Mixture in the Body
Originally written and published on 10th August 2020
As I write this post, I do so with major repentance in my heart for this should have been completed well over a year ago. Yes, I started writing this over a year ago one day when I had an impression in my heart to do so but I got distracted somewhere along the lines, so for those who needed to read this ages ago, I apologise.
Today as I write this, I do so with a real sense of urgency as I can no longer watch the level of deception and spiritual decay taking place around the world and in the body of Christ. This post is most relevant to those in the body of Christ, the Church, the Kingdom; those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and saviour. In the body of Christ today, there is undoubtedly a whole lot of mixture whether we recognise it or not, accept it or not , it is present.
Let’s look at the definition of mixture. A mixture is a substance made by mixing other substances together. It is obtained from a process of mixing or being mixed. It is a combination of different things in which the component elements are individually distinct but they come together to form a new substance. Whichever way we define it, we can safely conclude that this process of mixing forms a new substance of some sort even if we label it with its original name. For example, take a diluted glass of ribena made from concentrate. It is ribena and water, though we will refer to the drink as a glass of ribena, it is still a new substance as it has been diluted.
At this point, you are probably thinking what on earth does this have to do with the image of the coins above.
Well, one glorious morning as I started my day the Lord showed me something. I was doing the girly thing of transferring my stuff from one handbag to another and I noticed my handbag had a quarter (25 US cents) and a dime (10 US cents) that seemed to have dropped out of my wallet. I wondered to myself, how did these coins get there? I travel a fair bit so it wasn’t surprising that I had this currency but in a bid to be organised I have separate wallets for different currencies so that I can ensure I have the right currency in the right country and don’t attempt to spend these in the wrong jurisdiction.
As quickly as I wondered why this had happened, I heard the Lord say “why are surprised by this?”. He then drew my attention to two coins which I picked. They looked similar; the same size, same colour but they were different. One was a dime (10 US cents) issued by the United States Federal Reserve Bank, and the other was 5 UK pence, issued by the Bank of England. Both valid and still in use but in completely different jurisdictions. No matter how affiliated these two nations are, I couldn’t legally use both currencies as I liked.
Ok, but I still wondered why these got mixed up? I mean with all my diligence? Separate wallets and everything! The answer the Lord gave me was “it was bound to happen. No matter how much you think you are diligent in separating your wallets, you often go into both jurisdictions so any residue can fall out. If it was currency in the form of notes, it would definitely be more obvious but the small things can easily slip through. Right there, I understood what the Lord was showing me as He revealed to me that the same goes for how we live our lives.
As believers, we are unlikely to adopt very big obvious worldly practices in our lives but it is the small things that can creep in or rather slip into our lives and seemingly look ok but they are not. Again you can compare the 2 coins I referenced above (google is your friend). They look the same, have the same colour, probably even weigh the same but upon close inspection, we discover that they are not. It would also be illegal to try and spend 5 UK pence in the United States but I can hold both these currencies in the same place (my handbag in this example) as a result of the mixture.
We cannot mix the Word and the world in even what we consider to be the little things…
Lukewarmness is mixture. Lukewarm water is a mix of hot and cold water. In the context of a believer, if one who is on fire for God allows themselves to be influenced by the coldness of the world and then they become lukewarm. When it happens, it is often gradual and one may not often even be aware of how they got there. If you have a bucket of hot water and you keep filling it with spoons of cold water over time before you know it, it will become lukewarm. The same can be said for a believer's life and we will discuss this some more further below. It is not God's desire that we are lukewarm. We are meant to be hot and stay hot, on fire for God. There are no shades of grey in being a true disciple of Jesus Christ.
How does this mixture come about?
Where do I start? Mixture as a believer is essentially, being a believer but allowing oneself or even a movement to be influenced by worldly practices and practices there by mixing the Word of God with these practices which are ways of the world.
