Are you identified in and with Christ?

We, as human beings, tend to sway easily by ideas, people’s personalities, new encounters, and experiences that tantalize us. New religious formats and thinking are appealing as we seek the latest and greatest, but what we think is great usually is not. We become captive to traditions and influenced by arguments and feelings that are persuasive. But, we must never substitute our ideas for God’s! We will follow the latest fad and want more. We get bored with our car and want a new and better one, and so forth. We do this with our doctrines too! The advertising machine in Madison Avenue knows this well, as we all want more, and they use this trait to appeal to us, pushing us in the direction they want to sell or influence us in some way. At the same time, we must be on guard not to allow such things to infuse, influence, or govern us.

We have His Word, wisdom, influence, and Holy Spirit; there is nothing better! We have His fullness; there is no better filler than His presence! Therefore, we must be aware of our nature to seek what is wrong and fleeting, and always be on guard. Never allow yourself to be cheated by wrong thinking or chasing the wrong things, because they rob us of greater opportunities and treasures in Christ! The bottom line is we do not need any substitute or the world’s distractions because we are complete in Him! Do not be the one who seeks to please the world while rejecting our Loving and living Lord, in your doctrines or in your life!

more here:
http://www.intothyword.org/apps/articles/default.asp?articleid=52214&columnid=3803

How does the decay of our understanding of God and our standing in Christ affect your virtue?

How will this cause the decay of yourselves, your church, and our culture?

What do you think?