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Choose to Pray
Ken Silva1 Corinthians 6: 9Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men[a] 10nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
In these passages of scripture the apostle Paul reminds us to beware of deception. To beware of being deceived by things that seem okay at first glance but in actuality are against God’s ways. To be a follower of Christ means that you can’t straddle the line of deliberate sin and at the same time be expecting Heaven’s reward. The scripture tells us that we are all sinners but yet through conversion, being washed and justified in the name of Christ and by the spirit of God we are saved. No matter what our past may have been, through our belief in Christ, he wipes our slate clean.
We live in troubling times. We are exposed through newspapers, magazines, television and social media to behavior that would have been considered bizarre, abnormal or inappropriate a few years ago. The normalizing of abnormal behavior is accelerating at an ever-increasing pace. How do we stem this tide? How do we not become overwhelmed by everything going on around us? These are questions I ask myself everyday. The only answer I come up with is to pray. To increase my prayer life. To pray for those of influence to rise up and be bold in their faith. To pray for my wife and kids to be stalwart followers of Christ. To pray for strength so that I live my life in a way that leaves no doubt to anyone that Christ lives in me. I can control no one but myself. All I can do is influence others. Today I choose to pray.
Dear Lord God thank you for today. I am alive because of you. Today I choose to do everything I can to be a living example for you. Even though I stumble you are always there to pick me up. When I am weak you provide me strength. When I am troubled you are there to comfort me. Dear Lord I love you and thank you for all that you do in my life. Amen.
