As the World Moves, So Goes the Church

Heading into a new year, there are numerous things on my mind...how I want to improve in devotion to the Lord, how I want to grow in trust and being set apart for Him, and how I do not want to be moved by circumstance. 

I've been pondering being set apart a lot more than usual in recent weeks as I've been blessed to teach on the book of Exodus the past several weeks. Prior to this, I got to spend a fair bit of time in Genesis. 

God was so serious about setting His chosen nation, Israel, apart for Himself. I believe He is still quite interested in His children being clearly set apart for Himself. We are to be in the world but not of it, to be a peculiar people, to be discreet, trustworthy, wholesome, honest, not a stumbling block, a people of God's own possession. The deeper spiritual issues should set us apart, but also our general behavior and speech. We should not lie or steal or gossip, but we should also not destroy the body God has given us or use it how we want. All things should come under subjection to the One who saved us. Areas such as what we listen to, what we read, how we spend our time, how selfless we are toward others, how we wear our hair, how we take care of ourselves, how we dress, how we spend our time and money, how easy we are to deal with (bc of not bullying others or intimidating them or forcing our will...). Whether we're women or men, we should seriously evaluate what we do when we are adults (children should be made to have godly standards, no matter how vexing and draining it is to hold them to them!). 

Israel was to be completely separate from Egypt, and God showed that time and again, particularly with how there was a distinct difference as He brought the various plagues on Egypt and not those in Goshen. The Abrahamic Covenant separated God's men from those outside of the covenant, and what a time of clarity when the men led and determined the families allegiance. Notice how there wasn't a mark the women had to do to show their allegiance. God has a beautiful, patriarchal design for the family. In keeping with the thought of being separated out for Him, when the Exodus came, He separated His own out quite literally. 

Just as we walk through a narrow gate of salvation, one by one, we must all come to our own decisions on what we will do as His followers. Others cannot make us be separated out for a life of service and devotion to Christ. To give lip service or partial service is very different than striving to commit yourself wholly to Him, to aim to die to yourself and take up your cross daily...

We will each have our own challenges to be clearly marked for Him, be they physical, situational, financial, or occupational. We have to decide how we will take those challenges. Will we use them as an excuse to be worldly, or will we see them as helping push us to a greater sacrifice for His name's sake, perhaps having to be even more conservative so as to clearly not cross the line He's laid out before us? Choose you this day Who YOU will serve...

We must decide these things for ourselves. He calls His own by name and no sacrifice on this earth is too great to make for what He has done for us. We do  need to be quiet before Him and pray for wisdom to see what He wants of us. Continual noise and distraction will allow us to remain in our self-righteous sin for far too long. 

In the spirit of being set apart, here are some talks by Elizabeth Elliot that I'll be listening to as 2026 gets underway. I'll be getting in shape and losing weight, and that will challenge me to be modest, and I'm aging and the attitudes of women can be more immodest at this stage of life if not careful. I want to bring glory and not shame to my Lord in 2026, and think these will only help me. 

Modesty: Elizabeth Elliot