Changes

by Dennis Nosal

Things have really changed since I was a child. When I was young there was a law called the blue laws. It was a law that required all businesses to close on Sunday. After all, that was a day to worship our Lord. Grocery stores, restaurants, and pretty much everything, except emergency services were closed on Sunday. I imagine if you're 40-years-old or younger, you may have a hard time picturing in your mind what that must have been like. Sundays were a quite and peaceful time. The only time someone left their home was to attend church. There was no other reason to leave home.
I can't begin to tell you how much the things we see on TV and the movies have changed over the years. I recall the uproar that was caused when the first ugly word was spoken in a movie. It was "Gone with the Wind". TV shows depicting a married couple never showed the couple sharing the same bed. If a woman found herself expecting a child but not married that was not something to boast about. Now the world tells us it's something to be proud of. It was also shameful for a couple to live together without being married. The things that are called a "lifestyle" today were things that were so shameful they were done in secret behind closet doors. There is no denying it, everywhere we look in this world it is telling us that sin is good and the acceptable thing to do.
There seems to be no where that a Christian can turn to escape from the influence of sin. How do Christians live in a world that is telling him or her that sin is an acceptable life-style and keep themselves pure? The Lord has provided us a way to live in a wicked world and stand firm against the wickedness. We see in Ephesians 6:12-18 that we should put on the full armor of God, so that we will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. We're told to put on the belt of truth and the breastplate of righteousness and the footgear of readiness to spread the Good News and the shield of Faith and the helmet of Salvation and finally the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Do this and we will keep ourselves untouched by the world. Also, pray at all times in the Spirit. It's hard to sin against God if we’re spending time reading our Bible, praying, or meditating in a quite place about our Lord and the life that's been promised to us in heaven.