They are twice as important as any responsibility someone may remind you that you also have. You tend to consider such temporal satisfaction as your right, and you know how you feel about your rights in America. The hedonistic desires of the natural man are ravenous and prone to seek instant gratification as the primary solution to any carnal desire he may encounter. We have worked hard as a culture to create a huge “gray area,” while reducing the clearly defined “black-and-white” areas of morality to almost nonexistent territories. ![]() His efforts can be readily observed throughout our modern society. This is an area of our lives that has been under vicious attack by Satan for a long, long time. It refers to any sexual activity outside of that occurring between a man and woman bound in marriage. The Greek word for “immorality” used here is pronounced It doesn’t take a valedictorian to figure out what words in our language are derived from it. Why couldn’t I get this before? Why didn’t I identify this behavior as sinful in the past? Why didn’t I do anything about changing this until now?” So, we are going to go over these thoughts again because, while it may seem like you just covered some of them, both God and Paul realize a majority of you haven’t completely applied them to your lives yet, and they remain hopeful that today you will reach a crossroads and experience a defining moment in your lives. I know what you’re thinking didn’t Paul just cover these topics in recent verses? I’ll bet you are wondering, “Why is he going over them again?” You’re thinking, “I’ve got it, I’ve got it already!” But honestly, do you have a concrete understanding? I’m not sure about you, but there have been biblical themes on which I’ve heard sermon upon sermon on for years before the true meaning clearly got through to me, and I said, “Oh, gees. “But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints.” (Eph. Are you up to that challenge? Can you make that commitment? Come on soldier, Sound Off!! Remember what John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.” Romans 5:8 states, “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” If you are going to honestly imitate the love of God, you must make every conceivable effort to have an agape love, one that puts others’ needs before your own. Because of the love of God for each of us, Jesus gave up everything: His position and His life. The one thing you had best never overlook when you reflect on the Lord is His sacrificial love. “.and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for an offering, a sacrifice and us to God as a fragrant aroma.” (Eph. It is in this way that we are called to imitate or be like God, not as all-powerful beings worthy of worship-heavens no!-but simply as dearly loved children, who want to be just like their dad. He was also into baseball and bowling, and I imitated him in those areas as well. I still enjoy working with tools, as a matter of fact, though not at the level of proficiency at which my dad was capable. Dad was a jet engine mechanic and loved working with tools, and I wanted to do the same thing. He was in the Marine Corps too, and I truly wanted to be a Marine my whole adolescent life. Good or bad, he was my dad, and even though he is no longer living, he’s still my dad. I know that for nearly my entire childhood, I always wanted to be like my dad. ![]() If you’ll notice, you’re not called to be extraordinary, or to be God, you’re only called to be, as it says in Ephesians 5:1, “imitators of God, as beloved children.” I think you know most children take pride in trying to imitate their parents. I can’t really be like Him, so why should I even try?” Man, that’s a cop-out if I ever heard one, especially for a reputed Christian to say. ![]() Many times in Christian counseling sessions, people have been told they need to be more like Jesus, but they frequently try to excuse or minimize their sin by replying, “Well, I’m not God, I’m just a man. If you’re going to be honest, sharing, and grace-giving in speech, you need to try to be mimickers of God, who is your perfect role model. “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.” (Eph.
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