"Slow fade" is such an amazing song, because it is so tied into the truth. I have been down this road; to my great embarrassment I have been trapped by this “slow fade” into the world. There are so many scriptures to show this point…I am going to give a few, so those who want to dig deeper can.

Matthew 5:28 Simply looking lustfully…IS adultery!
1 Corinthians 10 Turn from your sin
James 2:10 Break one law, you break them all

What is sad; like the song speaks of is when we take that first step, look at that first image, even fall into the traps while around the un-Godly or Sinners who are our friends.
you MUST see that it’s that first step that brings the fall. It’s that first choice to step away from God that sends us light years away from Jesus Christ. Even Asaph in Psalms 73 started to get angry at God when he took his eyes off of the divine and started looking at the world and the sinners around him.

I heard a NASA scientist who was talking about when coming back from the moon; if you are off by just one degree by the time you reach where the Earth should have been you will be hundreds of thousands of miles off course. That is just ONE degree in the beginning! So as you go through life you may not even notice that slow fade into worldliness, yet one day you look around and cry out to God “How did I get here!”

A statement I made before that I lifted from Paul Washer; if you have a glass that is 99% pure filtered water, and 1% sewage; would you still drink it? Of course not, it has bacteria, waste and I don’t really want to say what else in it. Or take a health nut; they don’t spend their lives in discipline eating the right things, doing the right things; only to eat a gallon of ice cream before bed. So why can’t we give God that kind of discipline? Why is it so hard to push on past the garbage that poisons us daily? Why can’t we give the God who gave all…our all?

Quote:

Galatians 5:16-21 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

Do you get this people? Did you read enough to understand it? If you are taking part of the things above…You WILL NOT enter Heaven! This is why I take this so serious. Can you imagine if you stood before God RIGHT NOW, what would he tell you…what would he say?

My slow fade started, just as Asaph, when I took my eyes off of God I started paying attention to the world. I started pushing everyone who loved me away, and drew into many self-destructive paths. I started hating myself for what I had become and rather than turning to God the REDEAMER…I became even more rebellious! And to make matters worse, our children, weaker Christians, those who simply see you as someone that is a good person see your actions, and they say to themselves “Well, he/she does it…so it must be okay.” Now, not only you have fallen, but pulled another with you!

Now just read over these lyrics, and just really think…and ask yourself…am I on a slow fade away from God?

Be careful little eyes what you seeIt’s the second glance that ties your hands as darkness pulls the stringsBe careful little feet where you goFor it’s the little feet behind you that are sure to follow
It’s a slow fade when you give yourself awayIt’s a slow fade when black and white have turned to grayThoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paidWhen you give yourself awayPeople never crumble in a dayIt’s a slow fade, it’s a slow fade
Be careful little ears what you hearWhen flattery leads to compromise, the end is always nearBe careful little lips what you sayFor empty words and promises lead broken hearts astray
It’s a slow fade when you give yourself awayIt’s a slow fade when black and white have turned to grayThoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paidWhen you give yourself awayPeople never crumble in a day
The journey from your mind to your handsIs shorter than you’re thinkingBe careful if you think you standYou just might be sinking
It’s a slow fade when you give yourself awayIt’s a slow fade when black and white have turned to grayThoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paidWhen you give yourself awayPeople never crumble in a dayDaddies never crumble in a dayFamilies never crumble in a day
Oh be careful little eyes what seeOh be careful little eyes what you seeFor the Father up above is looking down in loveOh be careful little eyes what you see

Quote:

Deuteronomy 23:14 For the LORD thy God walketh in the midst of thy camp, to deliver thee, and to give up thine enemies before thee; therefore shall thy camp be holy: that he see no unclean thing in thee, and turn away from thee.

What should we do as Christians? The answer is very simple; keep what is evil away from us. This may mean certain friends, situations, anything that drags you down. We can not take part of it, we can not be involved in what the world has to offer. There is a hard turn over here however, ask yourself if you are the one bringing others down, are you the one that is effecting the walk of others? Are you the one that has allowed black and white to turn to gray? Because as Christians like I said earlier, if we are around other Christians who look up to us…do you realize they may be thinking “Well they are doing it…so it must be okay for me to do it.” This is not a game we are playing, this is not some nothing sports game or TV show we are a part of…this is eternity we are dealing with. Heaven or hell. You think having fun on Earth is worth it, that soiling your wild oats is something you deserve? Well I am sure the people of Sodom and Gomorrah thought much the same. The difference is God did not wait to judge them, he did it on Earth, and now their cities, culture and all evidence of them is gone….forever. They so disgusted God that he removed them from the face of the Earth with fire!

