God Isn't Concerned with Skin Color

God doesn't care about the color of our skin. 

....or our socioeconomic status or what country we call home. Every life matters to Him and every life matters to me and it should matter to all of us. There is no room for racial, social, or monetary division among Christ followers, Buddha followers, scientologists, or wonderlusters.   God's response to us is always love and grace. We would be wise to imitate that grace without exception; grace when we deserve it, grace when we don't, grace when others do, grace when others don't, and grace when we don't have a clue. It's only by God's grace that we even have the cognitive ability to rationally reason between options. It's only by God's grace and design that we have an innate moral compass. It's especially only by Gods grace that we get to partake in the forgiveness he offers us. To hoard it and lord it like a sledge hammer of self-righteousness like it's something we earned is not pleasing to God.

It doesn't matter if we position ourselves on a micro level as the jury in regards to who we think deserves love and forgiveness and who doesn't. Truth is not relative to your opinion. We are not and will never have that authority other than in our own little one-person world. Rest assured God is not pleased when we choose to respond in this way to the weak, misinformed, and hurting. But all the more, His grace is sufficient for this attitude as with all our shortcomings. We must humbly seek forgiveness if we have tendencies to harbor this toxic attitude of superiority and lordship of our own or others lives. 

We must ask ourselves the question, "how have I personally and we collectively failed the Michael Browns of the world?" If he really was a thug who was assaulting an officer, and by all accounts of the law was justly shot, then we failed him. It should break our hearts that we didn't love him enough, and shepherd him enough to have respect for himself and his fellow human beings, who in this instance happened to be an officer performing a job. If there is one thing that is consistently lacking across all races in entitled America, it's respect for others, ourselves, and especially authority. 

If however Brown was an upstanding young man who respected authority and just happened to be in the wrong spot at the wrong time facing the bullets of a racist cop, then our heart should be breaking for Darren Wilson. If this is true then we failed him as a Christian nation in teaching him that race is meaningless in Christ and we are to love and respect our fellow human beings no matter what faux earthly divide seems to barricade us from doing so. 

Our natural bend as Christians needs to always be love and grace, taking it all to the father in prayer. When in doubt, forgive. When you are justified to hold a grudge, forgive anyway. To take matters into our own hands is to in effect say to God, "I don't think you have this under control. I will now make myself a god of my own life and the life of those around me." 

If you justify yourself because of your white skin. Stop. 

If you justify yourself because of your black skin. Stop. 

If you make excuses for yourself or play a victim role because of any sort of skin color. Stop. 

Red, yellow, black, and white we are precious in His sight. 

Photo: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/1244037.stm

Community. What the church is called to be.

Self.....less.

God has inspired some great writing from our collections of manuscripts and letters we call the Bible. I'll let the voice of those who we rely on to reveal to us God's word speak to this matter namely the community of believers we call the church.

We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has the world's goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth. This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us. The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us. (1 John 3:16-18, 23, 24 NASB)

Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But each one must examine his own work, and then he will have reason for boasting in regard to himself alone, and not in regard to another. For each one will bear his own load. (Galatians 6:1-5 NASB)

So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way. Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water? Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor can salt water produce fresh. Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. (James 3:5, 6, 9-18 NASB)

They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, (Acts 2:42, 44-46 NASB)

Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:1-3 NASB)

Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:1-3 NASB)

As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, (Ephesians 4:14, 15 NASB)

Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. B e angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity. Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. (Ephesians 4:25-27, 29, 31, 32 NASB)

For I, on my part, though absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged him who has so committed this, as though I were present. In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are assembled, and I with you in spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus, I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough? Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed. Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world. But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler-not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church? But those who are outside, God judges. R emove the wicked man from among yourselves. (1 Corinthians 5:3-13 NASB)

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near. (Hebrews 10:23-25 NASB)

Fellowship or Failing-ship

I'm burdened with the idea of trying to bring new people into church by means of fellowship and relationships that show a good time and friendly faces but not Jesus. My burden is that the Christians in these fellowships are not very Christian; so are we bringing people in to show them a lack-lazy example of following Jesus and a good time with food and fellowship...or are we showing and sharing Jesus?

