Fifty Shades of Filth!

Proverbs 15:14 NLT

"A wise person is hungry for knowledge, while a fool feeds on trash."

Right now, at this particular day in history, there is a craze about the books and movie, "Fifty Shades of Grey".  I'm completely flabbergasted that Christian women are flocking to read and see this trash!  How can someone filled with the Holy Spirit of God, watch this garbage?  How do "Christians" have this separation of spiritual and physical?  

Many people may think I'm a legalistic or a prude.  After all, it's just entertainment, right?  Wrong!  May I never entertain myself with filth that offends the one and only pure, holy God!

Carnal Christians. Really???

1 John 1:5-6 "... God is light and there is no darkness in Him at all.  So, we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth."

How do professing Christians live in spiritual darkness?  This is one major thing that I cannot grasp and yet I see it every day.  I'm not talking about an occasional lie or temper flare-up, although these are still sin.  I'm talking about constantly lying, always being negative, twisting scripture, and truly hating people.  How do people live this way "all the time" and yet say they have fellowship with God?  They read their Bibles and go to church, but nothing changes.  

Am I being unbiblically judgemental in having such a problem with these people or am I being discerning?  Is it wrong for me to see someone as an unbeliever even though they claim otherwise, when their "fruits" are sheer rottenness?  Can the Holy Spirit really live in someone who is consumed by hate and who lives in dishonesty?  I truly believe He does not!  True Christians will be different; not perfect, but different.  The fruit of the Spirit is not optional!  If a tree does not bear good fruit, God will throw it into the fire.  Am I missing something here?!

My Commitment as a Christian

My Commitment as a Christian

(Written by a young African pastor 
and tacked on the wall of his house)

I'm part of the fellowship of the unashamed. I have Holy Spirit power. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I'm a disciple of His. I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still.

My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future is secure. I'm finished with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, mundane talking, cheap living, and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need pre-eminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean on His presence, walk by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by power.

My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way rough, my companions few, my guide reliable, my mission clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of the adversary, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.

I won't give up, shut up, let up, until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, preached up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus. I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till all know, and work till He stops me. And when He comes for His own, He will have no problems recognizing me - my banner will be clear!