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| Society's Poison Is Dangerous |
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12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, `which is' your spiritual service. 12:2 And be not fashioned according to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, and ye may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Our foods nowadays contain so many additives, I'm sure some of it is not good for us and may even be poison to our body. Of course most of us don't consume poison intentionally. We either do it unknowingly (as in our food) or habitually (as in excessive alcohol or tobacco).
But are there other poisons? Yes, yes, yes. We are surrounded by mental and emotional poison. Much of what we read, watch, hear, see, say, think, believe, and do is poison. Nowadays we are exposed to so much that disrupts and distorts our mind and damages our emotions. And then we wonder why we feel so bad. It is no secret -- we are gobbling up emotional and mental poison.
Much of the mental and emotional poison in movies, on television, in video games, and in music dvd's is labeled by so called age-appropriate standards -- the older a child is, the more poison is recommended for him; and grown-ups can consume it all. Personally, even though I am a grown-up, I don't like to have my brain disrupted and my emotions damaged so I strive to avoid poison -- which greatly limits my entertainment choices.
If you feel dejected, rejected, and neglected and wonder why -- it may be because you've eaten too much mental and emotional poison. Why not make the effort to avoid it for a few weeks and see if you feel better? You will -- guaranteed!
Warning. For better emotional and mental health avoid watching, reading, listening to, thinking about, or acting out the following: negativity, violence, self-destruction, anger, profanity, disrespect, immorality, meanness, bitterness, pornography, cruelty, irreverence, perverseness, rudeness, and other poisons.  |
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| gotta star this one, Steve....good warning!! |
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| Thanks for the star, Mike! |
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| Poison always works against health, Evangelist Keith. |
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Cheryl |
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April 23, 2008 at 7:09am |
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| another great post brother! |
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| So true, we can fill our minds so full of the ugliness of life we've left no room for God's beauty and goodness. I'm glad I have the option to choose what I watch and read and the ability to filter out the useless. |
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| Thank you very much, Cheryl! |
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| good reminder to feed the Godly appetite and starve the ungodly appetite! |
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Chris |
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April 23, 2008 at 11:36am |
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| Good policy. Never see, hear or do anything that you can't have your kids with you for. There is too much good stuff out there that will actually build you up to waste your time on that stuff. |
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| Mar Jay: It is not easy to follow this advice in today's society. I daily strive to monitor what I and my family consume from the media.and to feed only on the positive and moral. |
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My husband's old pastor gave a wonderful illustration, and this can go for adults too; it does, go for adults: Would you feed your kid a brownie with just a little bit of poop in it? Then why would you allow them to watch/listen, etc. to something with just a little bit of violence/swearing/sex, etc. I am like you: my choices are extremely limited as to what I can watch, but lotsa possibilites to listen to due to the tremendous assortment of awesome Christian music now! Would we pick up some dung and nibble on just a little bit of it if it were chocolate coated? I think not. We're not dogs. Yuck. Great blog. |
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Deb |
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April 23, 2008 at 12:53pm |
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| I avoid newspapers and watching too much television for this reason. Great advice. |
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| That's true, Shirley. We all have the option to choose what we put in our mind. |
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| GrammyB: Feed and starve, that's a great way to put it. |
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| awsome word, this will be a great reinforcment in my own personal diet. thanks Steve! |
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| I like your policy, Chris! |
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| A Star Steve, we are being poisoned relentlessly IT MUST STOP! Stu. |
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| A brownie with poop -- now that's a graphic image for the issue of media poison, Lara. |
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| Avoiding newspapers and TV is also good advice, Deb. |
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| That's great that you watch your media "diet," Tammy. |
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| I appreciate that "Amen," Paul. |
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| The poison is indeed "relentless," steel. Thanks for the star. |
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Why do I keep drinking that Diet Coke? I know it's bad for me, but it's makes me feel so good! Isn't that what we all say? We know that the sin and perversion of this world will eventually lead us to destruction (sow to the flesh reap destruction) but yet we do it anyway. There is a seduction that the enemy sends our way that says, "a little won't hurt you." well, Jesus warned that a little leven levens the whole lump. Can a man bring hot coals to his chest and not be burned? Yet somehow we rationalize that we can handle it in moderation. What this actually does is desensitize us to the conviction of the Holy Spirit. You are so right that this poison infects every part of us. Especially our thinking and our attitude. That is why we need to cast down every thought that exalts itself against the authority of the Lord. OK that is enough preaching for now.
Take care and God Bless |
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| Wow. Excellent comment, Brother Todd. |
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arik |
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April 24, 2008 at 3:42pm |
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| kool |
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I've often heard that the only problem with a "Living Sacrifice" is: it keeps crawling off the altar! Mebbe to watch a little TV? |
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| Or, Hal, maybe we stay on the altar clutching the remote! |
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Back again............ 4:23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; For out of it are the issues of life.
