In Christianity it's the element of love that makes all the difference. First John 3:22, "And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight." Here we see that we not only keep the commandments, but we also do those things that please the Lord. All we do in our Christian walk is to be motivated by love. Notice how Paul puts it in 1 Corinthians 13:1- 3, "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing."

The greatest problem in the Christian Church today is that Christians have two loves that divide the heart--love for God, and love for his world and its sinful pleasures. Church-going people often want to see how close they can walk to the world and yet still be called Christians. The Bible says it's impossible, we cannot serve two masters (Matthew 6:24).

In 1 John 5:4 the Bible says if we are truly born of God we will overcome this world. "For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith." John gets more specific about the "world" in 1 John 2:15- 17, "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever." It included the world, the "things" of the world, the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. If we have not overcome these, the Father does not dwell in us, and we are lost, having never truly been "born again."

This desire to be like the world, dress like the world and do the activities of the world is what has caused Christianity to look so unappealing to the people of the world. They see no difference, so why be a Christian?

Today you can find a church to fit any worldly life-style. But the Christian Church of the Bible is a church of standards. It is truly "born again." Now, there is no neutral ground in this. And that's extremely difficult for church-going Christians to accept. "Everybody is doing it" and so it appears you can be worldly and still gain eternal life. However, James 4:4 makes it crystal clear that it's impossible. "Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God," Today God invites us to enter into a true "born again" experience. Let's cover the specific areas of the world John said we must overcome.

The devil can only bring "the world" to us through our five senses. He primarily uses two--our sight, and hearing. What about the things we listen to? The popular music of the world? The Bible gives us guidelines regarding the things we hear. In Proverbs 18:15 it says "the ear of the wise seeketh knowledge." Proverbs 23:12 says the same. And Proverbs 22:17 encourages us to hear the words of the wise. "Bow down thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply thine heart unto my knowledge."

In listening to much of the music in the world today, a born-again Christian realizes that the beat, the words, and the attitudes expressed are straight from hell. Medical science has proven that the beat has its origins in Satanism and it produces a hypnotizing effect upon the mind. Today you can go to the dark continents of this world and the converted christians will tell you that our modern-day bands reflect the same music they used to call up the demons in their witchcraft and devil worship. Since the inception of this music our world has turned into a cesspool of immorality, illicit sex, crime, rebellion, drugs, and the occult--simply because we naturally do and practice what we hear. The devil is behind much of the modern music in all its forms. One only has to listen to the words or look at the album covers and see the sensuality, occult symbols, and perversion displayed to know they cannot be of God. Many groups readily admit they get their music directly from Satan. Another thing worthy of mentioning is backward masking. This is the art of planting a hidden message in the music that the subconscious mind picks up, while the conscious mind cannot. In the United States and other countries some albums have a large black label warning people of the backward masking contained on the record. For more information on this visit your Christian bookstore, there is a wealth of good books on this subject. I also recommend the Christian video, Hell's Bells for an excellent exposure of this.

With such music, dancing also goes right out. It was when Israel danced around the golden calf that they forgot God. It was while Herodias' daughter danced for Herod that John the Baptist lost his head. Notice these interesting statistics: A former New York chief of police said, "Three-fourths of the abandoned girls of New York were ruined by dancing." A Catholic priest of New York said that his confessional had proved that three-fourths of the fallen girls who have confessed adultery to him put the blame on the dance. Other priests have said that three-fourths is too little. They make it nine-tenths. A matron in a home for girls pregnant out of wedlock in Los Angeles said, "Seven-tenths of the girls received here have fallen through dancing and its influence.

A very safe Bible rule is this: Philippians 4:8, "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." Remember, if Christ can listen and participate with you, you're safe! There is a lot of good music, both Christian and cultural that is good. Choose wisely, following this principle, and you will be safe.

