*[1 John 2:15NKJV: Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.]*

Today is our consecration Friday. Consecration is devoting yourself to God and His purposes and staying away from the defilement that is in the world. The world around us is in rebellion against God, disregards the word of God and the standards of God, and embraces sin and evil as a way of life. 1 John 5:19 says “… the whole world is under the control of the evil one.” So the world is under the control of the evil one – Satan. So God instructs us in our opening verse to love NOT the world and the things of the world. Don’t love worldly entertainment that is sensual and perverted, don’t love worldly values that value money and material possessions more than God, don’t love the worldly philosophies and ideologies that ignores God in their wisdom, don’t love the worldly mindset that is proud, self-centered, arrogant and ignorant of spiritual realities.

Satan uses the things in the world to pull us away from God. Many have drifted away from God because of the cares of this world. Remember the world is in rebellion against God and does not embrace the standards of God. So if we love the world, our opening verse says the love of God is not in us. James 4:4 says “…friendship with the world is enmity against God.” If you embrace the worldly values, mindsets and standards, you make yourself an enemy of God because the world is in rebellion against God. This the worst thing that can every happen to anyone – becoming an enemy of God! Your life will be terrible.

The flesh enjoys and is always attracted to the things of the world that is why fasting is important. Fasting denies the flesh a chance to control your life as the Bible says if you follow the flesh you will die. The flesh will pull you into the worldly lifestyle and you will end up in destruction.