Greetings in the Lord sisters!
Hope today is going well for you and praise God we each have another day to choose to live for Him and not ourselves! What a great choice with great eternal consequences. Let us be sober minded and make sure we are not being deceived. Praise God for the hope to come if we follow and obey Him! That is such a blessing to be set apart for Him, bought with a price!
Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them ; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
2 Corinthians 6:14-18
I love that! What a great promise for those who have 'come out from among them'! That means we aren't like them doesn't it. Even though we are in the world we are not of it are we sisters! And we don't want to be.
I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
John 17:15-17
We might be quietly keeping our homes or doing business out in the world but in so many ways we are not like the world. We're pilgrims and strangers after all! We don't value what they do, we don't entertain as they do, we don't dress as they do, or talk like, or read what they do and so much more. We are not better than anyone but we have a changed heart through the Spirit of God! The hope is there for all...if they want to come.
I want to include a note in here about Halloween that we see going on around us in these days. Not that my sisters have anything to do with it, but it's a warning for those women who may have children or who just may be reading who may be seeking truth or know of others who claim Christ and yet say it's good to participate in this wicked event. And it's encouraging for all of us to be strengthened in the truths of God's Word. How refreshing it is to be set free from so many things the world lives for and values! I'd rather not talk about Halloween but since the world insists on doing it we can warn people about it along with the many other ways of the world we will avoid if we are the Lords.
Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
Galatians 5:19-25
Praise God for telling us what are of the flesh and that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Halloween would surely fit in that group of things too...and it also says 'such like' things.). Don't we hear and know that so many people say and believe that sinners will be allowed into heaven. But His Word is clear and I'm glad we don't need to be deceived. It says what it says.
A sister and I sometimes talk about how easy we have it today as compared to the Old Testament times. In many ways we do have it easier, but in a way it's more complex too compared to the simple lives they lived back then often focused around simply living. But the main thing we remind ourselves of is that we are not commanded today to kill those around us who are living in sin. Instead we are told to separate from them, avoiding fellowship and eating with them (if they claim to be of Christ yet live in sin and false doctrines). And people have a hard time just physically/spiritually separating when it's way easier than what was commanded in the past. We see the seriousness of sin from it all though.
You might like to go and read in the OT (perhaps in Exodus 32 or Deuteronomy 13), if you are ever discouraged about it being a hard thing to do in this life (separating from sin). How merciful and gracious is our God...but we know there is a time of recompense coming and the sinners will not escape. He is longsuffering giving them a long time to repent before then. He was long suffering with us sisters wasn't He! Glory to Him! And we get to carry that same hope of the gospel to others!
We also don't want to forget Jesus' words for those who lead others astray...
And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea.
Mark 9:42
That can go along with Halloween too...especially as it involves children being encouraged to be involved and led astray. Others are watching us so we want to be sure we are blameless in the truth.
Let's share some simple things sisters...
And here's some mulberry chia pudding I made from the mulberries...
Praise God for all the many things He provides us!
OK I must go now sisters! Let us strive to be obedient to our holy God and be set apart unto Him separating from things He tells us to. Until tomorrow Lord willing sisters, hold fast and strive on!
Love to you all,
Sister Michaela
Find the gospel to eternal life explained here.