Breaking down Galatians 5:16-26 | Part 3: How they work together

Galatians 5:16-26: “Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, moral impurity, promiscuity, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and anything similar.“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control. Against these things there is no law.”

---

Now that we’ve covered the works of the flesh and the fruit of the spirit, it’s time to analyze how they balance each other out. It’s the most fascinating element of this portion of literature- though not in order, we can apply each part of the fruit of spirit to “cancel out” the works of the flesh. At the risk of creating a complicated web, I subdivided and broke down how each element, or group of elements, works with one another.

• Hatreds, Strife, Selfish ambitions -> LoveLove is the ultimate equalizer. The ultimate catalyst. True heart change comes with true love. When our human nature consumes our heart, and when we find ourselves led to hatred, strife and selfishness, it’s up to us as Christians to take a step back (or in some cases, motivate others to step back) and approach the situation with an angle of true love. This sounds vague, but next time you’re angry with someone, ask yourself: “Am I showing them love like Jesus?”
• Jealousy -> PeaceGod tells us through his words that he will meet our every need. It’s up to us to discipline ourselves and accept the peace he offers us through Christ Jesus. When we’re trained on the peace that the resurrection offers, we notice the lust, desire, and jealousy for things, or things that others have, disappears.
• Outbursts of Anger -> JoyJesus was great at turning the other cheek. We are not. It takes practice, but if we’re in tune with the spirit and drawing close to God through his word, we should be motivated to control our anger and approach stressful situations with a lens of joy. This is something that takes time to learn, but we definitely need to give it time and effort to improve our management of anger.
• Envy -> PatienceTying back into jealousy, James 4:2 warns against desiring what others have. Attempting to approach missed opportunities and unanswered prayers with the acknowledgement of God’s superior will in mind is something extremely difficult to do, but it’s a life-changing perspective if we can achieve it. Instead of forcing the timing of something you want in this life, evaluate it from all perspectives, and realize that God’s timing ultimately prevails.
• Moral impurity -> Kindness, GoodnessWe can live a morally superior life by making an active effort to be kind and good by making a positive impact on the lives of others. We should be charged by the example to see the good in other people, and ask ourselves in tough spots: “What would Jesus do?”
• Sexual Immorality, promiscuity, sorcery -> Faith
• • We must fight these things by remaining close to God in active and consistent prayer time and actively seeking to read and apply his word. Instead of involving ourselves in the ways of the world, we must actively strive to be better. We should strive to be loyal in our relationships, and value the institution of marriage, while paying close attention to the Bible’s commands regarding sexual sin.
• Dissensions, Factions -> GentlenessWe should be gentle and inclusive to all people on this Earth, just like Jesus was. Even in this era of acceptance of all ways of live, Jesus wouldn’t further the rift between us. That means opening our arms and striving to make a Christ-like impact on the lives of others who disagree with our decision to follow Christ and the life that comes with it.
• Drunkenness, Carousing -> Self-ControlWe must practice self-control daily in our life. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying the great, wholesome things of this life, like the book of Eccelesiastes identifies, such as friendship, a good meal, or a beautiful sunset, but never let the desire for earthly pursuits overrun our desire for Jesus.

Each one of these is an everyday pursuit that is difficult to grasp and pursue. I am terrible at it. We are all terrible at it; we fail each day. However, realizing the significance and importance of this chapter will help us strive closer to Jesus daily.

Breaking down Galatians 5:16-26 | Part two: Fruit of the Spirit

Last week, I published the first article in a series about one of the most consequential portions of the New Testament- Galatians 5:16-26. The initial post covered Galatians 5:16-21- the works of the flesh– that draw us away from the spirit.

This week, we’ll dive into something a little more uplifting: the fruit of the Spirit. It’s interesting to not the singularity of the word “fruit,” even though nine different adjectives make up the section.

Like the last post, I’ll define each word, and provide commentary on each one and its impact on our relationship with Jesus. Next week, I’ll compare each word side-by-side, and how pursuit of the fruit of the Spirit counteracts the works of the flesh.

---

Verses 22-23 (HCSB) say: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control. Against these things there is no law.”

