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Presented by Lauren Stibgen
Have you ever thought about the integrity of your faith? I would challenge you with the following questions:
Is the state of your faith whole and undivided? And, how strong and built up is your faith? What is the level of your integrity?
For the sake of our thinking, I want to bring us back to the fairy tale of the three little pigs. Maybe I am dating myself, and I am not sure if younger generations even know of this fable.
Three little pigs set off to build their houses to protect themselves from the bad wolf. The wolf, of course, wanted to eat those three little pigs. The first little pig built his house with straw, the second with sticks, and the third pig used bricks. The wolf easily overcame the first two pigs’ homes made of straw and sticks, and they quickly ran to the third pig’s house made of bricks. Which pig’s house had the most integrity? The one of bricks, of course! Of course this is far from a Bible story, but now let’s consider the integrity of our faith.
Our big bad wolf- Satan, manifests in the world today in so many ways. Inside and outside our houses, at work, everywhere.
In Ephesians 2:1-2, the Word exhorts, As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.
Clearly, those who are not of Jesus are controlled in this world by the power of Satan.
1 Peter 5:8-9a reminds us to be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith.
The most poignant example of Satan’s desire to tempt us away from God is the temptation of Jesus Christ in the wilderness. The three temptations that are offered to Jesus are bread, safety, and power/fame. Satan tests God/Jesus to make bread from rocks, jump off a pinnacle, and worship him and receive all the kingdoms.
Jesus replies in Matthew 4:10b, Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.
Satan tried to tempt the untemptable!
Who is the wolf? Satan. Where is he? Everywhere in the world. In fact, in 2 Corinthians 4:4 the Word tells us, The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God
The world is blinded by Satan. So, what do we do?
First, rest assured, Jesus has overcome this world. We can see this in the account of his temptation. He withstood. He has overcome death and Satan. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).
Those of us who have accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior have an armor that withstands the eternal condemnation from Satan.
This does not mean he will not attack. In fact, we are promised he will. 1 Peter 5:8 tells us to be alert for the devil prowling around to devour. Even Jesus gave us the promise of trouble in John 16:33: I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.
Jesus gives us his teaching because he knows we will have trouble. He also reminds us to “take heart because he has overcome the world!”
Now, back to those three pigs. I want you to think about yourself—your mind, body and soul—as the house that needs to withstand and weather the attacks of Satan in this world.
1 Corinthians 6:19 reminds us that out bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit within us who we have from God. We are not our own.
Mark 3:25 says, And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.
You cannot serve both God and this world. What is your faith house made of? Straw, sticks or bricks? What is the integrity of your home. Is it whole and undivided? Do you live one foot in faith and the other still in sin with the world?
What would a straw house look like? Well, if I am honest, I see a person that attends church on Sundays and hears God’s Word but then goes back to living their worldly life, never picking up their Bible. Perhaps they don’t own one. The probably don’t have the peace of Jesus.
How about a stick house? A little bit stronger but still not fortified. This person attends church, maybe even a Bible study. They own a Bible and read it from time to time. Most of their friends are not from church or don’t have much interest in “religious stuff.”
Now for the brick house. This person actively abides with Jesus. Jesus clearly tells us we need to abide with him because apart from him we can do nothing. See John 15:4-5.
So, what does abiding look like? First, how much time do you spend in the Word of God? Not merely consuming a book at a time but truly letting it soak in—studying the meaning and thinking of the application in your life? Do you have verses memorized? Evangelist Billy Graham stated, “The Bible is not an option; it is a necessity. You cannot grow spiritually strong without it.”[1] There are so many benefits from daily Bible reading and growth. For me, it helps me to understand God’s character, grow in spiritual maturity, find guidance and courage, and grow closer to God.
I also love studying the Word with others, which is another aspect of abiding—community. Are you in community and fellowship with other believers? Of course, part of this is church, but I mean beyond this. A Bible study or a community group is a start. Proverbs 27:17 reminds us that iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another. If you are having trouble finding something local to participate in, you can always find resources to connect with our community here at The Christian Working Woman.
The next two ways to abide will often go hand in hand. Prayer and confession. Prayer is one of the most significant ways we can draw near to God and one of the greatest weapons we have against temptation and Satan. Prayer is so powerful you may even find non-believers asking for prayer for a loved one or even for themselves during a difficult time.
Jesus is a model for prayer life. The Word tells us he would rise early to go pray. Before he started his work, he went before God. Notably, the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray in Luke 11:2-4. From these verses we get the Lord’s prayer.
Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And, lead us not into temptation.
Prayer is our mode of communication with our Father through our intercessor Jesus!
Jesus tells us that whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours” (Mark 11:24).
When it comes to making sure we have a brick house, nothing is more important than confession. The prayer from Luke 4 is specific—forgive us our sins. Admitting where we have fallen prey to the temptations of this world and sin helps us to stay alert to patterns Satan would love us to continue in. The more we can be like this world, the more we can become his victim.
Prayer and confession do not need to be solitary exercises. Don’t get me wrong, being in conversation with God one on one is something to practice, but prayer with others is truly powerful.
In Matthew 18:20 Jesus tells us wherever two or more are gathered in my name, there I am with them. Again, community is essential to abiding and it amplifies prayers!
We are also called to confess our sins to other believers. James 5:16: Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
Accountability is key when you are trying to grow and increase your integrity in your faith! Having someone close that you can confess struggles to is such a blessing for the fortification of your faith. Just a week ago I texted a dear sister in Christ that my patience and kindness were wearing thin during the holidays. At the same moment I was texting her this, her message about the same popped up on my phone. It made me smile. I didn’t feel so alone, and I knew we were praying for one another so we could do better for our family and friends.
Another way to abide is in our worship of the Lord! Many of us think of what is considered corporate worship at church with singing and readings. This is a key part of our worship, but how do we worship the Lord when we are alone? I love listening to music and singing along, but another way I worship the Lord is reflecting on his mercy for me, keeping a gratitude journal so I can see all the ways the Lord has answered prayers, and serving others in my community.
When I think of worship, I think action! The action of living out my faith in Jesus! I am blessed to talk with you! This is one of the ways I live out the love I have for the Lord—talking with you about him! Thinking about the world as such a dark place can be overwhelming. Our culture bombards us with more that removes us from the ease of abiding than the abiding itself! It can sound exhausting.
The Word, community, prayer, confession and worship.
It does take a conscious effort to keep abiding a priority in life as the ways of the world try to draw you in! The best way you can get to abiding is by first making sure you are in community with fellow believers who can spur you on to good habits in the Word, prayer, confession, and in worship!
As we go off to work, whatever that work may look like, we need to fortify the integrity of our brick house of faith.
What can you do to ensure you are making time for this—most important part of your life? Don’t keep waiting for the right moment to start building on the integrity of your brick house. Your body is a living temple of the holy God that goes out into a world run by the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2 ESV)! Most people you will encounter are sons of disobedience (Ephesians 2:2 ESV)! Building on the elements of abiding will help ensure your house is strong and undivided.
[1] Graham, B. (2021, September 8). Why should I read the Bible?. The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association of Canada. https://www.billygraham.ca/stories/why-should-i-read-the-bible/