You Are Not Your Own

      "You are not your own." The generation now is a hungry generation for things of the spirit; they are eager to learn the gospel, and they want it straight. They want to know about our beliefs, they want to gain testimonies of their truth; they are not doubters but inquirers, seekers after truth. We think that putting a little gospel out their will consume them and bring them closer to Christ. But, it doesn't do as much as we think it will. We do not have to sneak up behind this spiritually experienced generation and whisper religion in their ears; you can come right out, face to face, and talk with them. You can bring these truths to them openly. Youth may prove to be not more fearful of them than you are. There is no need for gradual approaches.

       I found in the Word of Wisdom a principle with a promise. The principle: Care for your body; avoid habit-forming stimulants,tobacco, liquor, and drugs.  Such addictive things do little more than relieve a craving which they caused in the first place.Your body really is the instrument of your mind and the foundation of your character.The things you say, do or act on, reflect who you are as a person and your reputation towards your peers. This also goes hand in hand with a life pleasing to God. In 1 Thessalonians 4, it speaks of how we should walk, act, and treat others that is pleasing to the Lord. There are a few things we ought to do, to teach us to walk and to please God. This is the will of God. 1) Each one of us should know how to control our body, in holiness and honor. Not in the passion of lust. 2) No one transgresses and wrongs his brother. 3) God has not called us to impurity, but in holiness. For we have been taught by God to love one another to aspire to live quietly. 4) To mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands. So that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one. 

        We tend to be dependent on what the world thinks, on what others around us think; it causes us to lose focus on what God thinks. As we walk in the way of the flesh, we see nothing of God, but of self-indulgent. We don't understand what's so wrong about it, cause were looking through fleshly eyes. If we depend on the will of the Lord, we might actually see God's blessings and prevision fall like rain into our lives, and our lives drastically changing from flesh like, to Christ like. 

So I encourage you, don't get caught up in what your eyes see, cause Satan will make things like that look real good, but the outcome and consequences are more serious than you think or even know. Just like a movie. You look at the front cover, and it looks really good, and on the back at the very bottom, it says it's PG, but somewhere somehow in small lettering it says something like,"this film has minor language, sexuality, and some crude humor." I don't know about you, but the word "minor" seems to make us think that it's okay to see it even if it does have those things in the film. We have to be cautious of how the Devil works in these types of situations. Satan is very clever and sneaky. He has a way to just make things "okay", and then he starts to work a little harder at figuring out how to attack your mind and then your heart, and before you know it, he is consuming your whole body. Be on your guard, put on the full armor of Christ daily. Fight against the Devil, because in the end, Christ will reward you for your obedience towards Him. Live in Christ, breath in Christ, grow in Christ.