pEach of us has battles that aren’t made any easier by the fact that others aren’t even trying to fight. Ever been in one of those Christian youth talks/sermons/magazines (ahem…) about how we shouldn’t look to things like clothes, or drinking, or partners, to find self-worth? Wherever you’re spending your days, everything from gossip to drink to cheating can make your identity as a Christian feel like it’s constantly under fire. And Jesus isn’t giving us any slack when it comes to compromise. He says, ‘If you love me, you will keep my commandments’ (John 14:15 ESV).br /
So... what’s the way to rise above those pressures? It can’t just be to try harder. Because Jesus’ way isn’t ‘try harder’. It’s ‘try again, now that you’ve got my new life in you’. That’s the only way to do something so super-human. With that in mind, look again at Paul’s response to peer pressure in today’s verse. He didn’t care. It barely sunk in. That’s a miracle, right? He was able to react like that because he had his mind set on, and *changed by*, the God who’d saved him. What’s the key to freedom from pressure, then? God. Sounds simple, and maybe even a bit trite, but it’s true. We can’t beat peer pressure, only Him changing our heart can. We just need to make the decision to ask Him to do that every time we feel ourselves pressured towards something that we know probably isn’t His ideal for our lives. /p
pWhat now?br /
Write a list of what you know you struggle with, and when you’re most likely to feel pressured to do it. Even down to the smallest thing, and pray over it./p