Set Apart
lately, i've found myself looking at pictures that people put up on lj or friendster and i've manage to capture one sort of trend in the pictures people have posted. i find it interesting that almost everyone has pictures of themselves at a club downtown or at a house party with a drink in hand during one weekend or another. other times, it may be someone raving in excitment about the next party or club he or she will attend to 'celebrate' their accomplishments. another may be proclaiming to the world how wasted they were over the weekend. why do people seek pleasure in this manner anyways? is it to drink all thier sorrows away? is it to seek out someone who can potentially be your significant other? and even it if it's just to have fun... would offer yourself to another human being easily because you were tipsy and didn't know what you were doing? it makes me wonder if this is thier source of joy and hope. if anything, there is one thing i fail to understand: how much fun are you really having if you can't remember what you were doing nevermind who you were having fun with. sure having a dose of alcohol can have its benefits by giving you feelings of happiness and knowing that someone from the opposite sex thinks that you are the most wonderful thing on earth may be plus, but the honest truth is that all these things are temporary and in turn they all will fade away. is this what people really consider having fun?
there are times where i feel left out of these things. mainly because this is the thing everyone seems to want to do: alcohol, club, meet people, do wild and crazy things. many times i've opted out from such activities since i strongly believe that i do not need to get crunked, dance my night away with another guy i do not know, and be totally unware of my own actions to have fun. i'm not even that quite interested in listening to what so-and-so did with so-and-so or anything else in that matter.
however, listening to these stories sadden's my heart. it's strange how people have find happiness from one party to the next, from one drink to the next, from one person to another. it's funny how people say they do the things they do because it makes them happy, yet fail to see that they are back at square one when all the things they found happiness in has faded. i am comforted in knowing that i have found my true source of joy in Jesus Christ. God is the sole reason why i rather not be in that sort of lifestyle. i know that he has given me a better purpose in life than to get wasted every other weekend. he gives me hope when i am down. he heals me when i'm sick. he listens to my softest desires. he gives me strength when i am weak. moste importantly, he has given me life through his son Jesus Christ and has forgiven me from all my sins. he has given me everything, and i want to give him back the best, my all. He has called me to be set apart for Him!
God has a purpose for your life as well. don't waste it on things so temporary. He can be your source of hope. the reason why you celebrate. if only you give your life back to him. he too will grant you the comfort and peace that i have found.
A Heart That Is Set Apart For God
By Martha Noebel
www.CBN.com
The Lord has been impressing upon me lately to consider writing an article on being "set apart for God." I asked a few of my co-workers what they thought it meant and here are a few of their thoughts.
To be set apart means that God has His hand on you for a specific purpose. He'll use other people to get you on track -- in addition to dreams, visions, and that "still small voice" of God. A scripture that would fit nicely with this is Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end."
Another shared that it means to be marked by God for a particular purpose. He guides our lives differently than it might have been had we not submitted to His call. And even though it may appear that we are not in ministry, we are marked by God to minister in the day to day living. Because He has set us apart, we are already walking into our destinies.
We will feel a pull away from people and things that distract us. Even though we may feel as if we are put on a shelf and forgotten, we have been set apart for the call of God on our lives. It is during these times that we will find ourselves spending quality time with God as He molds and makes us into His image. He will build character in us so that when it is time to go on the frontlines, He knows we will be ready. He will be able to trust us with what has been appointed for us to do. Jesus said, "Come out from among them and be ye separate." II Corinthians 6:17
Matthew 22:14 says, "For many are called, but few are chosen." It is as if we can picture Jesus standing in the middle of a very busy, dusty, Middle East marketplace not even aware of all the disruption going on around Him. Instead He is intently holding up and examining select pieces of fruit. After deciding on His choice, He gently places them one by one in a basket cradled in the crook of His arm, close to His side.
One sister in the Lord spoke of a lesson she learned with the fruit in her lunch bag. As she took out the beautiful, crimson-colored nectarine, she began to cut the fruit before she ate it. To her great surprise, she found that it was totally rotten on the inside. Then the Holy Spirit spoke to her and said that this fruit is symbolic of what some Christians are like. They are beautiful on the outside but the inside tells a different story.
She felt a check to make sure that she was clean before the Lord. God has chosen us to do a work for Him and we need to be "set apart", chosen to do a work for the King. He has anointed us and equipped us to be used for the advancement of His kingdom.
Yet another one shared with me that to be set apart means to be made holy, consecrated to Him. Christians are given a special role in life to serve Him. We are transferred from the domain of darkness to the Kingdom of Light. We are strangers to this world's system. Instead of thinking and acting like the world, we are set apart from this more common way of viewing and living life and are given a different purpose, which is to serve God and become more like Jesus. You could say that we are separated from worldliness and given new purpose in Jesus to be used by God.
Personally, I agree with all of the above. In my 50 years of living on this earth, I have spent 43 years as a Christian. From the very beginning I have felt called to be separated unto God. My desires were to please God. I did not always succeed, but my heart was for God.
If I get off track, God always gently guides me back onto the path He has chosen for me. First Thessalonians 4 tells us that we should live a life pleasing to the Lord. In verse one Paul is encouraging us to live it even more than before. Verse 9 instructs us to love our Christian families and Christians around us. He exhorts us to love them even more.
First Thessalonians 5:6 says, "So we should not be like other people who are sleeping, but we should be alert and have self-control." Verse 8 says, " ... We should wear faith and love to protect us, and the hope of salvation should be our helmet."
Verses 13-22 give us these insights. Live in peace with each other, warn those who do not work, and encourage the people who are afraid. We should also help those who are weak, be patient with everyone, be sure that no one pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to do what is good for each other.
