What is Lust, and How can we Abide Forever?

"For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever." 1 John 2:16-17

For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--is not of the Father, but is of the world.

Websters dictionary defines lust as "a passionate or overmastering desire or craving; to crave, hunger, covet, yearn." Many times we as humans hear "lust" and automatically think of something sexual. The truth is, though, that to lust after something is to unhealthily desire it above everything else--sometimes to the point of obsession. It is that unhealthy covetousness, that unhealthy hunger that leads us away from the Lord; it is that innate desire in our flesh that the enemy of our souls uses relentlessly to separate us from Christ. He even used the same tactics on the Lord to tempt Him when He went to the desert for 40 days:

First, the lust of the flesh: "The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread." (Luke 4:3) Christ, being fully man and still fully God rebutted this temptation in verse 4 "Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone.' "

Second, the lust of the eyes: "And he said to him, "I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. So if you worship me, it will all be yours." (Luke 4:6-7) Again, the Lord answered him, "It is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.' "

Finally, the pride of life: "The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 'If you are the Son of God,' he said, 'throw yourself down from here. For it is written: '"He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone." ' " (Luke 4:9-11) And Jesus answered his temptation again, " 'It says: "Do not put the Lord your God to the test." ' "

These three categories represent the three areas in our lives where we are tempted. Every temptation we face falls into one of these three categories. And Christ walked through every temptation we face without sinning. Hebrews 2:17-18 tells us that "For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted."

Every time Christ rebutted a temptation, he rebutted with scripture. Though he could have done anything he wanted to rebutt or withstand the devil, he chose to withstand by the Word. Why? Why didn't he simply command the devil to "get behind me." as he does later in Matthew 16:23? I believe he is demonstrating the most powerful way of keeping the enemy at bay...and what is that? Know the Word. Use the Word as a weapon; it is our sword. It is our only offensive weapon against attack. What Christ Jesus resisted, we must resist also, and in the same manner. Succombing or submitting to those temptations removes us from teh presence of the Lord...because sins and lusts are not of God, they are of the world.

And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever

Here is that world "lust" again, giving us even more proof that lust is not of God. Every time it is used, it is used in a negative or worldly connotation. Therefore lust cannot be of God--because nothing of God is negative and the things of this world are not godly.

Let's look at this phrase "but he who does the will of God abides forever" and ask ourselves this question: what is the will of God? Individually it may vary. God may will Johnny to get married, and will Billy to remain single. But corporately or generally, God's will falls within the score of 3 criterion or precepts.

1. Love the Lord Deut 6:5 tells us that "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might."
2. Love one another. Matt 19:19 instructs us "honor your father and mother; and you shall love your neighbor as yourself."
3. Make disciples Mark 16:15-18 instructs "And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved ; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned. These signs will accompany those who have believed : in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."

It is God's will that we love Him, love one another, and bring others to Christ. That is the work of God. That is what will give us eternal life, what will allow us to abide forever. John 6:28-29 tells us what the work of God is, and it is so simple that it will blow your mind. "Therefore they said to Him, "What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God ? Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent."

Friends, we aren't called to work our way into heaven. "Good works" are an impossibility outside of salvation through Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit. We are not able, of our own volition or ability, to save ourselves or even protect ourselves from temptation. Jesus displayed this for us in his own temptation. He did not use His own power or ability which is much greater than our own. He used the Word of God to overcome the lusts of this world. And so must we, for to know the Word, to abide in the Word, and use it against the evil one is our only offensive weapon.

One day our struggle with lust will end and all we will have left is eternity--either in His presence or out of His presence. It is God's will that we abide with Him forever, and how do we do that? By doing His work. And what is His work: "Believe in Him whom He has sent."

I just think this is so wrong

So, part of my job at work is to come up with designs for our future merchandise. This means I am constantly browsing the web for new ideas, constantly looking for new fonts, new clip art, that sort of thing. Well, I was on a free clip art website the other day, looking for new fonts that I could possibly use for some designs. And I'm scrolling through, and I see these sexually charged "ding" fonts--which are basically pictures that appear when you type (like the wingding font on most PC versions of word). This is a free website; these are free fonts that a child could easily access, and while that child is looking for a really neat font to make a poster for a school project or something of the like, he or she comes across a font that has letters in the shapes of male genitals or pictures of people in the middle of sexual activities or pictures of women making provocative gestures.

