Friday, September 7, 2012

Watch How You Live!

If you can pray the following prayer over the things you watch, then by all means watch them.
"Dear Lord, we invite You to come join us in this time of viewing. As Your children, we commit this time to You as worthy of our attention. May our family be uplifted by this hour before the screen. And, Lord, we pray that families everywhere would have the opportunity to do likewise. We thank You for providing this program for us, and we ask You to bless the men and women who produced this show and those who made it available. May they have Your blessings to do more of the same. In Jesus' name, we thank You, Amen."
This can also be applied to what you listen to and what you read. You are what you read; you are what you watch, and you are what you listen to. Garbage in, garbage out. It is not "just a book"; it is not "just a movie"; and it is not "just a song". It is an influence on who and what you are and what you believe.

God knows everything you think, hears everything you say, and sees everything you do because He is always with you. With that fact in mind, freedom in Christ is doing those things which the Holy Spirit leads you to do; not what you feel like doing. If the Holy Spirit is leading you to...
  • ...drink alcohol (if you believe this is okay)—How much?
    Remember what Ephesians 5:18 says?
  • ...listen to music—What’s the message?
    Would the Holy Spirit want to embed this message in your heart? (Galatians 5:13)
  • ...watch movies—Which ones?
    Would the Holy Spirit want to embed these images in your heart? (Galatians 5:13)
  • ...visit places of entertainment—Are you taking God with you?
    If you wouldn't take Jesus there if he was with you in the flesh, you have no purpose in being there yourself.
"For as a man thinks in his heart, so is he." Proverbs 23:7

You act the way you act because you believe the way you believe. You behave the way you behave because you think the way you think. How you believe determines what you do. Correct belief and correct thinking will result in correct action.

Galatians 2:11-14 teaches us to (1) watch our lifestyle and not to act hypocritically, and to (2) act in a manner that is worthy of the truth of the gospel. "As you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him" (Col. 2:6). In other words, walk as if you have truly received Him. "Bear fruits in keeping with repentance" (Luke 3:8).
  • "...walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called," Ephesians 4:1
  • "...conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ;" Philippians. 1:27
  • "...walk in a manner worthy of the Lord..." Colossians 1:10
  • "...walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory." 1 Thessalonians 2:12