1. Love
   • What is Love? A question asked by so many, to the point that it’s nearly a joke in our society. Love, as defined by Google, is defined as an intense feeling of deep affection. In this context, applied to feelings towards other people.
   • New testament scripture puts an incredible emphasis on love in this life- in John 13:34, Jesus commands us to love one another. In Galatians 5:14, Jesus summarizes the whole law in one statement: Love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus lived this to the extreme. He engaged in the supreme act of love. It’s no wonder why this is listed as the first part of the fruit of the spirit- a life with Jesus, encapsulated through scripture and the life he lived- is defined by love.
2. Peace
   • Peace is perhaps something that our modern society struggles to find the most. Google has a great definition for peace- especially in this context-
     freedom from disturbance; quiet and tranquility.
   • Jesus tells us in John 16:33 that he has conquered the world. This assurance should provide us great peace. His love and power is bigger than any issue found in this world. He should be our peace. When we feel like we lose control and/or his touch, it’s often times because we look for peace in what we have, and what we understand. The only way to true peace is humility in this regard- and truly trusting Jesus by seeking him only through his word and its application to our lives.
3. Joy
   • Joy is a true feeling of happiness rooted inside ourselves, unstimulated by anything exterior. When one truly knows Jesus, and relies on him for their peace, often times this comes very easily.
   • Joy is incredibly important in pursuing a Christian life. A relationship with Jesus should make us happy! Christ died for us so that we could live- what a tremendous victory. How can we expect to bring anyone to Christ if we walk through this life sad and unsatisfied?
4. Patience
   • Patience is perhaps the most difficult pursuit for many on this list. It directly ties back into peace- it’s an increased reliance on God- but especially trusting his timing.
   • God tells us in his word that he not only seeks out good will for those who love him, but also if we uphold his commandments and love him only, that we can expect a long, happy life. In a long life, sometimes it’s tough to trust his timing. We want control over when things happen in our lives, but if we wait on his timing, often times it proves supreme and meets us right when and where we need it.
5. Kindness, 6. Goodness
   • Kindness and Goodness both tie directly back into love, but is more directed toward personal service. Kindness is a true willingness to serve others without expecting anything in return.
   • In John 13, Jesus shows true kindness to his disciples by washing their feet, something degrading to other church or societal leader of the time period. As his followers, we ought to heed this example. True kindness shatters expectations, and parallel’s Jesus’ love in this life. It’s how we distinguish ourselves as Christ-followers in this self-serving world. Furthermore, our intentions must be true and good- we must serve with good hearts and desire for Jesus.
6. Goodness (see above)
7. Faith
   • Faith is belief and trust of God’s plan through Jesus, even though often times we fail, or simply cannot, understand it.
   • This is perhaps the most significant deterrent to a relationship with Christ in our world today. We live in an instant gratification, “prove-it” society. Because we can’t see God nor Jesus in the flesh, many refuse to believe. But upon pursuit, one will find that this is the most rewarding aspect. We cannot base our belief on the sight of Jesus, but the work of his kingdom around us. A relationship with Christ is not an easy pursuit; if it were, it wouldn’t require faith.
8. Gentleness
   • Gentleness is an elevated understanding and consideration of the feelings of other people, and ties right back into patience.
   • 1 Peter 3:4 tells us that a quiet and gentle spirit is “precious” to God. We must go about leading people extremely delicately, Just like Jesus and his disciples did throughout the old testament. If we pursue this recklessly, like so often happens, people misunderstand who Jesus is. As Christ followers, we represent Jesus to those who don’t know him, and when we approach conversion with anger, self-righteousness, and false prophecy, we turn many off to Christ.
9. Self-Control
   • Self-control is the ability to manage one’s emotions under duress, especially against societal alignment or human desire.
   • This is so important in a relationship with Jesus. As I mentioned earlier, it’s a difficult pursuit, but being in control of our thoughts and emotions helps us to align ourselves with Jesus’ love for us and God’s plan for our lives. Being better than the norm and different than most is how we elevate ourselves and align with the example of Christ.

It’s interesting to note that the author notes that, then and now, there is no law against these things. We can pursue each element no matter where we are in life. If we understand and pursue these, we can draw closer to Christ daily.

Breaking Down Galatians 5:16-26: The Fruits of the Spirit | Part One: Works of Flesh

In my church experience, Galatians 5:16-26, better known as the “Fruits of the Spirit,” was one of the most significant and recurrent teaching points in the New Testament. The scripture offers us tangible, definitive adjectives to grasp and chart on our life paths.

