Raised2newlife

Yes, the title was a trick question and I'm sure this scripture came to mind for many; 1 John 2:15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. I was born again in 1994 at the age of 39. I'll save you the mental math, I'm now age seventy. Within a year of my conversion, the Lord led me to research and discover the driving force behind worldly governments, financing and religions. I understood bible prophecy indicated that there would be a one world currency, government and religion. I now see a hastening of those three areas and more transparency regarding their fruition. The truth is now in plain sight for those who have eyes to see. I have been caught in and set free from sin several times in my Christian walk. Materialism, pornography and pride are a few of them. I have come to understand the great peril and deception of materialism in my life. I have questioned my love of possessions with statements like; 'I have my stuff but does my stuff have me?' I truly don't want to be double minded but I have many pleasurable hobbies and interests. I want to love God with my whole heart, mind, soul and strength. I, like many, agree with a lot of the current policy changes in our government, especially regarding gender identity and welcoming back common sense. We all want to see wasteful spending stopped and justice served. My flesh however, wants sanity and 'normalcy' restored so it can live in the luxury and ease it is accustomed to. We need great discernment regarding which kingdom we are truly serving and living for. The world, the flesh and the Devil are all devious in their own right and we need to understand the nature of the battle we are in. I have started praying Phillipans 2:13 over my life, 'for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.' I recently read a book by Frank Viola titled: Insurgence: Reclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom. I recommend reading this even if you haven't read a book in years. His style is very easy to read and the chapters are very short and free flowing. It shaped the way I now view the world and its systems. It clarified several things for me and answered many questions regarding how I should view world events through a biblical perspective. God bless and stay strong in the Lord and the power of His might!

I quit in 1985. It is not even a temptation anymore. For anyone who is quitting it is essential to now consider themself as a non-smoker. It absolutely gets easier as the days and weeks go by. Don't quit quitting.

Well explained and scripturally sound. Your reply should be a help to many people. God bless!

Excellent post. We are called out of the world system yet we are called to live in the midst of it. Most of our choices in life, from our words to our actions, reflect our world view. Do we reverentially fear the Lord or are we crippled by the fear of man? We are called to be light and salt but that means the environment we are in, be it work, home or pleasureful pursuits, will show the effects of our Sprit led presence. Joshua 24:15 15 And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of [a]the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

This is a timely thread for me to read right now as my wife and I are poised to leave our church. We moved to our current home six years ago and attended a large, bible believing church. The Pastor there is gifted at teaching and preaching and we were blessed. In 2020 during covid, the church closed due to governmental lockdowns and then stayed closed due to fear of covid. After a month of online church, I told my wife we had to find an open church and we started attending a smaller country church of about eighty to a hundred people. The Pastor loves the Lord and gets quite loud and animated when preaching. I don't mind controlled emotion if the preaching is biblical. Last Sunday, everything changed. He started his sermon by stating that 1 John was written to Gnostics and was addressing their error. He said we are not bound by the commands in that book regarding confession and repentance of sin. He said we as believers have been forgiven of all sin, past, present and future. When God looks at us He sees the righteousness of Christ and that's ALL he sees. He said if we confess and repent after conversion, that we are adding to the work of the cross. He went on a few more minutes and I felt the Holy Spirit rising up in me to protest. I have never interrupted a service in the past. I have discussed his sermons with him afterwards for a few minutes but this time it was a compulsion to question him at that moment. He finally saw my arm waving around and called on me. I asked him if he now planned to never confess and repent anything to the Lord and he said that's correct. We debated for a few minutes and I could discern others were also distraught by this teaching. He finally said 'fine, if you all want to continue confessing and repenting, go ahead, I'm not doing it'. I approached him after the service and he was not happy with me. He and his wife said I was rebellious and that is as the sin of witchcraft. I did not try and defend myself but I truly had no rebellion in my heart. I feel as if the rebellion charge is intended to keep people from questioning to deeply. I was just astounded by this strange doctrine I had never heard in my thirty years of learning. I've studied throughout this week and have now come to understand I was hearing the Hyper-grace teaching. The error is so clear and blatant it screams heresy to me. I believe every Pastor should have a few men in their life for mutual accountability and as a doctrinal sounding board. The church has a couple Deacons but they want no part of questioning doctrine. My wife and I are attending there tomorrow but have decided that's our last day. I don't want to be involved or accused of any division there. I have decided I will not submit to a leader who will not submit to the Lord regarding sanctification. I will continue to pray for their fellowship and that God would give the Pastor revelation knowledge regarding sanctification. I am fully saved but I still have a sin nature which wants to rule me. I thank God for His Holy Spirit working to convict and encourage me.

I quit smoking two years after the Lord delivered me from substance abuse. I was not yet saved and quit for health reasons. I was playing a lot of softball and couldn't play to my potential if I kept smoking. I was able to quit the first time I tried using Nicorette gum. I also think we need to tread lightly if we feel the need to rebuke or chastise a smoker. Pray for them and if it comes up, share how you were able to overcome it.