“Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.”—Romans 8:5

Recently God has laid some heavy topics on my heart. Do I write about them? The reality is that we live in a world that is easily offended. As I was thinking about this, I felt God whisper, keep writing and speaking My Truth. The truth is, God’s Word might offend someone. I can’t let that stop me from using a talent God has given me. I pray before I sit down in front of my computer for God to give me the right words to type. I have to trust that He is going to do just that.

Dictionary.com defines ambivalence as, uncertainty or fluctuation, especially when caused by inability to make a choice or by a simultaneous desire to say or do two opposite or conflicting things. The indifference of the faithful is a spiritual sickness for many Christians. It is putting your loyalty to people above God. Being afraid to speak up for what we know is wrong for fear of being “cancelled” isn’t easy to do.

We can’t be living an ambivalent life stuck in neutral. Choosing neutrality isn’t taking a stand. It leaves a crack big enough for the enemy to have you questioning what you know is right. We either strive to become more like Christ fighting off our fleshly desires (Romans 8:5) or we fall into sin and become more like the world around us.

As followers of Christ, we are called to a new way of living. Daily, we put our sins at the cross. To do this, we must spend time in His presence. We study God’s Word and apply it to our daily living. This is what gives us the courage to be a faithful witness to God, His Word and not cave into the fear of what others might think of us.

God’s people are held to a higher standard. Where might you be lowering your standards to blend in with others? Letting our world normalize sinful conduct can be one way we do that. Because our culture downplays sin, if we aren’t careful, we will begin to believe it is okay to tolerate things that scripture clearly tells us are detestable to God. Satan is going to do whatever He can to try and keep us from growing God’s kingdom.

The enemy wants you to think you can pick and choose what to believe in the Bible to fit your lifestyle. It is a slippery slope when we try to play God. His Word is clear on what behaviors do or don’t align with scripture. Twisting His Word to fit an agenda isn’t going to lead people to Jesus.

You may hear, The Bible is antiquated. We live in different times. You might even have heard those newer in their faith say, I know what God’s Word says, but we have evolved as a society, the Ten Commandments don’t apply to us now. Those are from the Old Testament. Jesus came to set us free from all of them. Yes, Jesus came to set us free from all the rules and rituals in the Old Testament, but He also expects us to uphold His law in those commandments. They still show us what sin is today.

Matthew 5:17-19; Jesus’ words to His disciples are, Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.19Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 

Jesus didn’t say He was abolishing the commandments. He said He was fulfilling them. He lived them out for us. You can break down the The Ten Commandments in two sections. The first four have to with loving God and the remaining ones have to do with loving others. In Mark 12:29-31, Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. 30 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. 31 The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.” When you love God and love others, you are living out The Ten Commandments.

Do you have any friends or family who have misperceptions of what scripture says? How can you lovingly speak God’s truth into their lives? Only you know if what you do or say will lead someone closer to Jesus or further away. One thing is for sure, you can pray for guidance. If it is God’s will for you to talk or send a note to them, He will give you peace. When I feel as if my words will be a hinderance to someone coming to Jesus, I earnestly pray for God to place strong Christians in their lives whose words they will receive.

Father God,

Increase my boldness. I pray for restoration of our nation. I ask for transformation of hearts by the Gospel. Use me as a faithful witness to bring glory to Your name in my corner of the world. Reveal to me areas in my life where sin is creeping into it. Help me to resist temptations that will put a wedge between us. Thank You that through the power of the Holy Spirit, I can turn from sin and walk in Your ways and not the world’s. Rise up a generation to stand firm in their faith and not compromise what Your Word says. I pray these things in the name of Jesus. Amen.

July Verse
“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.”—John 15:12

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