The text appears in parallel structure by first listing the “works of the flesh.” In verses 22, the author retorts by listing the “Fruits of the Spirit.” In this entry, I plan to break down each listed adjective and analyze how the author uses them to illustrate a central point: living for the flesh and living for the spirit are two completely opposite pursuits.

This will be the first entry in a three-part series. The first piece will analyze the works of the flesh, the second with analyze the fruits of the spirit, and the third will analyze the verses side-by side.

—————————————————————————————————————————

Verse 19 (HCSB) says: “Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, moral impurity, promiscuity, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and anything similar.”

That’s a lot to take in. So, I’ve broken each “work of the flesh” down by its definition, and added a sentence in on how it’d strain our relationship with Jesus.

• 1. Sexual Immorality
  • Definition: “Sexual immorality is the “selling off” of sexual purity and involves any type of sexual expression outside the boundaries of a biblically defined marriage relationship (Matthew 19:4–5 offers more context).” (gotquestions.com definition)
  • Analysis: I don’t think it’s any mistake that this is the first work of the flesh listed. Sexual urges and desires dominate our life, and often time seem to be what captivates our minds the most. Allowing this to take over our desire for Jesus is an obvious, and perhaps the most dangerous work of the flesh.
• 2. Moral Impurity
  • “When we respond to guilt by justifying our actions, rationalizing our decisions, or trying to compensate for our sin by doing “good” things, we do not resolve the guilt. Eventually the mind and conscience will alleviate the pressure of guilt by justifying moral impurity.” (ILPB.org definition)
  • We do this every day. For every sin, there’s some kind of justification in our heads. This flimsy moral tight rope walk leads us away from the spirit is an obvious work of the flesh.
• 3. Promiscuity
  • Google offers two definitions for the word Promiscuous; the first: having or characterized by many transient sexual relationships. The second: demonstrating or implying an undiscriminating or un-selective approach; indiscriminate or casual.
  • Though promiscuity in the traditional sense, that being the first definition, is used throughout the Bible, given the context, I believe the latter was the definition the author intended. The text doesn’t warn against sexual promiscuity exclusively; but also promiscuity of the heart. Our flesh’s desires over God are a direct path to this promiscuity.
• 4. Sorcery, 5. Idolatry
  • I grouped these two together because they’re in a similar vane. Meriam-Webster defines sorcery in a Biblical context as the use of power gained from the assistance or control of evil spirits especially for divining. Church-goers and/or Bible-readers hear the word “idolatry” a lot; but just in case you don’t know what it means: idolatry according to Google is extreme admiration, love, or reverence for something or someone.Both of these have something in common: They’re issues that plagued the society of the author at the time of writing.
  • Obviously, sorcery and worship of physical idols is something most of us probably don’t struggle with in 2018. However, they’re important reminders for a modern reader. We must avoid sorcery by making sure we worship in ways that satisfy God. Idolatry is extremely pertinent in this life. We may not find ourself worshiping physical idols, but especially in America, many find themselves idolizing fame, money, sex or stature. That’s a blog post for another day- but it’s clear this is an obvious work of the flesh that has damaged the relationship between God and his people for thousands of years.
• 6. Hatred, 7. Strife, 8. Jealousy/13. Envy
  • These four are also in a similar vane. At the risk of being confusing, I went out of order in the text to group these together because jealousy and envy are so similar.
  • According to Google: Hatred- intense dislike or ill will, Strife- angry or bitter disagreement over fundamental issues; conflict, Jealousy-feeling or showing envy of someone or their achievements and advantages.
  • You could dive into each one of these as a fundamental human corruption in each of their own right. It’s clear in The Bible that sin is a choice of man rooted from our very beginning, and each one of these is a fundamental selfish human desire. Furthermore, each one of these relates to each other in that they each are something every person deals with in this life. It’s human nature to feel these sharp emotions towards our fellow man. Rooted deep in our flesh, they drive us apart from one another, and even further from our God.
• 9. Outbursts of anger
  • This one is fairly self-explanatory. Anger is our default when we meet conflict (or strife) in this life. It’s so much easier to give into our flesh’s desire than it is to choose the peace and understanding illustrated by Jesus.
• 10. Selfish ambitions
  • Also self-explanatory. Alike anger is as our default human response, selfishness is similar. Jesus; even in this chapter (see: Galatians 5:14) teaches that love for others is paramount in this life. Our selfish desires of the flesh cloud this mindset and separate us from the Christ-like selflessness that Jesus outlines, and is a fundamental separation from where we need to be.
• 11. Dissesions, 12. factions
  • I didn’t know what neither dissensions nor factions meant on my first read-through of this chapter. Google defines dissension as disagreement that leads to discord. The Google definition for factions even uses the word dissension; a small, organized, dissenting group within a larger one, especially in politics.
  • These two are related in their forceful division of both people and God. When we aid to dissension, we not only root ourselves in conflict, but we also anchor ourselves away from God. This leads to factions, which chips away at the fabric of selfless love for one another.
•  14. Drunkenness, 15. Carousing
  • It’s important to distinguish that the word is not saying that alcohol is inherently bad. It is saying that too much alcohol is definitely a bad thing; and furthermore, too much of any substance, especially when it impairs our relationship with God, is a very bad thing. Carousing is a synonym for drunkenness, but is more applicable in a social context.
• 16. …Or anything similar
  • This is an important qualifier. This list in Galatians 5:19-21 is not exclusive. There are more works of the flesh than are mentioned here; but this section oft the book is a great start to analyze and better ourselves.

