Values

The disciple--the dedicated follower of Christ--must get his values and base his behavior on the Word of God. He or she must be a student of the Word--and of the whole counsel of God. It is the Word that God uses to sanctify His people, to empower us to take every thought captive to obedience. It is the light that guides us for each step that we take; the lamp for our feet on the path ahead. As we saturate our life with the Word, the Spirit fills us and takes control of our lives. Whenever our thinking becomes distracted and drawn away from reliance on the sword of the Spirit, we are in trouble. The battle is fought in the mind. We are either being transformed by the renewing of our mind through the Word, or we are being conformed to the culture in which we live. Conformity is the evidence that we have taken our lives off the altar of sacrifice and are following something other than Christ. Worshiping something other than Christ. As Jesus said, "The wise man obeys; the foolish man knows God's truth but does not obey. But it's the wise man's life that can withstand the inevitable storms."

"Thy Word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against Thee."

"With eyes wide open to the mercies of God, I beg you, my brothers, as an act of intelligent worship, to give your bodies as a living sacrifice, consecrated to Him and acceptable by Him. Don't let the world around you squeeze you into its mold, but let God remold your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all His demands, and moves toward the goal of true maturity."