Set Apart

Tuesday, November 28, 2017

For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.
‭‭Titus‬ ‭2:11-12‬ ‭NIV‬‬ 

My husband and I are vacationing this week in the Rocky Mountains. We love exploring, not really having an agenda, and just being flexible with our time. And we love talking to people — no shock there. We have spoken with Forest Rangers, restaurant and hotel staff,  and just people we have run into — asking them what they would recommend that we do this week. Suggestions have included fishing, hiking, skiing, biking, and swimming in hot springs. But the two most common suggestions have involved dining and cocktails. 

Now I’m all for experiencing local cuisine — and so far we’ve had some good food. But neither Bill nor I drink. In fact, I can say pretty definitively that I have only been in a liquor store four times that I can remember. Alcohol has just never appealed to us. In fact it scares us — or we have a healthy respect for it. I know how out-of-control I am once I eat the first cookie from a package. I’ll consume them all in one sitting. So I figure that I would probably have the same lack of self-control with alcohol. So I leave it alone. (Wish I had that kind of discipline with sweets!)

So where am I going with this? 

God’s grace teaches us to say “no” to worldly passions that our culture considers to be acceptable — but that we feel would compromise our walk with Him. 

Agree with me or don’t. But sometimes there are lines that as believers we just shouldn’t cross. And through God’s grace we can “live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.”