All these have a similar point: these inward desires as a result of humanity’s choice of sin are problematic towards our relationship with Jesus. In the next verses, the author offers counteracting fruits of the spirit to embolden our pursuit of Christ and help us combat these desires of the flesh, as I’ll analyze in part two.

Old Testament Analysis, Part 1: Genesis

This post will be the first in a series regarding my analysis of select books of the Old Testament that I completed as part of my Old Testament class this past semester at the University of Missouri. Please note that these were written from a historical perspective, not a confessional point of view.

According to the Tanakh, when God created heaven and the earth, it was “unformed and void, with darkness over the deep and a wind from God (1.3).” To be frank, almost nothing was around when God created the universe. The entity of God brought everything mentioned in Genesis 1 into existence by his own power, and it is implied from the text that absolutely nothing was around prior.

The translation according to footnote “a” is much for familiar translation in traditional, English Biblical texts. In this version of the Tanakh, Genesis 1, verse 1 is translated as “When God began to create heaven and earth…” (1.1). In that translation, the wording implies picks up the creation story in present tense, where the more familiar translation picks up the creation story in present tense. This distinction is extremely important, because the tense not only sets the tone for the whole passage, but serves as an introduction to how the entity of God conducts his impact and work on the world. The context serves to guide the reader throughout the creation of the world and also understand the God of the world. The tense is very important to both of those.

In the rest of the chapter, God is talking directly to the reader. Given the context, tense and tone of the chapter, it almost provides a sense of a wise man telling a story to his grandson. As the story progresses, God explains his process of creation piece by piece, building on each part in logical order. It’s as if each part of the story is a building block; for example, God creates the seas of the Earth, (1.10), before creating sea monsters (1.20).

A significant shift occurs in verse 26, when God begins uses the pronoun’s “us” and “our” for the first time. His reasoning behind this lays in the verse itself, when he creates the first humans in his image. Tying back to the storytelling narrative, the inclusion of these pronouns creates a much more personal feel. It acknowledges a “level playing field;” that humans are really made in God’s image, and that God acknowledges that sees it that way as well when he says this.

If the word “human” or “humanity” were to replace man, the only affect I can infer is the implication of the word in a modern translation. Today, with social justice initiatives and constant evaluation of gender roles in society, “human” or “humanity” could be taken as a less abrasive wording, in that certain women might read the text thinking that God is speaking only to men. It changed the way I personally read the text, but didn’t change the way that I interpreted the meaning of the text.

If men and women are made in God’s image, the passage doesn’t imply much about man’s appearances. All that it implies it that humans were made alike God, but the chapter doesn’t clarify much about how even God lives.

I found the parallel structure of the chapter to be interesting. Many of the verses start out with “God said,” or “And God said.” Also, throughout the seven days of the creation process, the text mentions that each day begins with daylight, and ends with night.

The importance that God rested on the seventh day was extremely noteworthy. It provides context and structure into the mind of the entity of God, and how he conducts life. It provides insight and foreshadows the possibility of human impact on his Earth

Seeking God out

God revealed himself in a big way to me today.

It was normally a day where I would’ve been in a negative mood. It was cloudy and cold when I woke up. It was a Monday, and I had to make my way to my 8:00 A.M. Spanish class. That routine has taken its toll on me recently.