It's like feeding the homeless food without sharing the gospel. It's not our calling just to feed but to feed the soul and do it all in Jesus' name... Not in the name of a full belly. In the same respect if all we offer is fellowship, food, and fun then all we are is a social club at best, Satan's instruments for distracting and leading people astray at worst.

A social gathering where we pray before we eat and never mention the name of Jesus or build each other up in encouragement for the work of Christ is not a church fellowship activity. We do more harm than good by advertising a church fellowship then proceeding to display how "Christians" don't act very Christian and in fact are pretty much the same as the world. If there's no difference in our lives then what is the appeal? Its these poor examples of Christ that are damaging the image of Christianity as a whole. They'd do more good never mentioning Jesus in their conversation and getting out of the way of Jesus' work.

You can argue as many do that it's all about the heart, but our heart is made manifest in our actions. If I say "yeah, but you don't know my heart" I am lying to myself and others because what's in your heart comes out in the way you act.

I think it's time we make being in a group of fellow believers what God intended for it to be. A time of prayer, encouragement, worship, accountability, and discipleship. When done right, as we bring people into our lives through fellowship and building friendships, we should be pointing them to Christ; not just a place of fun and acceptance but of truth and accountability. We should be setting high standards (afterall Jesus was perfect, and if our love for him superceeds all else our desire will be to shoot for the same) for ourselves and those around us and living lives that please God, not each other or the world.

Paul's Harsh Command

If we followed this, how many people would we have left in the Church? How many times would somebody get called "self-righteous" in the process?

"I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people. What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. "Expel the wicked person from among you." (1 Corinthians 5:9-13 NIV)

Paul never intended himself or the church to be judges of unbelievers outside the church, but to judge those inside. Those on the outside are for God to judge and for believers to evangelize. Those who sin on the inside, the church is to put out. He expected them to disassociate with all who said they were brothers, but had a consistent pattern of sin. Don't even eat with them or accept them. (MacArthur commentary)

This makes me think about the verses, let him who has no sin cast the first stone. But, I think the real purpose of this is to reprimand a believer in the hopes that they will change their ways, not to condemn them. Discipline is loving the hardest way possible. You risk ridicule, retaliation, and isolation. If they continue to deliberately sin, you'd have to wonder if they were ever a true believer or just a fraud. I know if this had happened when I was living a determined sinful life, I would've straightened up a lot faster!

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' (Matthew 7:21-23 NIV)

This also is clear on the fact that we are not to judge those who are not slaves of Christ. They are not bound by the covenant nor do they possess the power of the Holy Spirit to discern what is right. We are to share Christ with them continually but never condemn them; only speak against the sin itself.

"Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Romans 8:1

By this we know that any correction needed must be done 100% in love with no self interest in mind. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ, but it's not a get out of jail free card nor an excuse for non-Christlike behavior.

I know there are more scriptures on these topics, and a book that could be written, but I'm just trying to picture a church that casts out the wicked brother? It sure would take care of the Christians who claim Christ with their lips and worship the world with their actions; the few who give the majority a bad name. Thoughts?

Set Apart: Die to Self and the World

It's been a while since I’ve posted on here, almost a year and a half, mainly because of lack of inspiration and time. But I've been burdened deeply lately by the vast amount of "Christians" who have yet to die to themselves and allow Christ to rule their lives, yet proclaim their Christianity as some sort of badge. It's a sad day when so many are misled and misleading others with their unbiblical, cultural, world-view shaped opinions that are often blatantly ignorant and fueled by emotions (self) instead of the solid truth of Scripture. It's no surprise the bad connotations that have developed towards fence-straddling Christians and the sour taste many have toward God as a result of bad examples. My heart is heavy for them and I place hope in the day when the Holy Spirit opens their eyes to truth and unchains them from themselves. A spring cannot produce both fresh and salt water, and a tree cannot produce both good and bad fruit. A renewed mind must be manifested in the life of a believer and it is created in man by God; not a work of the flesh, not legalism, not pharisaic. If it does, I would question if the occupancy of the Holy Spirit has ever taken place. 

