-indulgent that we actually hurt the church and our ministry with some of our actions out in the community. Lost people see us and judge us on our actions and reactions away from the church. Many times we are afraid to stand up for what is Christian and go along with the flow of the crowd.
In his early life Paul was an active opponent of the church and actually approved the stoning of Stephen in Acts 7:54-8:1. He oppressed Christianity at every opportunity until his encounter with Jesus on the Damascus Road. After he saw the resurrected Jesus he became one of the most ardent Christians and was truly an apostle for Christ.
We have the opportunity of accepting Christ as our Lord and Savior and when we do God gives us the Holy Spirit whose power is greater that our sinful nature. He enables us to make decisions for righteousness and gives us the strength to overcome sin. We have to listen to our inner self and do the right thing.
Prayer: Lord I pray that I may display your strength through my actions. Lead me in my decisions to overcome sinful desires and do what is right. Amen.
(Suggested daily Bible readings: Sunday – Philippians 4:13; Monday – Romans 7:20-25; Tuesday -Joshua 24:14-15; Wednesday – Jeremiah 26:12-19; Thursday – Matthew 4:18-22; Friday – Psalm 119:28-32; Saturday – Hebrew189-12
Gary Andrews is the author of Encouraging Words: 30-days in God’s Word. To obtain a copy go to his website www.gadevotionals.com