‘Fake’ defined in Webster’s New World Dictionary is ‘to make (something) seem real, etc. by deception.’ ‘Christian’ defined by Webster is ‘a believer in Jesus as the prophesied Messiah, or in the religion based on the teachings of Jesus.’ Put the two words together and what do you have, ‘one who claims a faith in Jesus who does live as Jesus lived.’ You are thinking, no one can live as Jesus did. He is the sinless Son of God and you are right. But John writes if we claim to know God we should obey His commandments. Ok, so where do we start?
Let us start with God’s Ten Commandments. I am sure most of us cannot quote all Ten Commandments when asked on the spot, but most of us have heard of God’s Ten Commandments given to Moses in the book of Exodus. Upon hearing them recited they come to mind once again, and upon hearing them it’s time to obey. But an important note to remember is that obeying the Ten Commandments does not make you a Christian. In fact, you are unable to obey any of the commandments fully without the help of God through His Holy Spirit.
So how can we fully obey God and live our lives as Jesus did? Jesus came to fulfill the Law. There were many laws in the Old Testament days to obey and no one was able to obey them all but failed repeatedly. A sacrifice was needed to forgive and cover sin, therefore the many animal sacrifices that were performed in those days. Jesus took care of all the sacrifices needed for sin by laying down His life as the perfect sacrifice once for all. (Heb.10:12) When we accept Christ as our savior we receive His Holy Spirit to dwell within us helping us to walk in obedience to God.
The only way you can say you live in God is when God truly lives in you through the Holy Spirit when you accept Jesus Christ. There are many fake Christians in the world today claiming to know Jesus, but they are not walking as He walked because they do not have His Holy Spirit. Don’t be a fake Christian but truly walk as Jesus walked by knowing Him as your personal savior and Lord.
“All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17 NLT
Illustration showing different types of natural resources supporting life on Earth.
Scripture says, “The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it.” (Ps.24:1 nlt) It’s all His for in the book of Genesis it says God created the earth. Our God has given us the earth to live in, manage it, and enjoy it. We could not do this on our own if God had not supplied us with natural resources created for our benefit. Just think of the natural resources that are vital for our survival. They fall into two categories, renewable and non-renewable resources.
Where would we be without the renewable resources God gave to each of us such as, plants, animals, freshwater, topsoil, and solar and wind energy created by the light of the sun and moving air currents. Not to forget coal, oil, and natural gas the non-renewable resources that has become a necessity in the 21st century. These natural resources were created by God for us to use and be able to live in and manage the earth. Without them we would not survive.
God has given us another natural resource that is vital to our physical lives, but more importantly vital for our spiritual lives, His Holy Word, the Bible. Neglecting the use water, vegetation, and all the other resources God has supplied us with will end in death. Neglecting God’s Word will end in spiritual death for those who refuse to accept God’s love for us through His Son. His Word was given to us to show us the way of salvation and how to live after accepting Christ as savior. The Bible continues to be a vital spiritual natural resource for every Christian. We cannot live without it. It was given to us for that purpose.
Investing for the future makes sense. Old sayings like ‘a penny saved is a penny earned’ and ‘saving for a rainy day’ have been repeated to young children to instill upon them the importance of saving for the future. High school and college graduates entering the workforce will begin, if they are smart, investing for family planning, buying a home, and all the expenses accumulated in life. Investing for the future also includes a retirement plan for when your working days are over. Some people put this off thinking they have lots of time, but another old saying is ‘time flies.’ I remember thinking back years ago in my first full-time job and seeing my retirement date. It seemed like an eternity away; well that date came and went five years ago.
For the Christian, while it is smart to invest financially, it is also vital to invest in living a godly life which will benefit in your overall retirement goal. Biblical commentator David Guzik says Psalm 37:16 is ‘a long-term investment strategy.’ King David wrote, “It is better to be godly and have little.” (Ps.37:16 nlt) You see, with God little is much. Living a godly life, obeying God, working hard, caring for your family, being a good neighbor, and helping others are also part of a long-term investment strategy.
There is nothing wrong in being rich. God blesses the rich as well. Their riches are even more abundant in God’s hands. David is saying in this psalm if you need to be evil and shady to secure your future it’s not worth it. “For the strength of the wicked will be shattered, but the LORD takes care of the godly. Day by day the LORD takes care of the innocent, and they will receive an inheritance that lasts forever.” (Ps.37:17-18 nlt) A sure long-term investment strategy is living a godly life of obedience. It is never too early or too late to start as long as you start now.
