STOP BOWING DOWN TO CULTURE

Posted on by Dr. Linda Agnes Knowles

“And you shall know that I am the LORD; for you have not walked in My statutes nor executed My judgments, but have done according to the customs of the Gentiles which are all around you.'” -Ezekiel 11:12 (NKJV)

Israel was no different than us today. They were not supposed to be like the other nations. They were not to participate nor were they to conform to the ways of the pagan nations that were all around them.

As the children of God, Israel was not to take on the pagan customs as their own. They were to have nothing to do with pagan religious rituals; They were not to get involved in the pagan religions at all. They were set apart to stand out, not to blend in. They were called to bear fruits of righteousness and holiness.

Today, we like Israel are not to confirm to the patterns, behavior, or customs of this world. We are called to holiness, called to stand out and not to be like the world. We are to follow God’s commands and laws. We are to “be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God,” (Romans 12:2 NKJV).

GOD HAS ALREADY SET THE STANDARDS SO STOP TRYING TO REWRITE WHAT GOD HAS PERFECTED.

GOD has made it clear in His Word what is right and what is wrong, what is good and what is evil. It doesn’t matter what the culture around you says. It doesn’t matter what the culture around you calls right and wrong. The vain imaginations of men and the world’s philosophies are not approved of GOD.

“Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.” -Romans 1:21 (NKJV)

If your main goal is to please man in what you do and say, and if you are looking for man to approve what you do and say, then you are not a servant of Christ.

“Am I now seeking the approval of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ,” (Galatians 1:10 BSB).

As a child of the LIVING GOD, you have been chosen and called to bear fruit (Reference John 15:16). You have been called to be set apart, to be made holy, to stand for truth, not to bow down to the culture around you.

Linda A. Knowles

One Act of Revenge

Posted on by Dr. Linda Agnes Knowles

“Later on, during the wheat harvest, Samson took a young goat as a present to his wife. He said, ‘I’m going into my wife’s room to sleep with her,’ but her father wouldn’t let him in.  ‘I truly thought you must hate her,’ her father explained, ‘so I gave her in marriage to your best man. But look, her younger sister is even more beautiful than she is. Marry her instead.’  Samson said, ‘This time I cannot be blamed for everything I am going to do to you Philistines.’ Then he went out and caught 300 foxes. He tied their tails together in pairs, and he fastened a torch to each pair of tails.  Then he lit the torches and let the foxes run through the grain fields of the Philistines.  He burned all their grain to the ground, including the sheaves and the uncut grain.  He also destroyed their vineyards and olive groves.   ‘Who did this?’ the Philistines demanded.   ‘Samson,’ was the reply, ‘because his father-in-law from Timnah gave Samson’s wife to be married to his best man.’  So the Philistines went and got the woman and her father and burned them to death.  ‘Because you did this,’ Samson vowed, ‘I won’t rest until I take my revenge on you!’  So he attacked the Philistines with great fury and killed many of them. Then he went to live in a cave in the rock of Etam.  The Philistines retaliated by setting up camp in Judah and spreading out near the town of Lehi.  The men of Judah asked the Philistines, ‘Why are you attacking us?’  The Philistines replied, ‘We’ve come to capture Samson. We’ve come to pay him back for what he did to us.'”  –Judges 15:1-11(NLT)

Don’t be like Samson.  He began with one act of revenge and one act of revenge after another occurred.  Letting any emotion control you is dangerous, but in Ephesians 4:26-27(NLT), the Scripture states, “And ‘don’t sin by letting anger control you.’  Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil.” 

Anger, when left unchecked, will play on every other emotion.

One act of revenge done out of anger, spite, and jealousy can cause a ripple effect.  If you get revenge, then the person may retaliate against you due to that person being angry.  Then you will want to seek revenge again if you don’t deal with issues of anger, spite, and jealousy that had the best of you when you initiated the first act of revenge.  Be careful not to sin in your anger.

First, those who have a short fuse make for bad company. Second, jealousy’s apparel doesn’t look good on anyone, and thirdly, why are you acting like you are a child on the playground misbehaving and hurting others out of spite?  

Stop the nonsense, and grow up.

Linda A. Knowles