Are you a "fence straddler"? You know - someone who thinks they're a believer in Messiah, yet do everything in their power to keep one foot in the "carnal" realm and one in the spiritual realm. It's nice to know you're "saved", but you just can't let go of the fun you're having in "the world"....

The bottom line is: you can't serve two masters; and you can't be all God wants you to be unless you are willing to get both feet firmly planted on HIS side of the fence.

Example:

When I was a new believer, I carried my "baggage" around for awhile - my former notion that believers were a bunch of Bible-thumping "goody-two-shoes" who couldn't have any real fun because they weren't allowed to drink, tell dirty jokes, party, or get rowdy. Therefore, I decided early on that I wasn't going to act like those other "holy rollers". My way of witnessing to my friends and acquaintances would be mainly to (1) keep silent, and (2) to talk and behave the way I always had. If they were ever to ask me about Yeshua, I would be happy to tell them. But I certainly wasn't going to shove Him down their throats.....

Well, it wasn't long before the Holy Spirit showed me that I was trying to serve "two masters" (Matthew 6:24; Luke 6:13).

It happened one evening at a country and western bar in a tiny hicktown in Missouri, when I was still single. Rosemary, a friend of mine, had talked me into going there to do some line dancing and "partying until the cows came home" - just like we used to do before I "got religion".

But - as a brand new believer in Christ - the longer I sat in the crowd, the more ill-at-ease I became. I felt as if I were detached from the whole scene. For the first time in my life, I found myself observing people from spiritual perspective and, somehow I realized I could see the sadness behind every smile; the pretense of happiness in many faces. Yes, the place was buzzing with activity, with shrieks of joy, conversation and laughter - but the faces of most of those people revealed that they weren't really happy at all. They were LOOKING for happiness in various ways, but deep down, they were sad, lonely, and empty vessels searching to fill that "little hole in our souls" that only God can fill - and they were going about it all wrong.

As I sat and watched, it suddenly occurred to me that this was exactly what Satan wanted them to do. Satan, after all, is the god of this "carnal" world and he controls us as long as we let him get by with it. We either serve him or our Creator; those are the only two choices: eternal death or eternal life. There is a spiritual battle going on "behind the scenes" and most people aren't even aware of it.

At one point I was torn from my reverie by some guy who touched my shoulder and asked me to dance. As he set his drink on my table, I noticed a wedding band. Normally, I would have jumped at the chance; after all, it wasn't MY problem that he was married. It wasn't MY problem that he might be experiencing marital problems, or whatever excuse he was going to use to ask me - a perfect stranger - to dance.

Because I was still fairly shy about my new belief in Yeshua, I couldn't bring myself to take this opportunity to witness to this obviously lost soul, but I did manage to turn him down. I didn't want to be part of whatever was going on in this stranger's life - and I didn't have to! Any other time, I probably would have listened to his sob story and try to help soothe his pain, but not now; not anymore. God tells us in 1 Corinthians 10:13 that there is a way out of temptation, and that He won't give us anymore than we can bear. Well, that night I decided to take advantage of God's offer, and simply AVOID temptation, altogether!

It wasn't long before I realized I didn't belong in this place; it was not where God wanted me. I couldn't be what GOD wanted me to be as long as I was holding onto my old ways. My pastor's words came to mind and, as odd as they had sounded to my ears at the time, I suddenly realized the impact of the meaning behind 2 CORINTHIANS 5:17 which told me I was now a new creature in Christ.

Call it a supernatural experience, or whatever you want, but that night I saw things from a different perspective. That night, I could literally sense God showing me the fallacies of "the world's" idea of fun. And - to my total suprise - it no longer appealed to me! I no longer wanted the "seedy" side of life found in bars and filled with loneliness, emptiness, one-night stands, and the perpetual agony of hoping to find love in what I knew, deep down, to be "all the wrong places." For the first time, it dawned on me that you can't find a decent, God-fearing life mate in a carnal setting. For the first time, it dawned on me that if you want REAL peace and happiness in life, you have to let go of the carnal and immerse yourself in the spiritual....

If you're still "straddling that fence" and pretending you're part of "the world", I urge you to pray and ask God what HE would have you to do. Get into the Bible and find out what it says about the responsibilities of a true believer - for Yeshua clearly tells us that those who are "lukewarm" will NOT enter the Kingdom of Heaven (Revelation 3:14-22).

A teacher @ The Refiner's Fire

Galatians 6: 8 For the one who sows to his own flesh shall from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit shall from the Spirit reap eternal life.

Romans 13: 12 The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.

Jer 46:3-4 "Prepare your shields, both large and small, and march out for battle! Harness the horses, mount the steeds! Take your positions with helmets on! Polish your spears, put on your armour!"

Proverbs 30: 5 "Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him."