Let's go into another area we must overcome. John called it "the lust of the eyes." What about the things we see? As Christians we have held the position that the theater and such places are out of place for a born-again individual. But why? The typical answer is: "Because that's where the devil hangs out!" That's a poor answer! Let's ask some questions.

1. Does the theater appeal to the lower or higher nature?
2. Does it glorify man, or God?
3. Does it lead you to love God, or the world?

You see, it's a principle that by beholding you become changed. Second Corinthians 3:18, "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." If we behold Christ, we become like Him. If we behold the world, we become like it. You can't think crooked and walk straight! The question goes on. If not the movies, then why can we watch it on TV? You see, the devil is smart. He knew he couldn't get a lot of Christians to go to the theater, so he re-arranged his plumbing and piped the same garbage into the home through TV. Now with cable TV, videos, and satellite, every type of filth is beamed right into our living rooms! Let's see what the Bible says. Ezekiel 20:7, "Then said I unto them, Cast ye away every man the abominations of his eyes, and defile not yourselves with the idols of Egypt: I am the LORD your God." Cast away the abominations of our eyes! Psalm 101:2- 3, "I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O when wilt thou come unto me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart. I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me." Walk within your house with a perfect heart by not setting wicked things before your eyes! Let's see how theater and TV add up to the Bible standard. Let's take the lesser of the two evils, TV. There are 104 members of TV's Creative Community. These are the writers, producers, and network officials in charge of programming. Only seven percent of them attend church regularly while 93 percent said they never attend church or seldom do. Only five percent surveyed strongly agreed that homosexuality is wrong. Only 16 percent strongly agree that adultery is wrong.

In a recent survey, the three top American TV networks were monitored from September 11 to December 3--prime-time TV. The viewing was divided into three categories for the three networks, NBC, ABC, and CBS as follows:

VIOLENCE INCIDENTS

NBC	973
ABC	917
CBS	720
TOTAL	2610
VIOLENT INCIDENTS PER HOUR:	9.74

SEX INCIDENTS

NBC	1048
ABC	884
CBS	785
TOTAL	2717
SEX INCIDENTS PER HOUR:	10.14

PROFANITY INCIDENTS

NBC	663
ABC	509
CBS	1028
TOTAL	2200
PROFANITY INCIDENTS PER HOUR:	8.19

It is impossible for any born gain Christian to watch prime-time TV! And movies are far worse.

In Psalm 119:37- 38 God gives a better alternative. "Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy way. Stablish thy word unto thy servant, who is devoted to thy fear." Isaiah 33:15- 16 says only those who refrain from such will go to heaven. "He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil; He shall dwell on high: his place of defense shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure."

Here's a challenge. Set your Bible on the TV and see which you reach for most. If we are spending more time with the TV than our Bibles we are in danger. Again not all TV is bad. There are still a few good programs. But choose wisely, behold only that which will change you into God's image, and be a wholesome blessing to you.

The TV set is my shepherd. My spiritual growth shall want. It maketh me to sit down and do nothing for His name's sake, because it requireth all my spare time. It keepeth me from doing my duty as a Christian, because it presenteth so many good shows that I must see. It restoreth my knowledge of things of the world and keepeth me from the study of God's Word. It leadeth me in the paths of failing to attend the evening worship services, and doing nothing for the kingdom of God. Yea, though I live to be a hundred, I shall keep on viewing my TV as long as it will work, for it is my closest companion. Its sound and its picture, they comfort me.

It presenteth entertainment before me, and keepeth me from doing important things with my family. It filleth my head with ideas different from those set forth in the Word of God. Surely, no good thing will come of my life, because my TV offereth no good time to do the will of God; thus I will dwell in the place of the devil and his angels forever."

A last area that needs our attention is the area of the "pride of life." An area that affects our outward appearance to the world. Our dress, adornment, and lifestyle. A few years ago, Christians were easily recognized wherever they were by their simplicity of dress and life-style in contrast to the "pride of life" displayed by the world. Today there is no difference. Let's go to the Scriptures with an attitude of finding what pleases Jesus, and with a true desire to overcome the world--especially the area of the pride of life.

