- Joined
- Apr 25, 2006
- Messages
- 18,404
AGAINST THE FLOW
'People did whatever they felt like doing' Judges 17:6
"If everyone's doing it, it's okay, right? Wrong! When your mates swear, lie, are sexually active outside of marriage, get drunk, experiment with drugs, skive off, fight; it doesn't mean it's okay for you to do the same!" Sound familiar? You've probably heard that sort of advice a hundred times (and it is good advice, even if it's not always told in a helpful way!)
But in the heat of the moment, it can feel a bit fuzzier... a bit further away. Truth is, God doesn't disappear when other people dispute His existence. God's ideas on living right don't lose their power and impact just because people choose to ignore them. Lots of people around us have, willingly or not, bought into a very pretty lie - one that throws God's caution to the wind and follows every whim.
We don't live like that. But we're not going against the flow just for the sake of it. We're called to, '... listen for God's voice in everything [we] do, everywhere [we] go' (Prov. 3:5-7) We catch a hold of His better life for us, one that is head and shoulders above the world's, by listening for His voice.
Read the book of Joshua and you'll discover a nation that lived like this. But one book later (Judges), you'll find a defeated nation who doesn't believe in God, weak and lawless. You'd think you were reading about two completely different groups of people. They'd gone from listening out for God's voice to doing 'whatever they felt like.' What we learn here is that God never changes, but we can - so let's make sure we stay true!
What now? Is there someone in your life who is going against God's flow - and do you ever find them taking you with them? They need you to take them with you, instead.
written by Bob Gass
'People did whatever they felt like doing' Judges 17:6
"If everyone's doing it, it's okay, right? Wrong! When your mates swear, lie, are sexually active outside of marriage, get drunk, experiment with drugs, skive off, fight; it doesn't mean it's okay for you to do the same!" Sound familiar? You've probably heard that sort of advice a hundred times (and it is good advice, even if it's not always told in a helpful way!)
But in the heat of the moment, it can feel a bit fuzzier... a bit further away. Truth is, God doesn't disappear when other people dispute His existence. God's ideas on living right don't lose their power and impact just because people choose to ignore them. Lots of people around us have, willingly or not, bought into a very pretty lie - one that throws God's caution to the wind and follows every whim.
We don't live like that. But we're not going against the flow just for the sake of it. We're called to, '... listen for God's voice in everything [we] do, everywhere [we] go' (Prov. 3:5-7) We catch a hold of His better life for us, one that is head and shoulders above the world's, by listening for His voice.
Read the book of Joshua and you'll discover a nation that lived like this. But one book later (Judges), you'll find a defeated nation who doesn't believe in God, weak and lawless. You'd think you were reading about two completely different groups of people. They'd gone from listening out for God's voice to doing 'whatever they felt like.' What we learn here is that God never changes, but we can - so let's make sure we stay true!
What now? Is there someone in your life who is going against God's flow - and do you ever find them taking you with them? They need you to take them with you, instead.
written by Bob Gass