I believe the true problem is that there are a whole lot of professing Christians who claim belief in God; and they very well may hold that belief. But, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the second birth do not take place merely because you believe God to be real. Salvation occurs when you put your life in His hands by faith in Him, accepting His sacrifice for atonement of your sins and turning away from self and towards Christ. I think too often those professing faith and leading others astray are really only professing belief without surrendering themselves to the Lordship of Christ. So how can they be demonstrating a life of Christ if the Spirit is not in them; they cannot. They profess truth but the truth is not in them. Even the Devil believes God is real and trembles at His name. The Devil does not trust in God for his salvation but rather depends on himself. Sadly, so is the case of many professing Christians who are on their way to hell in their current state and leading multitudes down with them.

Jesus teaches that we are to be different.  The world says seek revenge, Jesus says to be peacemakers. The world says always strive to be number one, Jesus says be humble and serve one another. I believe being set apart as a Christian means first of all that we are totally devoted to Christ in all areas of our lives.  We allow God to prune areas that don’t bare fruit and we strive to make Him Lord over all.  I think that this necessarily means that we are to abandon, avoid, despise, hate, and completely reject anything that is deemed worldly (in today’s culture), whether by our Christian friends or by the world itself.  We are a witness to both whether we like it or not; we are either a good witness or a bad witness.

James 4:4-5, “You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us. But he gives us more grace.  That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.  Submit yourselves, then to God.  Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.  Come near to God and he will come near to you.  Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.  Grieve, mourn, and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom.  Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up.”

I love how it says submit completely and humbly to Him and instead of you having to lift yourself up, HE WILL LIFT YOU UP.

James 2:18-22, 26 “But some will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that – and shudder.  You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was MADE COMPLETE by what he did.”  Verse 26 “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.”

John 10:27 “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”

1 Peter 5:8-9, “Be alert and of sober mind.  Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.  Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.”

Romans 14:12-23 “So then, each of us will give an account to God.  Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another.  Instead, make up our mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister. I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself.  But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean.  If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy someone for whom Christ died.  Therefore do not let what you know is good be spoken of as evil.  For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. Because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval.  Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food.  All food is clean, but it is wrong for a person to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble.  It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother or sister to fall. So whatever you believe about these things, keep between yourself and God.  Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves. But whoever has doubt is condemned if they eat, because their eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.”

So if the world views certain things as worldly and it hurts our witness to engage in them, I don’t see this as an excuse to continue to indulge in our own pleasures because we claim to be free in Christ (this desire has it's root in SELF and it must die), but really I see it as the opposite.  We tend to focus on the first half of each verse that states all food is clean, it's not what a man puts in his mouth that defiles him, etc, but what about the second half of those verses?  The part where we quit considering ourselves but consider those around us first? We are to abandon all things that may cause someone to stumble in their faith.  If we have to justify something to a Christian brother, chances are we are already violating God’s command of love.  As stated, Heaven is not a place of eating and drinking but of righteousness, peace, and joy.  If our journey as a Christian is to be sanctified, set apart, and better prepared for heaven then how can we continue to justify the worldly things we still participate in?  Does it not boil down to just a selfish desire; one remnant of the world that we aren’t willing to crucify?

So what kind of things do we do that we probably should not do for the sake of our witness, for the sake of being set apart, and most importantly for the sake of the Gospel? I believe these things include cursing, drinking, smoking, sleeping around, bad attitude, flipping the bird, getting angry, telling crude jokes, gossiping…etc.

How do we do this? We simply submit to Christ 100 percent.  When we do this for real and we’re all in, Jesus will transform our hearts from within instead of us transforming ourselves from without.

