CONCERT OF PRAYER

Pray Week 828

“The Wrong Question”

James 4:7 (ESV)  Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

—————————————————————————————-

A young man that was in a dating relationship telephoned a Christian radio talk show and asked ‘how far’ he and his girl friend could go with sexual intimacy before ‘crossing the line of sin’.

This young man’s question is far too typical and indicative of what is wrong with the Christian church today.  Far too many of us are seeking to ‘hug the line’ that should not be crossed.  Our carnal hearts’ desire is to have as much of the ‘forbidden fruit’ of this world as we can have and we seek to move and push the limits of the boundary lines.

To put it succinctly, we are asking the wrong questions.

How drunk or high can I get before it becomes sin?

How much of the ‘less wholesome’ movies, music, games, television, internet or theater can I be entertained by before it becomes sin?

How much foul language can I use before it becomes sin?

Are some words worse than others?  What if I modify the coarse words slightly so that they only sound like the original?

How much can I flirt with others before it becomes sin?

How much sexual intimacy outside of marriage is acceptable?

Instead of asking ‘How far can I move away from God?’ we should be asking ‘How can I get closer to God?’

The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.  Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men. – Isaiah 29:13

The Lord’s words from Isaiah ring true for too much of the church today.  We worship Him in ritual and form but our hearts remain far from Him.  We want to know how much of the sin of this world we can toy with.  We want to know how far away we can get from God and still be OK.

Just as our heart muscle needs oxygen and unrestricted blood flow to operate at its best, so too our spiritual heart needs the unrestricted flow of the Holy Spirit.  The sin we allow in our life is like spiritual cholesterol which restricts the flow of God’s Holy Spirit.  Our spiritual and moral heart becomes weak and ineffective.  We lose energy and passion for God when we allow sin to hinder the power of God from flowing freely through our lives.

Flee from sexual immorality; flee from idolatry; flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. – 1 Cor 6:18; 1 Cor 10:14; 2 Tim 2:22

Prayerfully ask the Lord the right question.  Ask Him to show you how to get closer to Him.  He will make it clear.  May the Lord cleanse us of our double-mindedness. May He renew our steadfast resolve to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness.