DECEMBER 3, 2012
The
Spirit Of The Age
Read: Ephesians 2:1-10
You He made alive, who were dead in trespasses
and sins, in which you
once walked
according to the course of this world. —Ephesians 2:1-2
Every age has its own
thoughts, ideas, and values that influence the
culture,
the “spirit of the
age.” It is the kind of growing consensus that morally
lulls us
to sleep, gradually
causing us to accept society’s latest values.
The apostle Paul
called this corrupting atmosphere the “course of this
world.”
Describing the lives
of the believers at Ephesus before they encountered
Christ,
he said that they were
“dead in trespasses and sins” and “walked
according to the course of this
world” (Eph. 2:1-2). This is the world’s
peer pressure—a satanically inspired
system of values and ideas that
cultivates a lifestyle that is independent of God.
Jesus intends for us
to live in the world (John 17:15), so worldly
influence is nearly impossible to
escape. But He’s given us His Word to
so permeate our thinking that we don’t
have to become conformed to
the world’s values (Rom. 12:1-2).
Instead, God helps us walk in His
light (Eph. 5:8), in the Spirit (Gal. 5:25), in
love (Eph. 5:2), in truth
(3 John 4), and in Christ (Col. 2:6).
As we walk in God’s
power and spend time in His Word, He gives
us the strength to live
according to kingdom values and not the spirit
of the age.
Father, You have made us alive in Christ and now we
have a new kind of thinking that differs from the world.
Teach us Your kingdom’s values that we might
learn to walk in love. Amen.
Although Christians live in this world,
their allegiance is to heaven.
Source: Our Daily Bread 2012