But today was beyond normal circumstances. To start, it was Halloween, which is always fun, and a general fun atmosphere was about the campus. More importantly, it was my sister’s Sweet 16 birthday, and she was taking her driver’s test.

I woke up per usual, snoozing my alarm, and taking care of my normal hygiene routine. I then read my devotional for the day, and prayed hard for my sister, my family, the nation, and our campus.

I then took time to listen to some powerful worship songs as I made my way to class. I’m not sure what it was, but I really connected with God and had a positive attitude.

Whereas sometimes in Spanish I struggle to pay attention, I was locked in and receptive to the concepts. Whereas normally I would think I’d feel emotional about my sister taking her 8:30 driver’s test, today I was calm and relaxed.

I proceeded back to the student center to relax before my 10:00 class, and my Dad came through with a text letting me know my sister had passed her test. I had been listening to some strong worship music, and connected with God intimately. So when the good news came, I was even more joyful.

I’m thankful for the way that God has revealed himself to me today. It’s mainly because I sought him out. And on days that aren’t so good, I pray that I’d remember this, and seek God out. Because it’s then that he reveals himself in every way.

 

Celebrity Worship will always leave you unfulfilled

Speaking generally, today’s generation (specifically- even though I hate this term as I never hear it used in a positive context- ‘millennials’) has a huge problem on their hands- celebrity worship.

If you look around the high-profile media landscape, celebrities are the infatuation of the market. Almost every news source invests large amounts of time and resources on covering the ins and outs of the lives of celebrities. For a while, all I could do was wonder why.

A specific incidence of celebrity worship occurred right before I opened up my laptop. I’ve mentioned before how I am a huge user of the popular social media app Snapchat. Today, the featured a special avenue to where users could send in their personal pictures and videos wishing the popular musician and pop culture idol Beyonce Knowles a happy birthday, and celebrate with her.

First off I just want to say that this is no mean an attack on Beyonce. She has done a lot of good for the world and has inspired many. However, just the fact that Snapchat went out of its way to glorify a celebrity on their birthday is abhorrent. Not only is the app itself literally worshipping the celebrity by adorning them with their own personal means of inflating their ego, but they’re also encouraging their users to engage in this behavior.

For a long time prior to this, I struggled with the concept of why anyone would be so reverent to any celebrity. Speaking generally, time and time again they mess up; be it high profile cases of breaking like athlete O.J Simpson or straight up falls from glory like singer Lindsey Lohan. What is the point of devoting your time, energy or even thoughts to these people?

I remember a specific time when I ranted on this to my closest friend, Adam Kronenberger, and he really explained it best- he said ‘Those who worship celebrities are looking for their God on Earth.’

When he said that, it clicked for me, and resonated to the point where i still remember those words. That’s exactly it. Those who doubt our God, the ever-present, ever-loving force that provides all the good in our life, look for their savior on this Earth.

They want something tangible. They want a God something they can see, hear immediately, smell, touch, and oh yeah- pay to even be in the presence of.

But the thing is, no matter how much they see, hear, smell, touch, or pay the celebrity they worship on this life- they’ll never be saved.

You see, our God requires they key element of faith. He doesn’t need us to touch him, to see him, and certainly not to pay him to be in his presence. He’s all around us in every aspect of our life. He simply just needs the O.K. from you.

Christ-follower C.S. Lewis said it best- “I believe in Christianity as I believe in the sun. Not because I see it, but because I see everything around me.”

A celebrity might never even acknowledge your presence, even if you devote a life-long fandom towards them. On the contrary, our God has loved you from the start. He’s seen out and fine-tuned every aspect of your life, and sent his son to die for every person’s sins, past, present and future.

To close, I want to make it clear- there’s nothing wrong with enjoying the talents or respecting the artists who have achieved fame on this Earth. However, as Christians we must stay strong and keep an energized division between worship and respect. There are too, plenty of people who have achieved earthly fame and yet keep their devotion to God first and foremost.

To those who don’t yet know Christ, but find themselves worshipping a celebrity, I encourage you to break free from the enslaving mindset of celebrity worship and turn your life over to Christ, truly the only one worthy of praise. His love not only offers more fulfillment than any celebrity ever could, but simply acknowledging his presence ensures the precious gift of remaining by his side for all of eternity.