Genesis 35:1- 2,"And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother. Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments." Here we find Jacob preparing to dedicate his family to God. However there are "strange gods" among his family. That's breaking the first commandment. What are these "strange gods?" Verses 3- 4, "And let us arise, and go up to Bethel; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went, And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem," The rings in their hand and earrings in their ears! Why was this? You see, God created the gold, silver, pearls, and diamonds--heaven is full of beautiful jewels. However, when sin entered our world, we find that pride and selfishness ruled the hearts of men. People began to adorn themselves with the beautiful things God had created to draw attention to the outward self. Human pride became more important than inner beauty. Thus God called the outward adorning a strange god, for it draws attention to self rather than God.

In Exodus 33 we find a similar situation. Here Israel was about to enter the promised land (so are we). Yet we find when they turned back to idolatry and worldly ways they also began to dress and adorn themselves in the same manner. It greatly displeased God. Exodus 33:4- 6, "And when the people heard these evil tidings, they mourned: and no man did put on him his ornaments. For the Lord had said unto Moses, Say unto the children of Israel, Ye are a stiffnecked people: I will come up into the midst of thee in a moment, and consume thee: therefore now put off thy ornaments from thee, that I may know what to do unto thee. And the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by the mount Horeb," God said put off thine ornaments! Throughout the Bible we see this as displeasing to God. Hosea 2:13, "And I will visit upon her the days of Baalim, wherein she burned incense to them, and she decked herself with her earrings and her jewels, and she went after her lovers, and forgat me, saith the LORD." Jeremiah 4:30, "And when thou art spoiled, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothes thyself with crimson, though thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, though thou rentest thy face with painting, in vain shalt thou make thyself fair; thy lovers will despise thee, they will seek thy life." In the New Testament it was the same. First Timothy 2:9- 10, "In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works." Paul admonishes us to not wear "Broided hair," (that's an ancient custom of weaving gold strands, pearls, and beads into the hair) or gold, pearls, or costly array. Instead adorn ourselves with good works. In 1 Peter 3:3, we read the same. "Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel." Then in verse 4 we read something beautiful! "But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price." God does have ornaments He wants us to wear, "A meek and quiet spirit." God says that's priceless! You see, the devil has this all twisted. We pay thousands of dollars for a rock or a string of pearls, hang it on the outside and it's a source of pride designed to draw attention to self. God's ornaments are inward, the meek and quiet spirit, the love, and joy that comes from within, the smile and kindness that emanates from a true born-again Christian. This leads people to see Jesus in us, not the world. And such ornamentation is priceless. In Revelation this is especially brought out. Two women are represented, one in Revelation 12 representing God's side, the other in Revelation 17 representing the apostate side. All people at Jesus' coming will be on one side or the other. The bride of Christ in Revelation 12:1 stands clothed in symbolisms of righteousness and purity. "And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars." The woman of Revelation 17:3- 5 is "decked with gold, precious stones, and pearls." "So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH." God says it's an abomination. May God give us the power to choose to be His bride, not associated with Babylon. Revelation 18:2- 4, "And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues."

You see, in these last days God is developing a special group of people. First Peter 2:9, "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light." "A peculiar people." Peculiar doesn't mean queer, but it does mean distinct from the world. Why? Because "God has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light." Titus 2:12- 14 continues: "Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works."

Today Christ lovingly invites you to enter into a full commitment. We see as always two roads to choose. The devil wants to destroy your spiritual life with the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, the pride of life, and this world's sinful pleasures. Christ wants to save you from this world, and prepare you to live with Him in the new heavens and new earth. As we choose Christ we realize this earth with all its attractions will soon pass away, but those in whose heart Christ reigns will live forever, for they reflect His image. God invites you today to make a decision to overcome the world, and enter into a full born-again experience--doing what is pleasing in His sight.