{"id":5841,"date":"2022-08-06T17:25:24","date_gmt":"2022-08-06T07:25:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nlec.org.au\/english\/?p=5841"},"modified":"2022-08-06T17:25:25","modified_gmt":"2022-08-06T07:25:25","slug":"sunday-7-august-2022-hostility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nlec.org.au\/english\/sunday-7-august-2022-hostility\/","title":{"rendered":"Sunday 7 August, 2022 – Hostility"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God\u2019s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God. \u2013 Romans 8:7-8<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today I have come face to face with the real struggle of living a life in the Spirit, and I\u2019ve wondered at the struggle and I\u2019ve wondered whether it\u2019s really worth it. It would be so much easier <\/em>to just do what I want to do, not to bother having to think through issues to work out what would be the wisest, most Godly response, to be able to just write people off instead of work at forgiveness and reconciliation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These thoughts are a sample of those which come \u201cnaturally\u201d. I don\u2019t have to work at getting them, and, given the chance, I wouldn\u2019t have to work very hard at carrying them out. They are easy and I wouldn\u2019t have much trouble finding people who would affirm those ways of thinking. Of course it would be best to do what makes me happy. Of course it would be best to distance myself, even cut off, people who are difficult and don\u2019t appreciate me. Why would I bother to work at outcomes that would benefit others at my expense? Even more, why would I bother with things written so long ago that they are surely no longer relevant?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do what makes you happy. Make sure you get what you need. You deserve the best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This way of thinking, with self (or sometimes a close group of others) at the centre, is very easy to swallow. It plays to our greatest weakness and concern: me. We hear these sorts of thoughts echoed in media, in movies, on billboards, even from many people in our lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have a group of close friends who aren\u2019t Christians, but we\u2019ve been there for each other for more than 20 years. As I\u2019ve come to take my faith more seriously, I\u2019ve sometimes been shocked to notice how differently we think. I remember a conversation about how to treat refugees, and though these girls are almost unfailingly kind and generous, their position was one of fear and a desire to protect their status and way of life. I have no doubt that if a person in need were in our midst, they would (as I\u2019ve seen them do) come to their aid; but they were not willing to make significant adjustments to their lives to meet the needs of others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is not about our country\u2019s refugee policy, but the differences in the mindset of those who are in Christ and those who are not. None of them would say that they are hostile to God, none of them would likely be singled out as a \u201cbad person\u201d, even their arguments seem sound, and yet their pattern of thinking goes against God\u2019s ways and God\u2019s heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And so do my ungodly, mis-governed thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In The Silver Chair<\/em>, Aslan gives two children \u2013 Eustace and Jill \u2013 the task of finding Prince Rillian. They finally discover that he has been captured and trapped in Underland, where there is a powerful enchantment that causes them to forget Aslan, who they are, why they are there, and that there is anything other than the dark world in which they are trapped. It is only Puddleglum, the dour but noble friend on their quest, who manages to fend off the enchantment, speaking out the truth and breaking the enchantment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Friends, as we leave these verses that speak particularly to our thought patterns, let us take care to continually come back to the truths we know. Read them. Listen to them. Speak them out, to ourselves and each other. Come back to the truths of the Bible and work out with each other how they apply in settings with family, at work, with friends. And even in times when you can\u2019t work out yet exactly what is right or where the flaw is, and all you can do is shout out the truth of God against the lies of the world, do that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Satan would want to lull us into believing the lies that seem so plausible and attractive. Satan would want us to believe the lie that God could never want to bring difficult things into our lives, or that God is withholding good things from us, or that God wouldn\u2019t want us to go without something that we feel is vital. Satan would want us to believe that God has much bigger concerns than the little things we do in our little lives, that God doesn\u2019t care about every detail. Satan would want us to believe that we need to live our best life now because it\u2019s the only one we\u2019ll have, and that it\u2019s up to us to wall in everything we care about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be careful with your eyes and ears, so that you will not be seduced by ungodly ways of thinking. No matter how sensible these things may seem to us, they do not please God, and they lead to death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is a way that appears to be right,
    but in the end it leads to death. \u2013 Proverbs 14:12<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you recognise ungodly ways of thinking, confess and take them to God. Ask Him to renew your mind. And dig down: is it that you\u2019re finding it hard to believe that God is at work? Is it that you believe your way is best? Why have you had these thoughts?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As to the waters of ungodly thinking that we swim in, our best defence is a mind that is constantly being shaped and renewed by the Holy Spirit and a community of people who will work together to work out the gospel into our life settings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prayer focus:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n