FROM THE KEYBOARD

Satan may not be able to push you into hell (he would if he could), but he can push hell into you. And since we cannot isolate from the world, we must remain insulated by the Word. "For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world" (1 John 2:16).

One does not need to choose their circumstances in order to allow God to use their circumstances. Ultimately, when we trust the Lord with our circumstances, we can then rest knowing He controls the consequences. "Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will act" (Psalm 37:5).

Those who resent the ideas of God will hate those who represent the image of God. In other words, don't be surprised when your love for God brings hate from man. “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you" (John 15:18-19).

The Lord is with those who are with Him. Conversely, the Lord rejects those who reject Him. Clearly He grants us what our hearts want. "And he went out to meet Asa, and said to him: “Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you" (2 Chronicles 15:2).

We become like that which we behold. To behold God is to be held by God. Conversely, to behold the world is to be held by the world. One way is freedom, the other a free fall. "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14).

If the Word of God is not the final authority over the matters of life, then the authority that is final is that life doesn't matter. Such are theses days. And yet, regardless of the authority of the godless, let us be those who stand on the authority of God. "Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; happy is he who keeps the law" (Proverbs 29:18).