It's typical in a debate or discussion where a Christian is laying out the calling of scripture for one who is unstudied to assume he is preaching moralism and get defensive of his folly. Although Jesus himself preaches that if you love Him, you'll keep his commandments. (John 14:15 “If you love me, keep my commands.”) The commandments don't lead to a changed heart or salvation but a changed heart and salvation will lead to obeying commandments and the bearing of fruit. True, it is all about the heart, but when the heart is right, it's shown by unbridled obedience to God's word.  I look at it as obedience is the measuring stick of the hearts level of sanctification. I've seen in my years of Christian experiences that when a Christian points out a sin, however loving or non loving (and perfectly able to separate the son from the sinner), the person who is offended is the one who is guilty of such a sin (this is called conviction and is a work of the Holy Spirit).  They also seem to be the person that will cry “don’t judge me!” all the while being the one who seems to be not able to separate themselves or a person from the actions that defile them. They want to be treated as though the sin is OK, and when someone says, "The sin is wrong but Jesus and me love you anyway, let me show you a better way"...they inevitably have defined themselves by the action that defiles them instead of finding their worth and purpose is Jesus; and offense is taken. All other beliefs outside of the knowledge of Jesus as Savior lead to hell. 

I've heard it said that the worst sinners are the ones that talk about the sins of others. I think this can be true if someone is pointing out others sins continuously without first examining themselves or as a means to set themselves above another or to mask their own personal sin. The motive for calling a particular sin to attention must always be love. Not judgement. Too often love is mistaken for judgment by the offended party. Such a sad occurrence, but it is prophesied in the wisdom of Proverbs the way a fool responds to reproach, so no surprise really. (Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Prov. 18:2. A rebuke impresses a discerning person more than a hundred lashes a fool. Prov. 17:10.) Fools respond to truth with defensiveness while a wise person takes head and gains wisdom from reproof.  If this cliche statement were true, then Jesus was the worst of sinners and I don't believe that to be the case. You can point out sins if and only if it is done in love and you offer the gospel of redemption (a way out). Otherwise it's not good news, it's condemnation and Jesus did not come to condemn the world but came so the world might be saved (John 3:17). The gospel isn't the problem (it doesn't condemn us), its the solution. We condemn ourselves by not accepting it. 

CS Lewis puts it this way in the last paragraph of Mere Christianity, “Give up yourself, and you will find your real self.  Lose your life and you will save it. Submit to death, death of your ambitions and favorite wishes every day and death of your whole body in the end: submit with every fiber of your being, and you find eternal life.  Keep back nothing.  Nothing that you have not given away will be really yours.  Nothing in you that has not died will ever be raised from the dead.  Look for yourself, and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay. But look for Christ and you will find Him, and with Him everything else thrown in.” 

Bored and Thinking...what if?

