The Further From Worldly Conformity The Better

The Further From Worldly Conformity The Better

Quoting Charles Spurgeon . . .

"Only ye shall not go very far away." Exodus 8:28 - This is a crafty word from the lip of the arch-tyrant Pharaoh. If the poor bondaged Israelites must needs go out of Egypt, then he bargains with them that it shall not be very far away; not too far for them to escape the terror of his arms, and the observation of his spies. After the same fashion, the world loves not the non-conformity of nonconformity, or the dissidence of dissent, it would have us be more charitable and not carry matters with too severe a hand.

Death to the world, and burial with Christ, are experiences which carnal minds treat with ridicule, and hence the ordinance which sets them forth is almost universally neglected, and even condemned. Worldly wisdom recommends the path of compromise, and talks of "moderation." According to this carnal policy, purity is admitted to be very desirable, but we are warned against being too precise; truth is of course to be followed, but error is not to be severely denounced. "Yes," says the world, "be spiritually minded by all means, but do not deny yourself a little enjoyment in society, an occasional ball, and a Christmas visit to a theatre. What's the good of crying down a thing when it is so fashionable, and everybody does it?" Multitudes of professing-believers yield to this cunning advice, to their own eternal ruin.

If we would follow the Lord wholly, we must go right away into the wilderness of separation, and leave the Egypt of the carnal world behind us. We must leave its maxims, its pleasures, and its religion too, and go far away to the place where the Lord calls his sanctified ones. When the town is on fire, our house cannot be too far from the flames. When the plague is abroad, a man cannot be too far from its haunts. The further from a viper the better, and the further from worldly conformity the better. To all true believers let the trumpet-call be sounded, "Come ye out from among them, be ye separate."

From: Morning and Evening - June 27 Devotional

The poison must be worked out before the nutrients can be worked in.

We must leave its maxims, its pleasures, and its religion too, and go far away to the place where the Lord calls his sanctified ones.

HeartSong wrote:
It is only after we have turned from these things that we can see how empty they are - but it is in being filled with Him that we can truly see the contrast. And once we see in that Light, it is clear that we have left nothing behind.

I like that and have experienced the truth of it. I think we as individuals and the church as a whole, have been guilty of trying to be as much like the world, as is acceptably possible, in hopes of attracting the world to God. It hasn't worked. I believe there is a move, as more and more people are realizing the emptiness of their Christianity, to really finding God. There is a time when we must go 'immediately to the wilderness' to do so.

Seek Ye First

‘Seek ye first’
\tit says so clear,
but there’re so many things
\tthat we hold dear.

The pull is strong
\tin our younger days,
so we split our chase
\tand go both ways.

It’s one or the other,
\tyou cannot have both,
yet we’ll try to the death
\tin spite of our oath.

We say He is first
\tbut He’s really not.
He’s in the mix.
\tIt’s the best we’ve got.

With no sign of change
\tHe deals us a loss;
our custom made trial
\tto pull out the dross.

His goal has been set
\tand continues to skim;
this He will do
\ttill He can see Him.

He turns up the heat
\tto burn all away,
that we have let in
\tday after day.

He takes all away
\tin spite of the pain.
He knows what is best
\tand what we will gain.

Nothing compares
\tas He always knew.
The loss clears the way
\tto knowing You.

MJ

Dear MJones,

What a marvelous little verse. I see the MJ at the end and am taking it as your own work. I love it. Do you mind if I share it with friends and family?

[b][color=0000CC]He turns up the heat to burn all away,
that we have let in day after day.[/color][/b]

Kindest regards,
white stone

White Stone,

Glad you liked the poem. Share away.

Sorry I missed the other thread. It relates though to a thread I've considered starting about how people handle the volume of posts that come through the SI sight. I find I do not have the capacity to give good attention to all, so I select a few, realizing I miss many that are good. That happened to be one I missed. I'll take a look.

Mike