Not just diligence, but all diligence! (keep means guard) |
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| How we all need to obey that verse, Paul! Thanks for sharing it. |
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Steve;
Sometimes I get concerned about society and their values. What gets me is that the PhD experts tend to always have a defensive approach that point out this study or that study showing it's all just entertainment and harmless, except to the very young. Ha. Yeah right. Experts! I think we are living in times where any expert of any subject , needs to be questioned in their so called expert fields of view. It almost seems as if there is a "invisible influence" behind the entertainment and food of this world huh?
But I do thank God that we are liken to the white screen at the theater. No matter what filth is projected upon it, no matter how much violence is projected, It remains as WHITE and clean as ever.
Yes the Body we are (Jesus) never gets filthy nor effected, regardless of how much Satan projects upon it. We remain white after his illusion is projected. I can but thank God for his righteousness and free gift to us all.
It makes the journey of this life bearable when I know I remain clean and white.
Thank You Father.
Act 2:27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
Peace...... |
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Grant |
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April 26, 2008 at 11:16am |
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| True! I find the news negative, sitcoms stupefying, politics putrid, talk radio trite, much modern music meaningless, fashion fruitless, scholarship skewed, science self-serving and industry irresponsible. |
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| kingdomwitness: If we choose to consume poison it will impact us and make us dirty, creating the need for us to repent and to ask His forgiveness. If we refuse to repent, our consumption of spiritual poison will become habitual, endangering our soul. |
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| Grant: Sad, but true. How we believers need to beware. |
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Steve ...It is impossible not to consume poison here in the land of deception. Ole I know what you or another might say here and how Holy it will sound. But the facts are it is impossible not to be influenced by the things going on in this world, if we are living in it. Of course unless you never get out of Bed and keep the covers over your head. Are you aware that you are setting people up when you tell them to stay Holy, By keeping away from the poison? Now I agree it is a good thing to avoid as much of this trash that is available to our generation. But Our Holiness or clean Spirits do not become contaminated by the poison you speak above. Only are minds are effected.
I am sure you know the principle or the saying we are what we eat. But this is not True when comparing material flesh to the Spiritual man in Christ. The human mind does in fact react according to what it takes in. But The Spirit remains Holy. Please keep in Mind that there is only One actual Spirit of Life and God shares this Spirit with us. (1Cor.6:17) / (Eph.4:4) It can NOT become contaminated by the creation or anything whatsoever for that matter.
Jesus referred to this Poison directly with His Understanding of the matter I speak.
Mar 16:18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
I know people think Jesus was literally speaking of drinking poison, But Jesus was rather speaking Spiritual things in simple daily understanding here. The Spirit of Christ is not subject to earthly poison.
KW. |
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| Thanks, KW. I believe we are here to influence and change the world, not to be influenced and changed by the world. We beleivers are God's missionaries to the world; not the world's mission field. It is our job to be the ones doing the influencing; not the ones being influenced. |
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Amen Steve.....I agree......But this applies to the land of religion also my friend.
The Law and Old covenant must Not influence a New Covenant Christian. Jesus Never carried the Old text with Him. He was very aware that a New Covenant was arriving for the World to live by. Jesus was VERY selective in what he referred to and preached. He did not get the Two covenants mixed up when teaching.
We must be alert to also not mix the two up. This is the age of the New Covenant. We do not get contaminated when we cross over the lines in the Law
Nevertheless Your advice is still good advice in the above post..........
KW. |
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J Lee |
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May 05, 2008 at 3:30pm |
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So let's just all crawl into a hole and live our own little separate lives, safe in our compound, protected from all those influences of the world. Then that evil world can't get us! But the problem is, then our ability to communicate the gospel to them is limited because we have so little in common with them. I'm not saying there is no value in being careful of what our eyes and ears consume, but the avoidance approach limits meaningful connections with people, the kind that lead to genuine evangelistic opportunities. Example: So many churches said, "Don't watch The Da Vinci code; it distorts the Bible!" At our church, the stance was, "Go watch this movie so you can participate in the conversations about it and give meaningful comparisons to the movie versus the truth." That makes more sense to me, if evangelism is your goal. |
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The Devil guards the pulpit as his number one focus and communication outlet.
He considers the Church pulpit as his Throne.
Rev 2:13 I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.
It is guarded very closely as to make sure the True Gospel is never spoken from it's micophones.
1Ti 4:10 For therefore we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who IS the Savior of ALL men, .................especially of those that believe. 1Ti 4:11 THESE THINGS COMMAND AND TEACH.
Kw. |
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J Lee
The problem with that approach is that watching The Da Vinci Code is like consuming doubt. I don't want to be influenced away from righteousness and faith. Instead I want to influence others toward faith. If I absorb their influence how can I influence them? The American church has been devoured by the world's influence and so we have no power to change our society. That is a tragedy. The only solution is for us to repent and to turn away from doubt, negativity, violence, profanity, immorality, and the rest of the world's trash. |
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Wendy |
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June 30, 2008 at 2:47pm |
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Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by giving heed to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, (1 Timothy 4:1 RSV)
This is the most dangerous poison of all, false prophets abound. The new age movement is now mainstream. We must continue to proclaim the truth!
"I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them." (Acts 20:29-30 RSV) |
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