“Abraham got up early that morning and hurried out to the place where he had stood in the LORD’s presence. He looked out across the plain toward Sodom and Gomorrah and watched as columns of smoke rose from the cities like smoke from a furnace. But God had listened to Abraham’s request and kept Lot safe, removing him from the disaster that engulfed the cities on the plain.” Genesis 19:27-29 NLT
The opening verses of Genesis 19, detailing the events in Sodom
Last week in our ‘Story of Abraham,’ Abraham was told of the coming destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham knew his nephew Lot and his family were living in Sodom and he petitioned the Lord to save the city if He found any righteous people living within its boundaries. Abraham started at fifty and stopped asking the Lord to spare the city if He found ten righteous people. The Lord said He would spare the city of Sodom if ten were found, but there were only four. Lot, his wife, and two daughters escaped the destruction of Sodom. God answered Abraham’s prayer for Lot’s safety.
Genesis chapter 19 is vivid description of mankind living under the evil influence of sin at its worst. It is an example of the consequences of those sins as a Holy and Righteous God pronounces His judgement on unrepented sinners. A sad commentary is also included in this chapter of failing to influence those around you to the righteous things of God. It serves as a warning for our day and age of the influence society has on us when we compromise our beliefs and are accepting of sin by remaining silent.
The two angels who visited Abraham with the Lord have now arrived in Sodom. Lot was sitting in the gate as an official of the city. He had moved up in the ranks of influence and now oversees in judicial matters as part of the city council. Lot stood up to welcome them and invited them as was customary into his home for the evening. ‘“My lords,’ he said, ‘come to my home to wash your feet, and be my guests for the night. You may then get up early in the morning and be on your way again.”’ (Gen.19:2 nlt) But the angels said no thank you, we will spend the night in the town square. Lot knew that would be extremely dangerous for them and insisted they spend the night under his roof.
Lot prepared a meal for them and they ate, “But before they retired for the night, all the men of Sodom, young and old, came from all over the city and surrounded the house. They shouted to Lot, ‘Where are the men who came to spend the night with you? Bring them out to us so we can have sex with them!’” (Gen.19:4-5 nlt) The total depravity of this city is seen by ‘all the men’ were there. The young and the old came from every corner of the city to fulfilled their lust. Lot tried to persuade them not to commit these horrible acts but to no avail. Here is where we see the effects of compromising and remaining silent.
Lot does a horrible thing. To save face and honor the obligation to protect those you have as a guest in your home Lot says to the men, “Look, I have two virgin daughters. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do with them as you wish. But please, leave these men alone, for they are my guests and are under my protection.” (Gen.19:8 nlt) Lot’s action is totally unjustified. An insight for us to consider today is how far compromising with the world, enjoying power, money, and influence will corrupt our minds and thinking. Lot had bought into what was accepted by the culture. The crazed men lunged at Lot but the two angels were able to pull him safely back into the house and then struck the men with blindness or mental confusion.
The angels now state their purpose for being in the city. Lot did not recognize them as angels but as travelers stopping for the night. “The angels questioned Lot. ‘Do you have any other relatives here in the city?’ they asked. ‘Get them out of this place—your sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone else. For we are about to destroy this city completely.’” (Gen.19:12-13 nlt) Lot tried to convince his daughters’ fiancés but they didn’t believe him. Lot had lost his moral influence.
The following morning at dawn the angels were insisting Lot and his family hurry. But “When Lot still hesitated, the angels seized his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters and rushed them to safety outside the city, for the LORD was merciful.” (Gen.19:16 nlt) The love of possessions (Lot was a rich man) and life in a big city with power and influence almost cost Lot and his family their lives. But God is a merciful God.
The angels told them to run up into the mountains to escape, but Lot didn’t think he could adapt to mountain living and asked if he could escape to the small town Zoar which was nearby. He was granted permission and once they got there the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah began. “Then the LORD rained down fire and burning sulfur from the sky on Sodom and Gomorrah. He utterly destroyed them, along with the other cities and villages of the plain, wiping out all the people and every bit of vegetation.” (Gen.19:24-25 nlt) God’s judgment is swift, precise, and justified.
There is a final warning here in not looking back, especially if the Lord has rescued us from some disaster created by our own sinful desires. A desire to return to what you have just been released from will result in something far worse. “But Lot’s wife looked back as she was following behind him, and she turned into a pillar of salt.” (Gen.19:26 nlt) Looking back to what once was caused the blowing salt from the devastating destruction to surround her encasing her permanently. It was disobedience to the warning of not looking back. So, may we not look back.
God answered Abraham’s prayer and saved Lot for He is a merciful God. How tragic it is only three people may it to safety. It could have been four. If God today were to judge your city how many righteous would He find there due to your influence. Something for all of us to think about.
