I Have Choices To Make

I am studying the book of Daniel right now, and it's pretty much rocking my world.  It takes place in 605 BC, and on the surface seems like little would be relevant today, however after digging into it further, I'm finding that it couldn't be more relevant for me today.  Basically, the king of Babylon goes to Jerusalem and takes over.  The Israelites are basically captured and brought to Babylon.  Specifically Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, and renamed Belteshazzar, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.  Even if you've barely read the Bible, you know those last three names.  The king orders them to basically forget everything they knew, and learn new ways of speaking, and the ways of Babylon, and placed in an environment that's the equivalency of Vegas times ten.  Food, wine, women, it's an enticing place.  However, Daniel resolves to be different and not to defile himself and his beliefs in order to conform to his environment.

So what?  What does that have to do with us today?  Basically for me what I am learning is that even today, God is calling us to have integrity in an enticing world, and to resist conformity like lives depend on it, because they do!  I know that I will sound like the wacko Christian when I say this, which I am ok with, but I do believe that the enemy is real, and he would love to return us to places that God has called us to leave, and that this will continually be a battle in our lives.  Think about it...Christian or not, any life change you have tried to make for yourself, there's always that pull to return to where you tried to get out of, whether is an addiction, or the decision to just lead a healthier lifestyle by eating better and working out.  I don't think that anyone would disagree that there is a constant pull to return you to where you desire not to be, and unless we make a resolve to do something different, we're at risk for conforming to the world around us, because it seems easier.  As a Christian this is a bigger concept to me and I believe that as Christian's the minute we start toying around with false worship that we will be in the biggest captivity of our lives.  Actually, I don't believe it, I know it to be true from my own experience.  And I can promise you it's not something that "other" people deal with, I believe even strong Christians are at risk for this, maybe even more so.  

I sometimes get really frustrated with what I call the "Jesus Loves Me!" Christians because I hear Jesus, grace, Jesus, grace, blah, blah, blah.  Yeah, Jesus is grace, and he does love us, but I promise you with everything that I am that God is also just and sovereign in our captivity and He basically continually tells us "If you don't back off from <insert whatever we toy with that we know that we shouldn't>, I am not kidding, you WILL be burned!"  Yeah He forgives us, but He also can't just watch us choose disobedience and continually withhold the consequences.  He is a just God and absolutely will eventually turn us over to our sin because He WILL be respected.  

So our choice is to either conform to the world around us or resolve to be different.  The world will either influence us, or we will influence the world, and it's really our choice which it will be, however it won't just happen because we say "Oh, I'm a Christian."  It happens by serious resolve, because I know that the captivity that we face if we don't won't come with a sign that says "I'm super bad for you and if you just give into the temptation that looks really nice right now, I promise your life will be in shambles in months."  No, it will come in the form of something that looks really good, feels even better and even as Christians who know better, will seem like something we can handle.  If given the chance, we will sacrifice our identity and integrity without resolve.  The world is trying to rename us (like they did to the Israelites) and redefine us!  

In further study throughout the last two weeks, some other thoughts that stuck out to me were these:

• The world we live in, our Babylon, aims to seduce.  It's a beautiful life, the image of what everyone wants.  We are indoctrinated to believe in so many things, that it's hard pressed to tell exactly what we believe in, if anything at all.  
• I want to be an individual that lives in this extravagant, excessive culture, without being poisoned by it.  
• God is faithful to keep His word, even if it is a warning, He has to, or else He couldn't be respected.  Therefore when He warns us of the world around us, and we conform anyways, He will not hesitate to turn us over to our consequences and allow us to be taken captive, for our own good.  
• Captivity will always look friendly, and nothing is more dangerous.  
• We open the doors to our own enemies by playing with fire we've been warned about.  
• It is our own rebellion that leaves us open and defenseless.  We get so separated and used to decaying morals that we drop our guard and give up our treasures.  
• The more we play with the enticing world, the more we open the door to destruction, the world will come in to destroy us and we'll be the ones left with regret.  
• A accurate appraisal of where we're allowing conformity in our lives won't be fun.  It will demand that you be straightforward with yourself, it will hurt and it will require candid answers.  
• Nothing that we do as Christians, Bible study, going to church, worship, ect., matters if we're not applying it to our lives.  
• "Bone deep resolve doesn't develop by going to church every Sunday, or going to Bible study every Tuesday night.  They are opportunities to encourage us in our resolve, but they aren't enough to create and sustain it." (Beth Moore)  That comes from within.  Our Godliness never just happens.
• Integrity is daily becoming the same person no matter where we are, when we have integrity, everything that we are on the inside is obvious on the outside, and life becomes so much simpler, when there are not "so many costume changes."
• The enemy isn't going to waste temptation where you already carry the armor of God, he's not going to waste a fiery dart by aiming at what's covered, he will only shoot at what you've left open to temptation by a lack of resolve.  
• "We will resolve on purpose, or we will not do it at all."