Saturday is sunny and balmy, although it started cold.  All in all a beautiful and sunny day.

Worldly Pleasure or Eternal Obedience

    Short post, huge thought.  I'm going to challenge you to think of this one on your own quite a bit.  Read the Daily Bible Verse:

    "If you love me, you will obey what I command."

                                  John 14:15

    This post comes from John, wherein Jesus was comforting his disciples.  As followers of Christ, we are all ministers of the Word.  And in order to be ministers of the Word, we need to obey what Jesus commanded his disciples (which includes all of us believers, by the way).  Read the above verse one more time.  Now read the next verse in John:

    "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever--the Spirit of truth.  The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him.  But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you."

                                  John 14:16-17

    Now read that again.  Jesus says he will ask the God, and God will give us another Counselor, the Spirit of truth.  To me that means the Holy Spirit.  The Way and the words of Jesus, or the Word of God, is the ONLY truth.  That would be the Holy Spirit, which as Jesus points out, is always with you because it IS IN YOU.  And why cannot the world accept him?  Because it neither sees him nor knows him.  Why not?
   
    That's the central tenet of this post.  I often use the world "worldly."  Why?  Because the things of this world: money, desire, wants, greed, power, pleasure...they are all of this world.  They are not of God or Christ, because God, whether in the form of God or Jesus or the Holy Spirit, is pure and without any type of sin at all.  However, anything worldly is impure in comparison.

    So read the title of this post once more: Worldly Pleasure or Eternal Obedience.  On a daily basis, which one do you pick?  Think about it.  Do you make decisions to participate in the pleasurable things of this world that are sin? Or do you make your decisions to obey what Jesus commanded and choose eternal obedience?  If today I have a beer, am I choosing worldly pleasure or eternal obedience?  I think that's a close one.  One beer, maybe two...let's say that's all I have and I don't make bad choices because of it.  I remember God and Christ.  I don't hurt anyone and I don't drink so much that I defile my body.  I want to say that is eternal obedience.  But let's say I drink a six pack and make bad judgment calls. 

    That's worldly pleasure...and it leads to sin.  Now I could be wrong.  One or two beers may be sin, too.  But Jesus drank wine with his meals and with his disciples.  And Jesus committed no sin. 

    That's just one example of what could be worldly pleasure or eternal obedience.  I think this is one of those things that could be pretty cut and dry or be between God and you as a believer.  And that's where the other Counselor Jesus was talking about comes in:  The Holy Spirit that lives within you.  We as believers need to have a close relationship with God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit so that when we are faced with a decision we know is "on the edge", we can ask God and listen for the Truthful answer of the Holy Spirit that lives within us, after reflecting on how Jesus would have approached the situation.

    Just think about it. It is serious and for real in every situation we encounter.  That's what being a believer is all about.  You don't just practice your faith and beliefs when it's convenient.  We are supposed to do it all the time.  I would welcome comments on this post gladly.  I'm interested to see what others think about it.

    Until tomorrow.

    Come Believe...

I agree that it should be between you, the believer and God. With alcohol for example, every individual has a different "limit" where they lose their good judgment. So who is to say that having 2 drinks would be a sin, or that 6 drinks is a sin? I totally believe that it is up to the individual, and that it is between them and God. If we truly listen to the still small voice, we know when enough is enough. Whether or not we choose to listen to that voice is the difference between sin or no sin, I think.