Practical Tips on How to Detoxify a Toxic World, Part 1 of 3

1 John 4:4

How do you detoxify a situation that you do not have the power on your own to change? You align yourself with someone more powerful who can (1 John 4:4). These basic practical tips can help you shine Christ’s light into darkness and season society with Christ’s flavoring (Matthew 5:13-16).

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Lead as a shepherd not as a wolf (1 Peter 5:1-4)

1 Peter 5:1-4

There has never been a greater need for upright leaders in our country than now. It ought not surprise us that the greatest lessons in leadership come not from the latest leadership books but from the Bible. Harvard, Princeton, and Yale were originally founded as training centers to produce godly, Christian leaders. They took their lead from the Good Book.

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Suffering for Heaven’s Sake (1 Peter 4:12-19)

1 Peter 4:12-19

No one likes to suffer. When given a choice between suffering or maintaining a sense of peace and tranquility, almost all will want to choose the latter. This makes sense. We were never meant to be at home with pain and suffering. Pain and suffering did not exist in Eden (Genesis 2:4-25). Nor will it exist in the New Heaven and New Earth, where there will be no more death, mourning, crying, or pain (Revelation 24:4). Our hearts naturally desire to be in a state of peace, harmony, and tranquility, where suffering and pain are eliminated.

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Our View of the Future Shapes How We Live (1 Peter 4:7-11)

1 Peter 4:7-11

How you view the future dramatically impacts how you live. If you view the future as bleak and hopeless, you will live as if nothing really matters. You will have no motivation to do good, because your dismal efforts carry no lasting weight. On the other hand, if you believe the future depends solely on your actions, you will become frustrated – even violent – if things do not go your way.

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Sex, Party, and the Christian (1 Peter 4:1-7)

1 Peter 4:1-7

There are many behaviors that Christians adhere to that society at best views as peculiar and at worst as worthy of ridicule. Times have not changed much since Peter wrote his First Letter nearly two thousand years ago. Roman society viewed such things as unbridled sexual behavior, drunkenness, and disorderly party culture as undesirable. However, most of the people back then, like people today, felt such ideals out of touch, or at least out of reach. Peter called his fellow brothers and sisters in Christ to resist such urges to follow the culture, “They are surprised that you do not join them in their reckless, wild living, and they heap abuse on you (1 Peter 4:4).”

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Our Age of Distraction (Mark 10:45)

Mark 10:45

Submitted by Andy McIlvain

We live in the most distracted age in history. And we in the West are the most distracted.

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Help, I’m a Christian and Don’t Know What to Do (1 Peter 3:8-12)

1 Peter 3:8-12

At a time of intense division, how can Christians walk straight in the social fog? My dad, who lived through the turbulent late 1960s and contributed to a degree to that turbulence, recently told me he cannot remember the country being as divided as it is now. Like most Americans, I care deeply about our country. I don’t like to see the violence. I can hear the pain in the many voices, even the voices I may not agree with. How can I, a Christian, find my way through the fog?

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Practice Your Independence with Dependence (1 Peter 2:13-17)

1 Peter 2:13-17

At a time when governmental interference into our personal lives is at an all time high, the Bible’s command to submit to our governing authorities may sound like more intrusion than help (1 Peter 2:13-17). However, this command may be the healing balm Christians can offer our fragmenting nation.

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