You have to keep in your head; EVERYTHING that you do is a step toward God, or away from him. While we walk through life there are no breaks. No pit stops, no time to look back at how far you have come, or to think about how much fun you had when wallowing in your sin. If you are not sure where you are at; well a good indicator of straying from God is are you growing in your walk toward him? Do you desire for your relationship to grow with him? Do you daily think about how magnificent he is? Is every action you take one step closer to him?

Please, please remember that to fall away from God is to come to a VERY bad end. The Bible is very clear that the wheat will be separated from the chaff. This means that the Righteous shall be separated from the sinner. The sinner is those who know of God, but do not take their walk seriously, they continue in their sin with little or no regard for it!

There is a song that an old Christian rock band, BRIDE had; the song asked if Jesus were to come back now…where would he find you? Then asked the question; don’t you realize he is with you now! Please understand, I am not saying all of this to be cruel, a party pooper, or mean. I truly say all of this out of love to the church. How can we be the body of Christ and be negligent. Exodus 33 speaks of the blood of the fallen will be on those who should’ve spoken ups hands! I do not want to leave anyone behind. And it hurts to see how we as a church take God for granted, and feel that we deserve things in the world! So, all of this said, the next time you are out on the town…out with friends…or home alone …Be careful little eyes what see. Be careful little feet where you go. Be careful little ears what you hear. Be careful little lips what you say. Be careful if you think you stand…you just might be sinking!

Myles,

Quote:

What should we do as Christians? The answer is very simple; keep what is evil away from us.

When you look at a full moon what do you know about it's relationship to the sun? That their is a clear unobstructed path from the sun to the moon. What about when the moon is dark? Their is something between the moon and the sun; the moon is not in the right relation to reflect the sun's light, the earth is in the way. Can the moon move the earth to restore the right relationship it had with the sun? No, but the sun can!

We don't become righteous (in a right relation to God) by avoiding evil nor do we stay in a right relationship with God by avoiding evil. We first become righteous through the blood of Jesus Christ (He returns us to a right relationship with the Father) and stay righteous by continuing to rely on His (Jesus) righteousness (right relationship with the Father). Jesus understood how a man was made because, as a man, he derived his righteousness from the Father not from himself, even though as God he could have. When the Son chose to humble himself he gave up his claim to his own righteousness and chose to rely on the Father (God) just as every other man was created to do.

Mark 10:18

Quote:

And Jesus said unto him, why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is God.

So forevermore our only hope is to share his righteousness and we can't do that if we are relying on ourselves (the flesh). If a christian: someone who truly has been put into a right relationship with the Father by the sacrifice of Jesus; is indwelt by the Holy Spirit; is born again and truly converted after being made alive by the Holy Spirit; relies on the flesh they will do the things in Galatians 16-21. If they rely on the Spirit of God they will fulfill the things of Galatians 22-23. If a person is spiritually dead they will fulfill Galatians 16-21 no matter what they do, although they can make it look good for a while.

It is very easy for a person to figure out if they are indwelt by the Holy Spirit: just forget about what your pastor, friends, spouse, teachers, neighbors, children, mayor, boss and policeman think about you and go out and fulfill the desires of your heart. If you truly are a born again new creature you will know what it is like to walk in the spirit; if you are not, you will quickly find yourself in jail. Laws are only for men that are not ruled by Jesus Christ.

At least the man sitting in jail after trying this experiment would know where he stands, would come to despair and place himself at the feet of the only one who can save. What about a moral, upright, religous "good person" that uses the law, rules, regulations, self-discipline techniques, accountability groups, their pastor and public opinion to regulate their behavior? They have deceived themselves, without the Spirit it is a vain excercise which will eventually prove to the world what they already know deep within their soul: that they are dead and have no hope.

We are born dead. Jesus is life, He is our only hope.

John 14:6

Quote:

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Greg

Great stuff Senter! I live that. I am going to post more in reply to what you said but just haven't had a chance...YET! I just wanted to let you know that what you wrote was read an recieved!