 

We MUST stop living for our Snapchat story

I saw a funny Tweet the other day that implied a conversation between two people and read,  ‘Are you going?’ Followed by ‘I already thought of a Snapchat caption. Of course I’m going.’

I thought it was funny at first, and I must say I’ve taken to this mindset before. But after that, I dug a little more into it. That kind of ‘Showing up for the Snapchat story’ is a very, very bad mindset that we in this younger generation must stray away from.

It’s not just Snapchat though. It’s Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, among many others. Speaking generally, social networking sites have taken a stranglehold on the activities of the younger generation’s lives.

This mindset of going places and doing things just for a post heightens are expectations and puts our emotions on the mercy of a future event, which we all know is risky business. What happens if you don’t get the picture you were hoping for? You’re disappointed, and you lose the purpose of even going to the event in the first place.

Social networking has plenty of perks. Meeting new people, showcasing and further pursing your interests, and having a common connection with friends are all huge advantages and can be very beneficial in moderation. However, it also has many drawbacks, as it indirectly makes us selfish and appear as if what we are doing is so important. This self-obsession draws us further from our attention to Christ, and will ultimately leave us bruised and broken if we go too far with this mindset.

From a biblical perspective, The book of Matthew offers some guidance in verses 31-34 of the chapter 6: “Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

Food, water, and clothes are some on the most important aspects of our human life. They’re literally essential to our survival. Yet, our God is so steadfast with his Love and guidance that he assures us here to provide for us when we put our faith and trust in him. If he doesn’t want us focusing our energy on searching for food, water or clothing, the most important aspects of human survival, than how can we waster our energy on figuring out what we will post, something that is not even close to necessary?

We must change in that regard. Next time you go out, instead of planning or desperately searching for content to post, I encourage you instead to live life for the moment, and enjoy the breath that God has given us in that very moment and the opportunity he has given us to enjoy our time on his Earth and further his glory by putting him first, looking to brighten other’s day next, and finally putting our interests last.

All that being said, there’s nothing wrong with posting moderately. Like I said, Social Networking has its benefits. Nonetheless, it is imperative that we check our proverbial egos at the social networking door and use what we post as an avenue to further glorify his great name.

 

Lose your life, Just so you can find it

The title of this article comes from a song from Christian recording artist Phil Wickham, in his song ‘True Love.’

A short segment indeed, but a very powerful one.

Sometimes I’ll hear those who are non-religious rambling on down the list of excuses of why they deny God’s love. Often times, they give reasons like ‘I want to live my life the way I want to,’ or something like ‘I don’t want anyone telling me what to do.’

But they’re missing the point entirely. God gives us this life and yes, he wants us to enjoy it and some of the things that are in it. However, we shouldn’t put our life over his.

God’s love is better than anything in this world. His love is not subject to worldly ties, and after we accept his free gift of salvation, we should offer our lives as a testament to him and his will.

In the nicest way possible, get over yourself. True joy can be found by putting God first and buying into his plan.

Give up on your plan so you can embrace God’s.

Lose your life, just so you can find it.

As Christians, we can’t put our faith in this World.

This world is already a broken place.

It has been for a very, very long time.

In the book of Genesis, at the Garden of Eden, the Adam and Eve committed the first sin in history: choosing their wants over Gods’s.

Many hear the word but often can’t come up with a definition for it within a Christian context: What exactly is sin?

Sin is exactly what Adam and Eve did. Put their needs first. Every human does this every single day. The nature of our being has us entangled in a web that we can’t escape- or at least not on our own.

God’s salvation through his perfect son Jesus Christ is the only way out of this earthly misery of the proverbial trap that sin is. The Earth and what many who walk its surface by into every day is simply the personification of it.

All around us, our peers, sometime even our brothers and sisters in Christ, fall victim to the specific sin of attaching themselves to the happenings and being of the Earth to the point that they’ve put their faith in Earth and Earthly happenings.

Politics. Possessions. Ungodly relationships. And the big one- Wealth.

As Christians, it’s our job to seek God above these things. And when we inevitably fail to do so, it’s repentance and acknowledging God’s gift of a perfect savior in place of our sin savior that puts us back on track.

As Christians, we must lead in this mindset and lead others to Jesus. We can’t put our faith in Earthly things and let it compromise our mission.

This life is not the end.

Proverbs 3:6 – In everything you do, put God first.