You have heard that nothing corrupt will ever enter eternity with the Lord. I know I’ve mentioned it a time or two. And you’ve noticed how corrupt you are, I hope. Now there’s a problem here, ya think? It’s a problem we all struggle with. You’ll be cruising along just fine one day and, all of a sudden, you realize you’re pondering or doing something you KNOW the Lord will not allow entrance into Heaven. It’s one thing to ask for forgiveness from the Lord and believe you have received it. But what will you do next time? Is there a place a man can live where he commits these wicked things less and less? I can testify that there is such a place. And though I don’t know how Jesus will deal with you personally over these issues, I know of a clue to learning how to obey Him more often.
When you were a child you learned how to do many wicked things. You learned early how to lie. It was, at first, a way of keeping out of trouble. But remember, there was also a time when you had no clue how to lie. So you learned how to be wicked so you could do what you wanted and get away with it. From that moment on lies became a tool in your tool box. And you’ll notice that through out every day lies still come to mind. You might not play them out. But they’re still hangin around.
The key to transforming your mind from wickedness to purity is called learning. Think of the things you used to do as a child. How many things have you forgotten how to do? Like crawling through the grass. Adults don’t do that much. But children love it. How did you come to forget how to enjoy that? The answer is, you stopped doing it. You learned to lie the same way. You stopped living in innocence. It’s our practise that leads to who we become. If I practise playing guitar, I get better at it. If I stop playing guitar for a year or two I hardly even think of it anymore. It’s not that I can’t remember if I pick it up again. But I will have to learn all over again how to get pretty good at it. Practise.
Be innocent of what is evil and wise about what is good. But how do we become innocent of what is evil if we have lived evil lives? How do you forget what is evil if that is all you’ve been all your life? The Lord’s reply is amazingly simple. “Practise doing what is good and you will forget what is evil. Just as when you begin to practice what is evil you forget what is good.” (As I heard Him whisper to me one day)
Peter put it this way: As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy because I am Holy.’” (1 Peter 1: 14)
But the Apostle Paul pens the words like this: “. . . but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.” (Romans 16:19)
Learn from the Lord by listening to the Word of God in the Bible. Learn from the Lord by listening to His leading in your conscience. Learn to listen to His voice of guidance from the Holy Spirit within you (if, indeed, you are a Christian). For if you are not a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, it will do you no good to practice what is good; for you are still bound by the father of lies. Only in Jesus can we hope to find help in our attempts to become holy and practice what is good. Before Jesus within us, we can only play like children at accomplishing the holiness God the Father demands. The power to please God comes from an intimate relationship with Jesus. And we have heard that those who practise evil will never enter God’s peace. Practise!
By His Grace.
Words From There 