Don't Compartmentalize God
- Dave Ebert
- Sep 24, 2016
- 2 min read
To follow Christ is to submit fully and live for Him.
"15 See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people. 16 Always be joyful. 17 Never stop praying. 18 Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus."
1 Thessalonians 5:15-18 NLT
"1 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect."
Romans 12:1-2 NLT
The Word is clear...to follow Christ is to submit fully and live for Him. We cannot compartmentalize Christ. We cannot give Him 85%, 90%, or even 99%...He asks, commands, and deserves 100%.
We cannot follow the command to "never stop praying," and reserve a part of our lives to live in intentional sin and rebellion. We cannot follow the command to be a "living and holy sacrifice" and intentionally do things that dishonor God.
We will all fall short...but we should also work, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the instructions and love expressed in God's Word, to eliminate any doorways the enemy might use to trip us up, or to stumble those watching our example.
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