Be Aware. We Are Set Apart.

During this time of being home, we urge you to please be aware of what your girls are watching and the time they are spending bingeing shows and movies. Do not just tell them no, talk to them about it. What we are all watching and where we are spending our time matters.

It effects every part of us. Growing up everyone just talked about pornography. Websites. I remember seeing a popup in 3rd grade. I knew not to click on emails or popups. The movie Fireproof came out when I was in the 9th grade. I knew I was not watching anything like that. I never even thought about it.

But I was watching the tv shows. "Everyone was." I was watching the relationships, the drama, the stories, the emotions. Over and over and over. I did not know that it would affect me. Nobody told me. I know what girls are watching, what they are talking about and what they are thinking about. Because I watched the same things. This is not only affecting our minds, it affects our morals. It affects the way we see things, people and life.

There is a lot out there. And it is really hard to be the one not watching it when it seems like everyone else is. It is hard to find something good to watch at all. Trust me, I know. I have been there. I am there. I rarely watch anything now because I have to fast forward through most of it. The trade off is worth it.

When we allow our minds and our hearts to be filled with the unguarded content of the world, we leave less room for the Holy Spirit. I believe, ultimately, this quenches the Holy Spirit and His Power in and through our lives. I lived this for a long time without fully knowing it. I thought I could watch it because it was not that. It was not as bad as doing it. It was not as bad as other shows. It is on tv. It is on Netflix. It is out there for everyone to watch. It cannot be that bad. I knew not to do it, say it or repeat it so what could it harm? You know what, that is a lie straight from hell. And the enemy knows it. Why don't we?

We are called to be set apart in Christ.

We are not called to look like the World.

We are called to look like Christ.

And the enemy knows as long as we are pouring the world in, we are limiting the Spirit. Not His Power but in our lives. The enemy is not fooled, he knows what is going on and in a lot of our lives, he is winning. We have given him the foothold.

The question is not "Is this really that bad?" "Is this pornography?" "Do I know not to repeat this?" "Do I know not to act this way?"

The question in all things is "Am I glorifying Jesus?" "Is this leading me closer to Him?" "Does this help cultivate the Fruit of the Spirit in my life?" If the answer is no, we need to reevaluate... "Where does this lead my mind to?"

All throughout the New Testament we are reminded we are not of this world, we are chosen, we are set apart, we are made new. We are challenged to not look like the world. Not conform to the world but be transformed. Only Jesus can transform our flesh. And only through His Spirit, His Word, His Presence and His Power will we be transformed.

"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." Romans 12:2

"I do not ask that You take them out of the world, but that You keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in The Truth; Your Word is Truth. As You sent Me into the world, so I have sent them into the world." John 17:15-18