A divided heart lives in denial and deception

I’m reminded again of the quote from Scott Fitzgerald, “You do not write because you want to say something; you
write because you have something to say.” I can relate to those who are called to express the burdens within their
hearts and thankful for the opportunity to share mine. These freedoms may not always be with us as the world is
becoming aggressively opposed to God and His disciples. I write for many secular publications around the country
and I’m often warned about toning it down with Jesus as it might offend those who disagree. I’m a editor and
contributor for a couple of magazines, and was told the other day that my Christmas article was not family friendly.
Too much Jesus. I often wonder if compromising would be better than having no platform at all, but at what point
do we draw the line?
The Living on Purpose column is recognized as a source of encouragement and faith, nevertheless, as a watchman I
must never ignore His warnings. Pastors and teachers will agree it’s easier to talk about doctrines and Biblical
history, but it’s a solemn responsibility and personal sacrifice to deliver a specific and urgent message from God
Himself. In the Bible when He would choose a servant that He could trust, often their obedience brought
persecution and for some, it cost them their lives. This is happening right now. I’m referring to those few
individuals that are not afraid to speak divine truth about sin even if they are silenced with force. The religious
“fluff” will continue adapting and ignoring as a part of their self-preservation, but sadly this fear of offending is
causing many churches to reconsider their stand against sin as a solution to maintaining financial success.
Along with most modern assemblies reinventing themselves, we notice a decline in the promotion of prayer. Why is
this? Because the masses would rather be cozy and comfortable, to be entertained, and listen to short “feel good”
devotions that are non-threatening. Spiritual warfare and serious prayer does not fit into this format, even though
intercession generates the power of the Holy Spirit’s presence in the services and increases discernment, anointing,
and maturity. When prayer was removed from the public education system, the enemy won a major battle, but why
do we not hear more about how the absence of a praying church has caused a spiritually powerless nation? One
reason is the average religious person only calls for prayer is when they need something. If prayer was a top priority
of Christians, it would change the world.
How often are we desperate for God? Do we anticipate Him whispering for us to go somewhere private and seek
Him? I realize I talk about surrendering our will all the time, but I do not apologize as it is the key to accomplishing
His. Our free will is the command center within the human experience that has everything to do with our spiritual
connection with our Creator. Until the word of God convicts our will and mind, and then we obey His demands,
how can we become transformed into His image? If we choose to fill our minds with the distractions of the world,
we will not be convicted to pray or have a passion to walk in the awareness of His presence. So, why is the
reverential fear of the Lord hardly mentioned anymore? Because the masses do not want to hear that lukewarmness
is a result of being filled with more of the world than the Holy Spirit. We are what we think and when we refuse to
protect our conscience, it becomes contaminated. When pleasure becomes more important than pleasing God, our
dirty heart separates us from Him.
However, if we allow God to purify us with His refining fire, there is no way we can continue being a hypocritical
facade. We have two choices: continue pledging allegiance to the darkness, or become a living sacrifice for Christ.
We can’t love two masters at the same time, and being neutral is automatically serving the darkness. Beyond the
motivational talks and inspirational stories, we must own all aspects of truth, we must demonstrate what we
confess. If we really want to be holy, the only person stopping us is us. We’ve heard about being born-again, but
when a person accepts Christ as their Savior and Lord, they no longer live for themselves. All control has been
given over to their new Master, and to continue living exactly the same “after” we make our holy vow to Jesus is a
fraud, denial, and a deception.
To learn more about the Christian life visit billyhollandministries.com