ROOTED RENEGADE

The lust of the eyes and the pride of life can really mes us up! They take our focus off of Jesus and turn our hearts towards things that may seem gratifying in the moment, but are really damaging our souls. Not to mention our walk with God.

We of course saw this with Eve in the Garden of Eden and King David with Bathsheba. But we also see it in other places in Scripture. One in particular that Holy Spirit highlighted to me is found in Acts 8:9-24. 

A sorcerer named Simon had been performing magic tricks in Samaria. To the point that people attributed his tricks to him having the great power of God. But he and the people had an encounter with Philip who preached the gospel of Jesus to them. Philip would baptize Simon, who believed that it was the good news being preached to him.

But his heart would later reveal itself when Peter was laying hands on people and giving them the impartation of Holy Spirit.

Simon saw an opportunity as he witnessed the impartations. And he tried to purchase the power of Holy Spirit (his heart revealed its corrupt nature). The lust of his eyes kept searching for power. Peter called him out and prophesied over him that his money would perish with him. 

Whether it’s prestige, positions, power over other people, money, sex, etc. it can cause us to sin against God. And trust that what is in our hearts will eventually come out of our mouths (Matthew 12:34).

We need the Lord to search our hearts and cleanse our hands each day (Psalm 139:23-24 and Psalm 24:4). We need holy salve on our eyes so they can be healed from the lust of things. 

Giants know that people do not stay submitted to Jesus easily and are lulled away by the itching of their ears and the matters of the heart. They tempt, tease, and tell people lies like “no one will know if you just take one sip” or “no one will know you went to that porn channel again”. But that’s not the truth. Someone is always watching us. For one God sees everything, but two, others are watching us to. Our behaviors, how we talk, walk, and respond to other people while calling ourselves Christians. 

I will never forget the beginning of the song “Jesus Freak” by DC Talk. It said this: “The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians:who acknowledge Jesus with their lips,walk out the door, and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable”. The quote is by Brennan Manning, a Franciscan priest. And a powerful one at that.

When we take bites of the proverbial fruit, whatever that may be for you, and then we try to act as if we are not doing anything wrong, we are showing those who need Jesus, Jesus, we are showing them hypocrisy.

We aren’t helping them want to know Jesus or want to stop living a life of sin. No one wants to follow hypocrisy. They see that enough just by living in the world we live in and I can’t say I know anyone who actually enjoys seeing or experiencing it.

People are looking for the truth. They don’t want filters. They don’t want another empty sermon that won’t change the heart. They don’t need another pep talk. And they certainly don’t need us to rep Jesus in the wrong way.

We are the light of the world and the salt of the earth. And if we want to reach the masses with the love of Christ, we gotta make these giants homeless by not eating the fruit they dangle in front of us.

If you are struggling with porn, addiction of any kind, or even self-harm, I encourage you to seek the help of a Christian, Holy Spirit filled counselor. If you don’t know one and need help finding one, send me a message. 

Faythe