You.

For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the spirit, and the spirit was contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other. Galatians five, verse 17 one of the earliest science experiments every kid experiences involves pouring oil into a beaker of water. No matter how much one stirs or shakes up the mixture, the two substances will always separate. It's a scientific fact. Oil and water don't mix. So it is with the christian life and the world. Christians may live in the world, but their lifestyle is so radically different from the world that they never really fit in or mix well with the world. The christian lifestyle, determined by one's love for the Lord and his word, is always going to be in conflict with the lifestyle praised by the world. Each sees things from an entirely different and opposing perspective. For the christian God is at the center of everything and is the authority to whom we human beings must submit. The world sees man as the center of everything, and the goal of life is to do what feels good and makes us the happiest. To the world, there is no higher authority than man himself. Right and wrong are arbitrary and change with the moods of the individual and society as a whole. And the world is opposed to any view that contradicts this idea, often opposing it with violence. Christians may be in the world, but they are not of the world like oil and water. The christian lifestyle and the lifestyle of the world do not mix and are in constant conflict with each other. So we have a choice to make. Will we live by the world's standards, worship individualism, personal gain and pleasure? Or will we live according to the Bible, worshiping God and living at all times and in all ways to honor him?

This has been your thought for the day with Steve Burkham, pastor of community Christian Church in Stockton, California. If you have questions or comments for Pastor Steve, please send them to [email protected] have a great day, and we hope you'll join us tomorrow as Pastor Steve opens God's word to bring us another thought for the day.