Burning Bridges Behind Us

Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours: (1 Corinthians 1:1-2)

In Greek, the term church signifies "a called-out people." Each church has two mailing addresses:

1. a geographic address ("at Corinth") and
2. a spiritual address ("in Christ Jesus").

The church is made up of saints, that is, people who have been "sanctified" or "set apart" by God. A saint is not a dead person who has been honoured by men because of his or her holy life. No, Paul wrote to living saints, people who, through faith in Jesus Christ, had been set apart for God's special work.

I received a WhatsApp message this morning.
I quote the message: "Dear Pastor, I feel like going back to my old life because things are not working out for me. Please advise"

Back in the good old days (as they say), and also according to the Bible, when a man and woman pledged their love to each other, they were set apart for each other, and any other relationship other than marriage was (and still is) deemed immoral.

In the same manner, a Christian belongs completely to Jesus Christ; he is set apart for Him and Him alone. There is no turning back.

There's a story of an army general who was about to face his greatest and most potent enemy, one who greatly outnumbered his army. He loaded his soldiers into boats, sailed to enemy territory, unloaded soldiers and equipment, and then issued the order to destroy the ships that had transported them. Before the first fight, he addressed his men and said, "You can see our boats blowing up in flames. This means that we won't be able to escape these shores alive until we win! We have no other choice but to win or perish!"

The good news is that in Christ, we already have the victory. We just need to press on.

I received this testimony 

Hi Pastor Michael,
I am Sandeep (name changed). When you were preaching, the Lord started convicting me of my sin of not taking proper care of my body by smoking. (I Corinthians 3:16-17) However, it was too hard for me to quit smoking.

Again, God spoke to me through Revelation 12:11 about the importance of sharing my testimony and overcoming the enemy. I even realized that if I told my friends that I had quit smoking, it would be somewhat embarrassing to go back on my word. It was like a point of no return. (Burning the bridges) I did just that, and it helped.

1. Father, help me run with passion into Your abundance so that I may reach the purpose that Jesus Christ has called me to fulfil and wants me to discover.

2. Father, in the name of Jesus, I ask You for the Character and Nature of Christ to do the right thing even when no one is looking.

3. Father, in the name of Jesus, separate me from everything that is ungodly.