TOWARDS HOLINESS, PART 1: RIGHTEOUS LOT AND CULTURAL CHRISTIANITY

How does a believer stay faithful to our God, our Creator, in the midst of an increasingly hostile and pagan world? Over 3500 years ago, the nephew of the great patriarch Abraham, Lot, faced the same circumstances. Lot lived as one of the elders in Sodom and Gomorrah. When Jesus sent the two angels to completely destroy those two dens of iniquity, only Lot, his wife and two daughters were spared. 

Lot would seem a very unlikely person to be quoted by the Lord's first main shepherd - Peter - as "righteous Lot" in 2 Peter 2:7. The Bible says that "He (the Lord) rescued righteous Lot,  (who was) greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked..." While it did not seem so, when Lot offered his two virgin daughters to be violated by the perverted mob who were lusting after the two beautiful angels from heaven, Lot's faith must have been solid enough to be quoted in Scripture as "righteous"....which means, he believed God and was made right before God.

Before we start questioning God why He included Lot in the New Testament as a good man of Faith, it would behoove us to look into our own souls. This requires us to do a soul check ourselves. 

Sure, Lot, in a moment of greed, took the best when offered by Abraham, only to find himself in the middle of the biggest template of corruption in history - Sodom and Gomorrah. 

Sure, he prospered in those wicked and ungodly cities, while becoming one of their leaders. 

Sure, he cared so little for his own innocent daughters as to offer to "throw them under the bus" in front of a demonic mob. 

Sure, he got drunk in a cave, after trying to the end, before his flight from Sodom, to make a deal with God's angels.

Sure, he had to know his own first daughter engaged in immorality....and then again. 

What about us? Do we watch stuff streaming on Netflix, which are R-Rated? Even the PG and PG-13 stuff have inappropriate content in them which would have been unimaginable in our own owns, 25 years. go. Do we laugh when celebrities and others use words which blaspheme God? Do we engage in the culture by reading books which take liberties with the Holiness of God and all His Glory?

Sometimes, we are even casual during the most important corporate hour of the week - the Church service. The coffee cup has replaced the Bible, even in solid evangelical churches. Yet, even in all of this distraction and cultural infiltration in the House of the Lord, we can remain faithful. 

The Bible does not tell us how Lot made it into the Hall of Faith, after all his shortcomings, but it does tell US how what the Lord requires of us:

-  We must walk in Holiness

-  We must walk humbly before Him

-  We conduct ourselves worth of being called a Christian

-  We must not have fellowship with the sin, corruption and idolatry of this world

-  We must deny our own flesh, thoughts and sins and follow Jesus.

This is not an easy task. In the next post, we will go into series of practical steps to begin this intentional walk of Holiness with the Lord, rather than the current camaraderie too many Christians have with Practical Atheism, while fooling themselves that they are in fellowship with Christ.

NEW LIFE: A MONTH OF VERSES: JANUARY 22, 2017

VERSE: "Now the Lord said to Abram, 'Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you....(Genesis 12:1)...' Abram took.....Lot his nephew, and all their possessions which they had accumulated, and the persons which they had acquired in Haran, and they [set out for the land of Canaan; thus they came to the land of Canaan. (Genesis 12:5).

EQUATION: Doing exactly what God says = Less hassle + headaches.

ACTION: God specifically told Abram to leave his relatives behind and go. He was only supposed to take his wife. Abram (not yet Abraham) took Sarai (Sarah) and much more, including his nephew Lot. The result of this error of slight disobedience is all kinds of trouble with Lot to the point of parting ways with him, and Lot eventually becoming steeped in the culture of Sodom, even though God rescued him from its destruction. Lot's young daughters' immorality with him, eventually led to the birth of the pagan nations of Moab and Ammon (Jordan etc). For us, this means one thing - do exactly what God says, as far as Abram and secondly, do not be as greedy and eager to partake in the fleshly lusts and temptations of this world, even if you're a real Christian. In other words, do not be like Lot!

PRAYER: Most High God, blessed be Your Name in ALL the earth. You call many out of the pit of despair from pagan and lost lands, families and backgrounds and You give life, hope and purpose to them. You make promises which are always true and never to be broken. But we, in our broken, sinful and rebellious condition always violate Your commands and either ignore Your specific instructions or do not follow them, as You intend. Lord, today, in this new year, give us clean hearts to obey You, clean minds to listen to You and clear thoughts to execute the plans You have specifically put before us, that it will go well with us and Your Perfect Will be done. Forgive us for all the times we have disobeyed Your extremely clear commands and instructions and paid the price. You continued to rescue us, like You did with Abraham, because You love us so much. Make us more like Christ, Who always did what You wanted and help us to see with Your eyes, the things we are called to do, to the Praise and Glory of Your Name, amen.

(Graphic Credit Here)