-2Peter
1:10 What are the things we should overcome to qualify for the highest
position we can get in the Kingdom of God?
Many people do not entertain
evil thoughts, evil thoughts entertain them!
"People spend more time on
seeking pleasure than on becoming better."....Charlton
Heston, famous actor.
One
qualifies by doing good.
"The pursuit of happiness
is not the pursuit of pleasure."....Derek
Sanderson, NHL legend.
Avoiding the fruits of sin
involves staying out of the orchard!
One trick of the devil is
to
wait, to wait until you open a door for more influence.
Christ has already overcome
all that is necessary:.John
17:4; 19:30. That is why He
said...
And because of what He has
done, we can see the incredible love He has for us.
Watch out for things of
the flesh which come from the low, the ordinary consciousness ego
level.(mostly
selfish ways of man).which
tend
to pull an individual
down a step further.
These things increase limitations on individuals. How
to get away from them. Why do some of us get so steeped in evil?.2Thessalonians
2:10,11.
Watch out.(be
alert).for
the choices.(Deuteronomy
30:19; Joshua 24:15).that
life presents you, the people that are offering you things that appeal
to you, probably because they piqued
your lusts:.Proverbs
14:12 "There is a way which seems right unto a man, but the end thereof
are the ways of death.(the
things that take you on the road in that direction)."
Isaiah
30:9-13;
Revelation
3:17; Ephesians
5:6; Colossians 3:5-17; Ezekiel
18:30; 14:3-8;.(*).
Always be asking, How does this fit with love, before you commit.
How
does one overcome the influence of what John here calls."the
world", which is the
negative mass mind of humanity that is continually
pumped towards the dark way, the way of death?.Jeremiah
21:8 "And unto this people say, Thus says the Lord, Behold.(take
notice), I set before you the
way of life and the way of death.".And
here is the choice
for humanity; follow the way of the ego or the way of higher consciousness:.Ezekiel
11:19. And the more we walk the higher consciousness highway, the greater
is the disconnection from influence of negatives and life
becomes better..Matthew
Henry's Commentary:."God's
promises to us are more powerful and effective for mortifying
sin.(what
is sin?), than our promises to
God.".Often when
we have failed to do what is
good, we do like many people do at New Years, feel bad for the unkind
things to ourselves and to others we have done. It's like a promise to
God to be better. And that seldom
lasts, because power was lacking to make it stick and power to make it
stick only comes from the connection within we have with the
All Powerful.
So, how to make it stick
is to believe God is on your side. There is power
in believing:.1Corinthians
2:5 "That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men but in the
power of God." Ephesians 6:10 "Finally,
my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might."
Romans
6:6-10 "Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that
the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve
sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ,
we believe that we shall also live with him. Knowing that Christ being
raised from the dead dies no more. Death has no more dominion over him.
For in that he died, he died unto sin once, but in that he lives, he lives
unto God."
Mark
7:20-23 "And he said: That which comes out of the man, that defiles
the man. For from within, out of the heart of
men, proceed evil thoughts.(what
are these?), adulteries,
fornications,
murders,
thefts,
covetousness,
wickedness,
deceit,
lasciviousness,
an evil eye.(wanting
to trip up someone you may not like, doing sneaky
things to thwart
another and to your advantage),
blasphemy,
pride,
foolishness.(original
is 'senseless, stupid things', 'rash and/or insensitive actions', 'acting
without reflection of intelligence').
All these.(and
more).evil
things come from within and defile.(original
is 'make dirty, pollute, corrupt').the
man."
That is, corrupt in the sense
that he remains at odds.(by
leaving the Infinite One and His spiritual purposes out of the picture,
thus bringing more evil
into the world through him or her).with
the
righteousness that could be given him as a gift, thus enabling him
or her to be totally accepted by God.(why
this is important?); effectively placing
us into the Kingdom of God. Corruption
comes from."deceitful
lusts".(lust
is...).engaged
in until a person becomes."past
feeling".
Deceitful lusts involve pursuing
ways to bring us things we're sure would provide the particular brand of
happiness we desire, as Derek found
out.
Greedy people want power
and position so the objects of their greed can be acquired.
They are so missing the mark of what they are on Earth for:.Luke
12:34 "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."
Albert Einstein in 1954
had quite a commentary on
the selfishness of humanity.
Even Christians were back
then enveloped
in this captivation:
Ephesians
4:17-20. And some are
today.
Jeremiah
5:7,8 ".....when I had fed them to the full.(often
this is why trials
are necessary for those God loves and wants to bring to a greater purpose),
they then committed adultery and assembled themselves by troops in the
harlots' houses. They were as fed horses in the morning, every one neighed
after his neighbour's wife.(original
is 'woman'; committed woman implied)."
1Timothy
1:10 "For whoremongers (original
is 'lewd people'),
for them that defile themselves
with humanity, for menstealers.(original
is 'those desiring a slave relationship',
like
some corporations and abusive mates),
for liars.(original,
'to speak deliberate falsehoods'),
for perjured persons.(original,
'those breaking their word', untrustworthy).and
if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine.(or
'teaching'; commopn sense teachings that produce good)."
Jude
1:8 "Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise
dominion and speak evil of dignities."
The Infinite One wants you
to have abundant living.(*),
but there is only one way to get
it.
It is the belief in the
existence of and power
of the Great Infinite One that gives you the enthusiasm
to have desire to follow those things that are good and keeps you from
sinking again into the ego level of living:.1John
5:5 "Who is he that overcomes.(original
for overcomes is 'to come off victorious' and just how is this accomplished
1Corinthians
15:57; Romans 4:4,5; Ephesians
1:11){also shows here that we have already obtained an inheritance
– rejoice, it is fixed already, so Revelation
3:11;
1Peter 5:4; 2Timothy
4:8; James 1:12}).the
world,
but he that believes that Emmanuel is the Son
of God?" 1John 2:16 "For all that
is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the
pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world." Philippians
2:21 "For all seek their own.(selfishness),
not the things which are Emmanuel the Christ's.".And
what are those things? Love, kindness and all the
high standard things of the spirit.
"Feelings which are never
expressed languish
away and die. It is equally true of the noble and the base. Refuse expression
to an unworthy passion and we slay it by suffocation."....Jowett.
