Discuss: 1) Where is the love of the world creeping into your life? 2) How does this open the door to Satan/evil? 3) Where is it creating weaknesses? 4) Write a prayer asking God to show you where you love the world in even subtle ways.
Knowing Him 50: Obedient Leadership
Introduction Peter leads a large group of disciples to an isolated (perhaps secretive) meeting where Jesus will once again give them their marching orders. Then they make their way back to Jerusalem to await the coming Holy Spirit as the movement switches into its...
The love of the world is creeping into my life through lust for the flesh and pride. I seek the pleasures of this world a lot. I really seek out pleasurable experiences in my life and I feel like I worship that. I find a lot of pleasure in pornography and I’m super addicted to that. I find myself so addicted that it feels so hard to get out of it. I watched a YouTube video last night by Andrew Huberman that discusses how when we seek quick and easy pleasure, we suffer pain in the long-term, but when we seek pain in the short term, we gain pleasure in the long-term. I can see that being my life currently. I feel lazy being at home and I don’t want to workout with the slightest inconvenience or I don’t want to get this work or that work done because of inconveniences. I need to stop chasing these fleeting pleasures and pursue Christ. I think also I have a lot of self-reliance. I have a lot of pride. I look to myself as a great person and I try to portray myself as that, even though I don’t think I am. I’ve failed and fallen many times to be a man of Christ. I haven’t been pursuing Christ’s heart but have been pursuing other things of this world, but yet I know how to act and talk like a leader. I need to be real with myself and see how much I’m not pursuing Christ right now. All of this is opening doors to Satan because it’s distracting me from God and making me focus on other things of this world. I’ve realized that I’m not pursuing Christ here, I am pursuing other things. I want to turn away from my past self and pursue Christ once again.
Dear God, I think I love the world in very big ways whether that be pursuing the pleasures of today whether moral or immoral or just by being so self-reliant by not inviting You into many places in my life. I think I can do this all on my own and I don’t pursue Your heart or Your ways in how I do things. Help me to pursue You. Help me to live a life that is pleasing to You. Amen.
(from Roger)
1) The love of the world has been creeping into my life in the form of lust of the flesh and lust of the eyes. I’ve always been superficial and shiny things attract my attention and tbh that’s the way I’ve lived so much of my life. This “love of the world” hasn’t so much been creeping in but flooding in. Although I may not always act on it, many times it consumes my mind. From the reading that seems to be a step in the right direction. I need to keep vigilant and acknowledge my motives and intentions. Very difficult to do.
2) this opens the door to Satan because it keeps me distracted on things of this world. Things that are temporary fixes and not eternal like gods kingdom.
3) it’s creating weaknesses because it affects my mind and spirit. It lies to me, telling me I deserve to have this pleasure (whatever that may be). Don’t worry abt the repercussions or consequences of my actions. It tells me I can practice spiritual principles in most areas of my life but I don’t have to do it in all areas. Subtle lies.
4) god give me the foresight and vision to see through the works of Satan so I can better guard against false gods. Continue to live within me so that what I seek is you and not the temporary illusions that dominate the world around me. Guard me from temptation of flesh and my eyes and even pride. I seek to know you and appreciate the salvation you’ve shown me within my short period of time as a believer.
(Dylan)
Love is always going to be around us. In my life, I’ve been tempted several times and it creates weakness because we as humans have natural desires and sometimes it could even be the works of the devil. All these temptations lead to a path of evil and I’ve found myself in it in the past. I think an important rule of thumb is to always remind yourself that God is with me. Holding onto that though helps me break that temptation. Further, reminding myself of what God helps me make decisions. I pray that God shows me the love in the world that he has to offer. I pray that everyone around me will be happy and reach the love God wants to give.
I can fall into the trap of coveting what others have which opens the door to ungratefulness, jealousy, and forgetting priorities. It creates anxiety in my life.
Lord, please make it clear to me where my love is misplaced. I pray that you steer me from that and remind me that only You will satisfy — You are the living water that will forever quench my thirst.
1. I have been lusting in the eyes lately because I have been seeing people having the perfect athletic, body type, and that makes me wish to have the same body type. I’ve always been ashamed for the way that I look, especially with my body. I’ve had issues with my weight growing up, and I have been trying to get active and exercise more, but I just think that I could look better.
2. This allows Satan to blind me and make believe that I am not beautiful, and that I was a mistake, because in reality, I am beautiful in God’s eyes, and I am not a mistake for God makes no mistakes.
3. Dear God, Thank You for reminding me that I am beautiful because You have created me. Thank for teaching me to be myself and embrace my identity in You. Sometimes I may compare myself to others with the way that I look, but help me to be more thankful that You have created me, and given me life. Thank You God. I pray all these things in Jesus Name, Amen.
I feel the constant intrusion of all three into my life, one way or another. I acknowledge that complete abstinence is challenging, and Satan prowls like a roaring lion, ready to strike when I’m not alert. So, whenever I deviate, and God isn’t my top priority, I become vulnerable to Satan’s attacks. Father Lord, assist me in guarding my heart, revering you, and making you the foremost priority in my life so that I can stay vigilant against Satan’s assaults.
Celeste
1) Where is the love of the world creeping into your life?
The love of the world has been creeping into my life in Lust of the Flesh and pride of life. I’m looking for attention and affection and my ideas of it has been all wrong. I pride myself on going from nothing, when I first got out of federal prison, at all to building myself life with a good career in the legal field, paying for my bills, being an adult so therefore I can do everything on my own. I was prideful where I don’t need help, but can help myself and it’s okay for me to go back into using my drug of choice , because I deserve a break .
2) How does this open the door to Satan/evil?
Satan open the door to what feels good now for me, distracting me from the big picture, his distractions are of face value and not what’s inside of me, and that’s the Holy Spirit.
3) Where is it creating weaknesses?
It creates weaknesses through my mind , the way I think, and going further away from god’s plan and will and his words, how to live by god. Satan prey on the weak minded and the fact that I’m an addict so he would tell me that it’s okay for me to use . I got this!
4) Write a prayer asking God to show you where you love the world in even subtle ways.
God, please give me guidance and the will to only turn to you, to accept and surrender to you as my only God. Who I only pray to and not to a false god like Satan. Father please guard me from lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and life of pride. To ever remind me to keep vigilance and be aware of Satan’s deceitful ways of the world. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
for me it’s definitely the pride of life and the lust of eyes. It’s so easy to see so many things online and seeing other people have new things it just makes me want the new thing or to get the same things as others. Pride of life for me is a struggle because I often times just think of my future with a family and giving my future family the opportunities I had growing up. But realizing is that I’m living for the future but I’m not living for heaven so a lot of thinking that needs to be done. Lord I pray I keeo my eyes focused on heaven and not just life on this earth.
Pride of life resonated with me. Sometimes I find it easier to take matters into my own hands rather than waiting patiently on the Lord. This is dangerous because then I could easily forget the Lord or keep my life Christ-centered if I am not living for Him. Dear God, please humble me with a heart of gratitude for all your good and perfect gifts. Lord, you alone are more than enough. I pray that you will shine your light into the darkest parts of pride. Amen