A Great Article

I just came across a great article that I had to share. This morning I came to a realization that has been coming for a LONG time but I have been pushing it away..you ever do that...you get the McFly but you keep pushing it away until finally God hits you with a brick? Well that happened to me this morning. I finally realized that while I may nag and bug others about horror movies etc. I have been allowing bad influences into my life too....and though I have been fighting it I realized due to some effects it has been having in my life that I need to quit it and gaurd my mind and my thoughts from all things that are unpleasing to God...I know DUH! So anyway I came across this article that is really wonderful and had realistic advise and steps to take that is not from a fanatical legalistic stand point please read it the link is here.

Here is a bit of what it had to say.....(love the cake portion!)

The Bible tells us not to conform to the world’s standards, beliefs and practices; but to let God transform us and change us into people who are like His Son. The world lies to us and tells us that all sorts of things people do, believe, and say are "no big deal," but when we compare them to God’s standards as they are put forth in the Bible, we see that they fall very short. What are some of these lies the world tells us?

The first lie that the world tells us is, "It doesn’t affect me."

You know this lie - you may have even used it yourself. I know I have. "Yeah, I know that the language in this movie is a bit rough, but I’m not watching it for that. And besides, it doesn’t really affect me." Or, "I know that book has a lot of sex in it, but I just skip over those parts. I don’t read the book for those parts." If a man says he just reads Playboy for the articles, he’s laughed at - everybody knows that’s not true! Yet we do watch, listen to, and read all sorts of things all time that aren’t good for us spiritually. And we try to justify it by saying, "Yeah, I know the lyrics are explicit, the language is bad, or there’s nudity & sex, but I don’t watch it for that and besides, it doesn’t affect me." Who are we kidding when we say that kind of thing? Not God, certainly, and probably not even ourselves, if we’re honest.

When we willingly introduce temptation into our lives, we’ve already lost the battle. The temptation to sin comes to us quite readily enough on its own, so we need to be honest with ourselves and keep in mind that everything we take in has potential to affect us negatively. Don’t buy into the lie that you can take in all sorts of filth and it won’t affect you.

Another worldly lie is, "Everybody’s doing it/listening to it /watching it, etc." You don’t have to be a parent for very long at all before you repeat the sentiment that your parents tormented you with. "Mom, can I go here and to this or that?" "No," you say, "you may not." Your child says, "But, everybody’s parents are letting them!" And then you respond with the classic reply: "Well, if everybody’s parents let them jump off a cliff, would you jump off too?"

We parents like to think that this line of logic is convincing, but I suspect that many children would follow their friends off the cliff - if only because we adults use the same argument to justify doing what we know to be wrong. "Everybody’s seen that movie, I don’t want to be only one who hasn’t. Everybody’s reading this book…. Nobody I know sees any harm in this activity, so why shouldn’t I join in?" The problem with this logic is that majority vote, consensus, or even what year it is does not determine right and wrong. The appropriate question is not whether everybody else is doing it, but whether or not God approves, whether or not it brings us closer to Him or makes us less like His Son Jesus. The Bible says, "There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death" (Proverbs 14:12). Whatever it is that you’re tempted to do that you shouldn’t do, the truth is that not everybody is doing it, and even if they were, that doesn’t make it right!

A third lie that we use: "Well, I know parts are bad, but parts are good, too." This is often applied to such things as movies, TV shows, reading materials, professional wrestling, and you name it. All I have to say to this line of reasoning is to offer to bake you a cake some time soon. I guarantee that 99% of the ingredients will be fresh, pure and wholesome. The other 1% will be tainted with botulism. Do you want a piece of that cake? Come on, only 1% is bad! I know that this is simplistic logic, but if we take seriously the Bible’s teachings on our thoughts being the gateway to souls, we’ll not risk being infected by a small amount of poison mixed into the whole.

I hope you take a moment to read the whole article it is worth it.

Have a Happy Day!
Blessings,
Liisa