Everything begins in the mind. Whether we serve God or Satan, the seminal part of that service, whether one word, thought or act, begins in the heart. Whether one’s service involves a life of holiness or havoc, it all begins in the mind. Therefore, that is where both God and Satan aim their respective messages. Which is the reason God gave to mankind His Holy Bible, preserved it for thousands of years and made it available throughout the world. Left to his own mental devices, man has only his opinion to determine right and wrong, which is what Adam and Eve believed the Serpent had allowed them to do. Billions of people since then have thought the same way. Again, this is why we have the Holy Scriptures which are God’s will in print. Christ lived (“walked”) those Scriptures as a man, thereby showing us how to obey and please the Father as He did so that we can join Him in paradise when this world comes to a merciful end.

In First John 2:15,16 the apostle warns salvation seekers not to “love the world.” Note the word: “love.” The worldly man loves “the things that are in the world,” which become his god. What we think about, talk about and are about is what we love, what is most important to us. How we spend our free time reveals what we love. Man, including the vast majority of churchmen, are worldly in their attitude toward God. It is good to always be reminded of God’s Words relative to the world and its offerings: “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things (essentials–food, clothing, dwelling, etc.) will be provided for you.” If they will be automatically provided, there is no need to seek them. I have proven this statement to be true. I ask, seek, strive for only thing–ONENESS WITH GOD. And I have need of nothing. God supplies everything I need and more, often from sources that I do not know exist.

AS JESUS SAID IN JOHN 17:17, GOD’S WORD IS TRUTH. Our attitude toward and reaction to God’s Word is determined by our thinking process. If we think on the things of the Babylonian world around us, we become Babylonian, which becomes our chosen nature. Satan is of the world, rules the world and wants to rule God’s people and make them part of his (Satan’s) world. Sadly, with the exception of a minutely few, he does, as Jesus prophesied would be the case in Matthew 7:13,14.

Again, what we do, say and think begins in the mind. The more we focus our minds on the world, the more the world controls us. This is the reason the world’s addiction to social media devices is so devastating in the spiritual sense. I recently watched a ten-year-old boy bouncing a ball against a wall with one hand while holding his “idiot box” in the other. He could not put it down long enough to play. And he is not alone. I see people exercising, shopping, eating, visiting, etc. while staring into the tiny screens which I call their “life source.” Their world is whatever Satan wants it to be. They are as hooked as any cocaine or nicotine addict. And, trust me, when they are staring into that square eye they are not memorizing Scripture.

Most of modern humanity’s thinking is being dictated by the world. So much so that one of the problems young people have today is the inability to think, to reason and predict the outcomes of their actions. Their little boxes have made contemplation obsolete. Their spiritual “big brother” does their thinking for them. Unusual situations throw them into a state of panic. If there isn’t an app for it, they do not know what to do. Satan has them exactly where he wants them–totally dependent upon him.

One way we dwell in unison with the world is to allow society’s thinking to become our thinking. As John wrote, to embrace the world is to turn our backs on God. James 4:4 also makes that statement. The cares and lusts of the world become our cares and lusts if we spend our time thinking about the world and what those in the world like and approve. Focusing on the world causes us to be overly concerned about the world’s opinion. Notice how many young people commit suicide because of what someone wrote or said about them on social media. The world creates within us a need, a desire for its approval. The criticism of others becomes a social death sentence for those who are comfortable only in Babylon and crave to be accepted by Babylon’s minions. For example, I know a woman who admitted that Saturday is God’s Sabbath. Yet she will not openly observe His Sabbath because her brother is the pastor of a church and none of her friends accept God’s Sabbath. This woman clearly chooses the world’s approval over God’s approval.

God has called us to be separate, to be as different from others as light is from darkness. The opinions of others must mean nothing to us. Otherwise, we will become like them and dependent on their opinion for our self-worth. This constitutes a spiritual death sentence. The following are a few aspects of the Babylonian way that we must guard against and avoid. Like leaven in dough, a little bit of Babylon affects one’s entire life. We must remember that life-destroying cancer begins with one cell.

One of the most influential aspects of the Babylonian world view is what is known as “pop culture.” We must be aware of the influence of television, movies, books, magazines, music, etc. on our lives. A fact of life is that what enters the mind remains in the mind. This is why we sometimes remember things that happened many years ago that we are not aware that we had retained. Only God can cleanse our minds of the past. But once delivered of the past (justification), we must continually fight against the forces of Satan that tempt us to return to the world from which we were delivered. Satan is subtle. What looks and sounds like innocent entertainment can carry deadly messaging. For this reason I do not watch television except for the news, historical documentaries, etc. Even advertising has gone the way of sin. Notice how many ads feature queer couples, mixed-race couples, suggestive clothing, etc. The mind is too valuable to be filled with what is being broadcast 24/7 by Satan.

What we are seeing socially can be characterized as the relaxation of standards, or a total eradication of standards in some cases. What would not have been tolerated in the 1950’s is now preferred, even exalted and celebrated. A loose tendency toward social standards is epidemic today. One of the popular movements that is having a devastating effect is the slackening of law enforcement and the lowering of social standards. Notice what is happening among our governmental officials and among school children. Notice how people dress in public and how they conduct themselves. At a time when we should be raising our standards, we are lowering them. Anyone who upholds God’s standards is labeled a “hater.” Approval-craving people cannot handle being called such a name. In today’s world, such a title should be worn as a badge of honor.

Another area in which mankind is changing for the worse concerns our negative attitudes toward authority. These attitudes not only are reflected within the church, they were initiated by the church. As goes the church, so goes the society. The church’s attitude toward God’s authority (Law) is being reflected in the society in general. The church’s destruction of His Law is reflected in the society’s attitude toward social law. Her all-grace-and-no-Law attitude is reflected in the society by its reaction to crime.

Standards of behavior have become whatever the majority want it to be. This is what the church’s denomination system is all about. The society has followed the church’s leading. We now elect public officials who have legalized gay marriage, the murder of unborn children, etc. Where did these attitudes come from? A study I read stated that 54% of the EVANGELICALS surveyed approved of abortion on demand. Read Abortion: God’s Word on the Subject. Key word–Abortion. Queers and transes are welcomed into the churches. Not only welcomed, but exalted in spite of God’s condemnations of the vise sins. As is the case relative to many other things, the church has overruled God. As a result of her leadership, the society has pushed Him out of their public places, governments, schools, etc.

We must come out of and stay out of Babylon while living within her. As Jesus said in Matthew 7:13,14, the way into His church and to His future world is through His STRAIT GATE AND ALONG HIS NARROW WAY. “Strait” means difficult. Much of the difficulty concerns the attitudes of those who do not walk the strait and narrow way of God. Our greatest opposition comes from our families. Man’s concept of God’s way into His kingdom is what I call the “Burger King religion.” The “right” way is “Any way you want it” to be. A young woman said that she joined a particular church denomination because they “do what I like to do.” We won’t go into what “they like to do.” And they do it in the name of the Lord. As Jesus said in Matthew 7:21-23: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but they who do the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me on that (Judgment) day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name? and in Your name have cast out devils? and in your name done many wonderful works? ‘ And I will say to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me you that work iniquity” (Lawlessness).

In the following series we will complete the “leaving” and “entering” commands given by the Lord. We will look to New Jerusalem which now is our mother in heaven but which will one day come to earth. God’s true saints will live with Him and His Son in that eternal city. L.J