I felt absolutely violated and dirty and I cringe at the thought that some innocent child is very likely to come across these depraved pictures. I'm not shocked because I have seen the degradation of society increase exponentially in my lifetime, but I am still quite outraged at the idea. I have two little brothers who are seven and three respectively, and I shudder at the thought that they might be exposed to this one day. Not to mention the fact that my sister is expecting her first child and that child might one day come into contact with kind of base and amoral crap.

The saddest and most enraging part of this is that the people who designed these fonts probably did not take one moment's pause, one second to consider the consequences of their actions. They probably simply thought that letters made out of male genitalia would be funny. Well, I have news for those people, should they ever read this blog: It isn't funny. It is disgusting and terribly, terribly wrong.

This thing that starts with "C"

It's an ugly enemy, this thing that starts with "C"

One of many tragic repurcussions

The comeuppance for our quest for knowledge

The recompence for thinking ourselves gods

The payment for our rebellion at the Fall

How could they have known?
~

Is knowledge really worth the price of this thing that starts with "C"?

A physical affirmation of mankind's spiritual state

Corrosive, destructive, leperous--

Eating away at the flesh like sin at the soul.

It afflicts even those who are upright,

Sucking vitality from the marrow

Stealing health from the bones.

Snatching away precious time with those we love.
~

A painful judgment is this thing that starts with "C"

Atrocious, abhorrent, abominable--

Unrelentingly voracious

Even the pure in heart cannnot escape its clutches.

Even the merciful find no mercy from its grasp.

A vice grip - vicious, vulturine, and vile,

It mars the proud and meek alike.

It molders the guilty and the innocent.

Steals mothers from their children, and children from their mothers

Murders fathers, sisters, brothers, friends

Without thought or conscience.

~

Where is the justice in this retribution?

The wages of original sin is death...

This I well know, for I have witnessed this thing that starts with "C"

Ransack the bodies of several whom I love

"Tis justice for the pride in Eden's pair

Who sought godship in a fruit,

but found depravity in its stead

And poured out man's mortality on all who came after.
~

Is there any way to escape this thing that starts with "C"?

If only Eve had not been tempted

If only Adam had not partaken would this "C" not be.

But if there had never been a Fall would there be a "me"?

A "me" to sit here with my pen and pad lamenting

This thing that starts with "C"?

Put on Christ and Prepare to be Hated

Eighth Installment of the 1John study

I know that I typically use 2-4 verses per study, but I got so deep into this verse that posting more would have made this installment far too long. So, we're really going to sink our teeth into this one verse and explore some truths and concepts that branch out from it.

"Do not love the world or the things of the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him." 1John 2:15

What we love and care about is made evident in the way we act and speak. If our lives are lived enjoying and promoting the things of the world (the lusts of the flesh) over the things of the Lord (the fruit of the Spirit) then we do not truly walk in Christ's love. It is impossible for us to be devoted Christians if we are devoted to the things of the world. If we are compulsive liars, we cannot love the Father because lies are not of God. If we are full of hatred, we cannot love the Father because hatred is not of God. (and so on and so forth.) If we live to gratify our flesh we are not able to live our lives to please the Lord. Let's look at some scripture to support this.

"No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon." Luke 4:13 Though this is speaking about money, the principle applies to every aspect of life. You cannot serve the Lord fully if your loyalties are split between Him and the world. It is an impossibility.

"For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double minded man, unstable in all his ways." James 1:7-8. This text is in the middle of a passage about people who have faith one moment and are given over to doubt the next. If a person cannot decide between believing the Lord or doubting him...if a person cannot decide between living this way or living that way, all of his choices will be unbalanced. He will not be stable; rather he will blow about with the wind. And how can a man blown about by the wind be devoted to the Lord--or anything else for that matter? A person with split loyalties cannot appease or serve or be devoted to one thing or the other. Neither can a man with no loyalties, for he will do what gratifies him most in that moment. Both men are unstable in every action they take.

"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:21 If we treasure the things of the world, we will be devoted to the world. But, if we treasure the things of the Lord, we will be devoted to the Lord. Another way of saying this is: "You will desire or long for the things to which you are devoted." A drug addict is devoted to feeding his addiction, therefore he longs for the drug. We, as Christians, ought to be so devoted to the Lord that we long for Him...for His presence to be continually in our lives.

"Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh." James 3:11-12. The water that naturally comes out of humanity is bitter--filled with all the sins of the world since the fall in the Garden. Only God's water is naturally sweet, and only the people that allow God to move through them are able to be fountains of fresh, sweet water.

"If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you." John 15:18-19. This is evidence that the world hates the things of God. The world does not understand the Lord, therefore the world hates people who are of the Lord. And why? Because one is Spirit and the other is flesh. The two are diametrically opposed. They cannot peacefully exist in the same place. They will always strive and war against one another. If we are in Christ, living as we ought to live, the world will hate us because it hated Christ. But, if we live like the world we will come to despise the Lord (and those who love the Lord). Remember, we cannot please God and mammon. We cannot serve the Lord and simultaneously gratify our flesh. The two will fight until one side or the other is victorious.

"I say then: Walk in the spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit and the Spirit aganist the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law." Gal 5:16-18

But how do we know if we are in the world or Christ? By our attitude. Human beings are as trees, bearing the fruit of their lives. As human trees we either bear good fruit or bad fruit. We bear either the works of the flesh (which is the bad fruit) or the fruit of the spirit (which is the good fruit). Galations 5:19-26 explains those two fruits to us.

Works of the Flesh: "Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God." Gal 5:19-21

Fruit of the Spirit: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law." Gal 5:22-23

But how do we ensure that we produce the Fruit of the Spirit instead of the works of the flesh? The answer to that is in the verses following: And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another." Gal 5:24-26

In Galations 2:20, Paul tells us "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." To walk in the Spirit is to crucify the flesh. To walk in the flesh is to crucify the Spirit. But if we put on Christ, put on the nature of Christ, then we are made like him and walk in his footsteps.

"And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts." Romans 13:11-14. So we see that the only way to escape the world and escape the things of the world is to put on Christ that we might take on His nature and bear the fruit of the Spirit. And the reason that Christ was able to walk on this earth untainted by its lust and sins is because He abided in the Father and loved the Father unconditionally. He was also completely submitted to the Father's will, and it was that love and submission that enabled Him to remain pure in the face of every temptation. (Heb 4:15)

So, let us crucify the flesh and put on Christ (who loved and was submitted to the Father) to escape the works of the flesh. But we must remember that in so doing, the world will grow to hate us because it hates what it does not understand, and it cannot understand the things of the Lord because the things of the Lord are contrary to the things of the world. However, if we choose to love the things of the world, we have chosen not to love the Father. And friends, that is a very scary place to be, because one day the Lord will judge those who rejected him...and that judgment will be far worse than hatred from folks who lack understanding. So, although the hatred is difficult to endure now, it is better to endure the temporary judgement of man than to endure the eternal judgment of God.

Put on Christ, friends, and prepare to be hated.

To Do Right or To Be Right...That is the question

Hey guys, this is going to be a short blog, and it will depart from the 1John study I've posted here.

The last couple of days the Lord has really been hammering home the fact that it is better to DO right than to BE right. Think about that for a second. It is better to DO right than to BE right. This applies to life in general, but should really hit home to us Christians. You can be right about something, but you can mishandle your rightness. In so doing, you alienate the very people who should be positively impacted by said rightness.

For example: let's say you're having a debate about how many animals Noah took on the ark. The person you are debating says "two of each kind." But you open up your Bible to Genesis 7:2 and say, "You stupid idiot. Anyone who really knows the Word knows that he took "seven each of every clean animal, a male and his female; two each of animals that are unclean, a male and his female; also seven each of birds of the air, male and female." (Genesis 7:2).

In this instance your knowledge is right; you answered the debate correctly. But your behavior is wrong. You are right, but you do the wrong thing, and because your behavior is wrong you drive away someone with whom you could share, someone to whom you could have communicated the love or truth of God. But because you did not act in love...because you were self-righteous and arrogant, your correct answer is overshadowed by your incorrect behavior.

Oh, friends...let us always strive to DO right whether we are right or wrong, but especially when we are right. James 3:11-12 tells us that sweet water and bitter water cannot flow from the same spring. May our prayer be "Lord, may we be wells of sweet water that bubble up and flow out to the lost and dying."

If we DO right always, we will be less obnoxious and more loving when we ARE right. After all, there is nothing more poisonous to God's sweet, loving, living water than the self-righteousness of those whom He has appointed to pour it out.