Throughout any given day we make hundreds of choices. If our day is not already preplanned, we have the task of deciding how to fill the day. Even in those preplanned days, would our scheduled activities please the Lord? Obviously work, fulfilling family needs, spending time with the Lord, and volunteering in the community would be pleasing to God. It is those gray areas that are concerning for the Christian. Areas of personal conviction between you and God if you participate in them hinders your relationship with Him. It doesn’t need to be outright sin that would displease God, James tells us, “Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.” (Ja. 4:17nlt) This is especially true in the things you hold in conviction to do or not to do.
Developing convictions between you and the Lord begins with spending time in the Bible and in prayer with Him. During times of confusion in certain areas of your life search the scriptures and ask God for guidance as to what He pleases Him, then go do it or not do it as the Lord placed the conviction on your heart. Not every Christian will have the same convictions. What is a conviction for me may not necessarily be a conviction for you and vice versa. That doesn’t mean that God is not pleased with both of us. He is pleased as we are obedient to His will for us.
There are common denominators for all Christians to agree with convictions in what pleases and displeases God. Paul writes to the church in Ephesus, “Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them. It is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret…… Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.” (Eph. 5:11-12, 17nlt) As you plan your day, carefully determine what pleases the Lord by developing convictions.
“But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, ‘You must be holy because I am holy.’” 1 Peter 1:15-16 NLT
God calls every Christian to holy living. In fact, He says ‘you must be holy.’ Don’t allow God’s statement to alarm you. He is not calling you to be perfect as He is without a trace of sin. We all know that is not possible, and if anyone knows that is not possible it is God. So, what does God mean when He gives us this command, we must be holy. He is calling us to holy living and not to a perfect sinless life without any flaws or defects. And is this possible, yes!
The Lord is calling us away from our old way of living before we were saved. Dr. John MacArthur notes, “Holiness essentially defines the Christian’s new nature and conduct with his pre-salvation lifestyle.” We are called to live separately from the sinful ways of the world as the new Christ-like nature takes over. Being holy, in essence, is being separated from the world and not living in accordance with the world systems. Christians are to be set apart from sin and impurity and set apart to God.
Habakkuk 1:13 says, “But you are pure and cannot stand the sight of evil.” (nlt) The hearts and minds of every Christian should continually reflect on the purity of God. Our goal is to live in purity and recognize God cannot stand the sight of evil. When we fail, which will be often, the Lord offers forgiveness when we confess and He gives us grace to see us through as we continue on with our call to holy living.
“Pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have confessed so well before many witnesses.” 1 Timothy 6:11-12 NLT
This morning I came across an interesting reading in my ‘Substack’ feed entitled ‘Prayer is Not Asking. It is Occupying.’ The thought being that is not merely asking, but it is reporting for duty. Afterall we are in a war. Paul tells Timothy to fight the good fight of faith. The Lord who called Timothy into service also called us. Our ministries may differ, but we have the same commander, the Lord God.
Our Lord is telling us to fight the good fight of faith in 2026. If you have been a Christian for any length of time you know that task is not easy. But we are to pursue righteousness while living a godly life having faith, love, with perseverance and gentleness. I do not know about you, but I cannot do that on my own. Paul also recognized this as he instructed Timothy to fight the good fight. The word Paul used for ‘fight’ is where we get our English word ‘agonize.’ It describes the attentiveness, discipline, and effort needed for victory in a military battle or an athletic contest.
The good fight of faith is a spiritual battle against the things of this world ruled by Satan. The Lord commands to us to fight the good fight by putting on the full armor of God and standing firm. (Eph.6:10-18) We are not left defenseless and are encouraged to remember our future promise of eternal life leading us to live with a heavenly perspective as we minister for the Lord. May we all eagerly report for duty each day as we fight the good fight of faith.
“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? But I, the LORD, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve.” Jeremiah 17:9-10 NLT
“She’s all heart.” “He has a warm and caring heart.” “Their love comes from the heart.” “They have sensitive hearts to the situation.” All these statements reflect an outward appearance of people’s demeanor towards others. And I am sure that most of what we see is real concern in treating others with kindness. We should all strive to have like comments be made of us, but a examination of our hearts is necessary to insure that the label put on us is genuine. After all, what does it mean to have a warm and caring heart, a heart of gold?
Legendary singer-songwriter Neil Young wrote about his search for a heart of gold. Trying to determine his true meaning in writing ‘Heart of Gold’ proves difficult as with any gifted artist. It has been suggested the songwriter’s quest was to better himself, to be a good caring person showing love, kindness, and openness in order to be able to properly love the girl of his dreams. Therefore he was searching for that heart of gold to match his girlfriend’s heart of gold. According to the artist himself, he states it was to ‘capture a moment of happiness.’ He was correct. Searching for that heart of gold is but for a moment when dealing with a human heart not indwelled by the Holy Spirit.