Pondering a few random thoughts at the moment.  Why in America is it so socially acceptable to say you believe in God or that you are a Christian, but so few professing Christians actually live a lifestyle conducive to their faith.  It’s acceptable to speak it, its unacceptable to live it.  I think about countries where it will get you killed to profess to be a Christians and those Christians speak and live it even unto death.  It has become a bit of a running joke in America that churches are full of people who profess Jesus on Sunday with their fake Sunday smiles and hands lifted as if in a theatrically scripted performance to the Almighty Savior, all the while thinking about what they are going to have for lunch.  The theatrical drones of the Christian church are for certain a major contributing factor to the lack of interest from the outside world as to why to even bother with Jesus if there is no difference he brings.  It’s almost like an assembly line for painting cars.  (I know this is random and a little off beat but I think it helps me visualize it).  Picture this.  Every car in the world is black (model T style).  Black paint is all that has existed from the beginning of time until recent advances in paint science have allowed paint engineers to develop a red colored paint.  It is ground breaking, earth shattering news; the biggest in car history over the last 2000 years.  Now there will be a way to rid your car of the this black dreary color and transform it into a new fresh red car, set apart and standing out among all the fellow black cars.  So here go the cars to the factory to be coated in this red paint.  Cars are going through the line day in and day out receiving this new red paint…but a new problem has arisen.  The black undercoat is eating through the thin factory applied red paint.  So the ones who care most about the image of their car are required to take it in weekly for a fresh robot applied thin coat of paint.  Others who are looking on watching these cars be paraded in and out of the factory see all this hard work being done, but the cars keep ending up the same as they did when they entered.  Meanwhile a small group of those who received the misted red paint are starting to truly seek a red coat that can last.  They seek it day in and day out.  Finally they find the source of the red paint and are blown away to find that the scientist producing it are giving it away for free!  They realize that the factory may be applying it too thin, but if they can only get one on one with the red paint and apply a thick coat to the car themselves that it just might last. The problem has been solved.  They realize if you rely on the factory to freshen up your ride every week, it fades before you can park it at work on Monday.  Seek a thick coat of red paint for the best interest of your car, apply it deliberately on your hands and knees with sweat and tears and it can withstand the ever-corroding black undercoat.  As is the problem with Christians who are showing up black to church every Sunday, receiving a dose of Jesus and leaving black back into the world.  If we are no different, why should anyone want what we have?  And if what we profess isn’t making us different, then we should examine what we think we have.  It may be we need to trade in the fake stuff for the real thing.  We as Christians need to embrace the free gift of Jesus’ blood to forever overtake the sinfulness in our core.  We need to stop faking ourselves out on Sunday and start seeking a genuine relationship with Jesus by getting on our hands and knees with sweat, prayer, and tears and seek the face of the one who is the very reason for our existence.  Too many of us seek the experience of church but forgo the experience of Jesus Christ, our hands lifted high but empty on the inside.  What will it take for me?  What will it take for you?  I hope we get it figured out while a world is perishing not knowing the genuine difference of a life changed by the blood.  While we fake religion in the comfort of our sanctuaries, millions are dying and going to hell in the real world.  I want to be held accountable for my actions by those around me.  I want to be able to say I am Christian.  To be able to say look at my life and the difference Jesus has made.  To have a life testimony where is Christianity is demonstrated and defined.  To take away the punch line of the joke that is the typical American church performance.  Give the skeptics something to desire instead of mock.  What if we changed the world?

'Unquestioned Obedience'

So I was reading through my normal round of devotionals this morning and this one by Tozer (which I think is just an excerpt from one of his books) really got me.  Thought I'd share.  To think that the Holy Spirit is jealous of my obedience is humbling.  I cannot help but fall in love with a Savior who died that I may live and Who loves me unconditionally regardless of how many times I cheat on Him and turn my back on him to enjoy the temporary 'pleasures' of the flesh.  To not have unquestioned obedience for our Savior is to give a measure of our obedience to His adversary.  And as all good Christians know in our head, 'you can't serve two masters (Lk16:13)'.  Why is it so easy for this idea to get lost in translation from the head to the heart? Wish I knew....

Unquestioned Obedience - A.W. Tozer

"If the Spirit takes charge of your life He will expect unquestioning obedience in everything. He will not tolerate in you the self-sins even though they are permitted and excused by most Christians. By the self-sins I mean self-love, self-pity, self-seeking, self-confidence, self-righteousness, self-aggrandizement, self-defense. You will find the Spirit to be in sharp opposition to the easy ways of the world and of the mixed multitude within the precincts of religion. He will be jealous over you for good. He will not allow you to boast or swagger or show off. He will take the direction of your life away from you. He will reserve the right to test you, to discipline you, to chasten you for your soul's sake. He may strip you of many of those borderline pleasures that other Christians enjoy but that are to you a source of refined evil. Through it all He will enfold you in a love so vast, so mighty, so all-embracing, so wondrous that your very losses will seem like gains and your small pains like pleasures. Yet the flesh will whimper under His yoke and cry out against it as a burden too great to bear. And you will be permitted to enjoy the solemn privilege of suffering to fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in your flesh for His body's sake, which is the Church. Now, with the conditions before you, do you still want to be filled with the Holy Spirit?" If this appears severe, let us remember that the way of the cross is never easy. The shine and glamour accompanying popular religious movements is as false as the sheen on the wings of the angel of darkness when he for a moment transforms himself into an angel of light. The spiritual timidity that fears to show the cross in its true character is not on any grounds to be excused. It can result only in disappointment and tragedy at last."