Further instructions are to always be joyful, pray continually, give thanks for whatever happens, do not hold back the work of the Holy Spirit, do not treat prophecy as if it were unimportant, but test everything. Keep what is good and stay away from everything that is evil.
Do you get the point by now? If we are set apart to do the work of the Lord, then we will not have time to get into trouble especially if our hearts are set on pleasing God. We should be working on being full of the fruit of the Spirit and telling people about the message of the Gospel of peace. That alone is a full time job.
And as Paul ends II Thessalonians, "Now may the Lord of peace give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you."
there are times where i feel left out of these things. mainly because this is the thing everyone seems to want to do: alcohol, club, meet people, do wild and crazy things. many times i've opted out from such activities since i strongly believe that i do not need to get crunked, dance my night away with another guy i do not know, and be totally unware of my own actions to have fun. i'm not even that quite interested in listening to what so-and-so did with so-and-so or anything else in that matter.
however, listening to these stories sadden's my heart. it's strange how people have find happiness from one party to the next, from one drink to the next, from one person to another. it's funny how people say they do the things they do because it makes them happy, yet fail to see that they are back at square one when all the things they found happiness in has faded. i am comforted in knowing that i have found my true source of joy in Jesus Christ. God is the sole reason why i rather not be in that sort of lifestyle. i know that he has given me a better purpose in life than to get wasted every other weekend. he gives me hope when i am down. he heals me when i'm sick. he listens to my softest desires. he gives me strength when i am weak. moste importantly, he has given me life through his son Jesus Christ and has forgiven me from all my sins. he has given me everything, and i want to give him back the best, my all. He has called me to be set apart for Him!
God has a purpose for your life as well. don't waste it on things so temporary. He can be your source of hope. the reason why you celebrate. if only you give your life back to him. he too will grant you the comfort and peace that i have found.
A Heart That Is Set Apart For God
By Martha Noebel
www.CBN.com
The Lord has been impressing upon me lately to consider writing an article on being "set apart for God." I asked a few of my co-workers what they thought it meant and here are a few of their thoughts.
To be set apart means that God has His hand on you for a specific purpose. He'll use other people to get you on track -- in addition to dreams, visions, and that "still small voice" of God. A scripture that would fit nicely with this is Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end."
Another shared that it means to be marked by God for a particular purpose. He guides our lives differently than it might have been had we not submitted to His call. And even though it may appear that we are not in ministry, we are marked by God to minister in the day to day living. Because He has set us apart, we are already walking into our destinies.
We will feel a pull away from people and things that distract us. Even though we may feel as if we are put on a shelf and forgotten, we have been set apart for the call of God on our lives. It is during these times that we will find ourselves spending quality time with God as He molds and makes us into His image. He will build character in us so that when it is time to go on the frontlines, He knows we will be ready. He will be able to trust us with what has been appointed for us to do. Jesus said, "Come out from among them and be ye separate." II Corinthians 6:17
Matthew 22:14 says, "For many are called, but few are chosen." It is as if we can picture Jesus standing in the middle of a very busy, dusty, Middle East marketplace not even aware of all the disruption going on around Him. Instead He is intently holding up and examining select pieces of fruit. After deciding on His choice, He gently places them one by one in a basket cradled in the crook of His arm, close to His side.
One sister in the Lord spoke of a lesson she learned with the fruit in her lunch bag. As she took out the beautiful, crimson-colored nectarine, she began to cut the fruit before she ate it. To her great surprise, she found that it was totally rotten on the inside. Then the Holy Spirit spoke to her and said that this fruit is symbolic of what some Christians are like. They are beautiful on the outside but the inside tells a different story.
She felt a check to make sure that she was clean before the Lord. God has chosen us to do a work for Him and we need to be "set apart", chosen to do a work for the King. He has anointed us and equipped us to be used for the advancement of His kingdom.
Yet another one shared with me that to be set apart means to be made holy, consecrated to Him. Christians are given a special role in life to serve Him. We are transferred from the domain of darkness to the Kingdom of Light. We are strangers to this world's system. Instead of thinking and acting like the world, we are set apart from this more common way of viewing and living life and are given a different purpose, which is to serve God and become more like Jesus. You could say that we are separated from worldliness and given new purpose in Jesus to be used by God.
Personally, I agree with all of the above. In my 50 years of living on this earth, I have spent 43 years as a Christian. From the very beginning I have felt called to be separated unto God. My desires were to please God. I did not always succeed, but my heart was for God.
If I get off track, God always gently guides me back onto the path He has chosen for me. First Thessalonians 4 tells us that we should live a life pleasing to the Lord. In verse one Paul is encouraging us to live it even more than before. Verse 9 instructs us to love our Christian families and Christians around us. He exhorts us to love them even more.
First Thessalonians 5:6 says, "So we should not be like other people who are sleeping, but we should be alert and have self-control." Verse 8 says, " ... We should wear faith and love to protect us, and the hope of salvation should be our helmet."
Verses 13-22 give us these insights. Live in peace with each other, warn those who do not work, and encourage the people who are afraid. We should also help those who are weak, be patient with everyone, be sure that no one pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to do what is good for each other.
Further instructions are to always be joyful, pray continually, give thanks for whatever happens, do not hold back the work of the Holy Spirit, do not treat prophecy as if it were unimportant, but test everything. Keep what is good and stay away from everything that is evil.
Do you get the point by now? If we are set apart to do the work of the Lord, then we will not have time to get into trouble especially if our hearts are set on pleasing God. We should be working on being full of the fruit of the Spirit and telling people about the message of the Gospel of peace. That alone is a full time job.
And as Paul ends II Thessalonians, "Now may the Lord of peace give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you."