The universal problem is that all human beings possess the sin nature from birth, and that includes our hearts. Jesus confirms this truth to His disciples in explaining a parable. “It’s not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth……. the words you speak come from the heart—that’s what defiles you.” (Mt.15:11, 18nlt) The religious leaders in Jesus’s day were more concerned with traditional outward appearances which made them look like they had a heart of gold towards God. But Jesus said their actions were hypocritical. They put on a show of ceremonial washing their hands to not defile their bodies from the food they ate, but Jesus tells them it is the thoughts they have in their hearts and what they speak from those thoughts that defiles them.
Christian friend, we need to guard our hearts. To have a warm and caring heart we need to stand guard against the influences of the world, our own self –centeredness, pride, and evil those thoughts. Those of us who know the Lord have changed hearts through the presence of the Holy Spirit. Let us be careful to walk by the Spirit so we do not carry out the sinful desires of the flesh, but present to God a ‘heart of gold.’
There is much in the news cycle around the world these days concerning countries with open borders even though they say their borders are secure. The main reason for closed and secure borders is for protection of their citizens. This is nothing new or distinct for the 21st century. We find an early prime example of a ‘no open borders’ policy from the pages of the Bible in the book of Exodus.
The Lord God established Israel’s border before they entered the Promised Land. “I will establish your borders from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, and from the desert to the Euphrates River.” (Ex.23:31 niv) Israel has well defined borders. They haven’t changed and a future day will come when Israel will possess all the land God has promised them.
What has caused a major delay in Israel not having all the land assigned to them was their unwillingness to finish the job of driving out the nations the Lord required them to do. They let them hang around within their borders. God specifically warned Israel if they did this their hearts would turn away from God. Israel would be influenced by those around them and would soon find themselves sinning against God. Israel didn’t secure their borders nor drive out all the heathen nations God required them to and we are still seeing the effects of that today.
Many Christians today are similar to ancient Israel in not having a ‘no open border policy.’ We let ourselves be influenced by things and even people God is instructing us to drive out of lives. The apostle Paul writes, “if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2Cor.5:17 niv) If we continue in our relationships as previously and do the things we did before as if nothing has changed, then nothing has changed! We have not closed our borders to the outside influences that can harm us. This will lead to damaging effects in our lives down the road. As a nation needs to secure its borders, Christians, especially new Christians need to seal off all negative influences that would lead them away from the Lord.
“But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies.” Romans 1:18, 24 NLT
Last Sunday the greatest show on earth, Super Bowl LX, was televised and streamed across the world. That title once belonged to the circus act of ‘Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey.’ I realize they are still around, but the NFL’s Super Bowl has long surpassed them in more ways than one and not for the better.
Writing as one who watched the first Super Bowl as an impressionable youth, the NFL has changed dramatically over 60 years. The game itself has not changed all that much except for how the game is played according to the NFL but that is a subject for another day. Today is about what we as Christians are willing to accept in our entertainment choices when they cross the lines of decency, morality, and the Word of God. Rule changes in the NFL do not cross any of these lines. What does cross the line is the NFL’s push to grow its product by bowing to a decaying culture at the expense of corrupting our future generations. Of course, I’m speaking of the morally bankrupt half-time show witnessed by millions of people especially the impressionable youth of our day.
No, I didn’t watch it not even to be able to better review it, there was no need to. Debauchery does not need to be witnessed to know what it is. The problem within the current culture is that many people don’t see the problem and it is a big problem, nor do they care. It is understandable those outside of Christ would fall into this category, but for Christians who claim to follow Jesus and His teachings to not see the problem by staying silent or worst yet accepting it is unconscionable. The book of Romans says, “But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness.” (Ro.1:18 nlt) God is angry and so should we be.
Before someone thinks ‘who are you to judge’ I’m not judging. I’m angry, and mostly angry at my brothers and sisters in Christ who are accepting of this kind of public behavior for all the world to see. It’s not OK, and no I’m not perfect, but I know when something is not OK with God. His Word tells us, for all who care to pay attention, what is right and wrong, what we should accept and what we should condemn. Reading through the Bible can be unsettling at times for we will come across passages we don’t like, but they’re in there, so we need to deal with it.
What are we willing to accept to be accepted by the culture? Many of us stay silent to not offend others notably friends, co-workers, and family. We want to be part of ‘the greatest show on earth’ with the Super Bowl parties, the commercials, and the half-time entertainment. We bring our families together for some family entertainment. The sad truth is Super Bowl LX was far from family entertainment. The Greatest Show on Earth clearly belongs to ‘Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus.’ Pass the cotton candy.
Word for the Soul 