I don't want to be like them!

'“We want to be like the nations
around us. Our king will judge
us and lead us into battle.”' 1 Samuel 8:20 https://my.bible.com/bible/116/1SA.8.20


This is so 21st Century. The Church and followers of Christ
are struggling with being in THIS WORLD. The issues of
abortion, gays, wealth, and politics are tearing the church
apart right before our eyes. Satan is loving it. In all reality,
things have not changed since the time of Samuel. Israel
had judges to help "rule" their nation of tribes. The Lord was
to be the center of their lives. HE WAS THEIR KING. In all
fairness to Israel, the memory of being defeated by the
Philistines was still fresh in their minds. They thought
the only way to be STRONG was to have a King.

They were wrong!

The loss to the Philistines can be directly related to their
DRIFT from God. This stubborn people just couldn't see
the "forest for the trees". They saw the Philistines with
their Kings. They saw other Nations with their SUPREME
RULERS. They just had to be the same as the rest of the
world. What a slap in the face to the Lord!

We are doing the same thing right now. The world is
"slapping the face" of the God of the Universe. Instead of
looking directly into the word of the Lord and clearly
reading his stand on the issues of our day, we create our
own truths. We look at the WORLD for advice instead
of trusting in the clear word of the Lord. Even Christians
are trying to reach the world by being LIKE THE WORLD.
What does it hurt? Doesn't it let us reach the lost if we give
in a little? The truth is certainly, NO. We must live as the
Lord has designed. We are NOT to live as members of this
world. We are called to live as children of the MOST HIGH.
Instead, We are rejecting GOD! The consequences are
eternal.

As followers of Christ, we are NOT to follow this world.
We need to take a stand regardless of the consequences.
We are called to transform NOT conform. We are called to
follow the PLAN of the Lord. Dear Lord help us!