Secondly, I would say that I don’t think most people set out intentionally to have mixture in their lives but it is often predicated from the things we don’t do according to the word, such as renewing our mind and the choices we make without listening to the voice of God. Simply put, lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6) and disobedience but I would argue that it is just that latter as we are to gain knowledge day and night (Joshua 1:8) by renewing our mind with the Word of God (Romans 12:2). There comes a point where the lack of knowledge is no longer an excuse. We are also to do better when we know better.
We are also to understand that we are made new in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17) so old things are passed away but if we keep making what I call old decisions, i.e decisions made based on information from our old ways then we are not living in our new reality. Again, we live here but we are not to adopt the ways or principles of the world no matter how popular, mainstream or desensitised society is.
What is the mixture we see in the body of Christ today?
Some common examples are:
New ageism
Yoga (and yes even what is branded ‘Christian yoga’ because believer, the truth is there is no such thing!)
Idolatry (including excessive honour i.e. honouring man over God’s word)
Horoscopes (astrology)
Palm reading
Burning sage
Use of crystals
Sound healing
Adopting practices from the false religions
Grave soaking
Divination
Spiritual manipulation
…and the list goes on.
Now you may not see any or some of the above mentioned activities being directly practised in the church but often, believers and even religious movements within the body of Christ take some elements of things and incorporate them into their belief system/doctrine and that is exactly how mixture comes about. Mixing the gospel with other things.
How do we stay away from mixture?
It may seem tough in today’s world to live without embracing elements of these things but it is possible for us to do all things through Christ (Philippians 4:13) and He has given us all we need for life and living ( 2 Peter 1:3). It is actually easy as long as we truly remain in Christ. Daniel is a great example in scripture of someone who was confronted by worldliness but refused to embrace it. He not only dwelt in Babylon but he thrived there while having total trust in God and not compromising. He did exploits for the God he knew (Daniel 11:32). He is goals, even his friends are goals (see an example in Daniel 3:8-25).
Here are some practical things we can do to ensure we stay away from mixture.
Constant fellowship with Holy Spirit - Holy Spirit is our helper amongst other things and He is the revealer of all truth. Holy Spirit reveals Jesus and shows us how to walk in His ways. Holy Spirit will tell us what is right and wrong thereby keeping us away from mixture as long as we listen to Him and follow His leading.
Meditation & Study of the Word - The Lord tells us in His conversation with Joshua in Joshua 1:8 to meditate on His word day and night so that it becomes part of us. Hebrews 4:12 tells us what the Word does, is a discerner, it cuts through, pierces through darkness. The more of the Word we have, the more discerning we will be.
Identity - If you took a close look at most of the issues in the world today, you would find that the majority of them are rooted in identity issues. That is why it is critical we understand who we are in Christ. We are to come into the knowledge of who we are as Sons of God and live from that place, not from what the world or temporary circumstances tell us. Get to know what God says about you in His word.
Guarding your gates - You have a responsibility to be mindful of what you consume in your soul. Your main gates are your eyes and ears so what you watch and listen to matters. The things you consume, good or bad, feed your soul and create filters in your mind which will influence your choices and decisions. DO NOT leave the responsibility to the media because remember who the prince of the power of the air is (Ephesians 2:2). Also, notice how the media desensitises things a lot, that is why we become tolerant of something that was unacceptable a few years ago even if that thing is wrong (post for another day).
Be a doer of the Word - Be a doer of the word and not just a hearer of the Word. James tells us this in James 1:22 and he goes further to say '“Otherwise, you are deceiving yourselves”, another translation says '“not merely hearers who delude themselves.” and another says “Do what it says”. In simple terms, obey God.
Feeding our faith - Faith is the foundation of our salvation for we are saved and receive Christ by faith. It is important we continue to build our faith and believe in God. Romans 10:17 tells us that Faith comes by hearing the Word of God. As we build our faith we will be more grounded in God and less likely to be deceived by things that are not of God.
Understanding the source - Don’t be blinded by trends or popularity. Understand the source and original intention of what you are doing. If you are sensitive to the Holy Spirit, He will often tell you without you even having to do any research but if unsure, ask questions and allow Him to lead you.
Herd mentality and people pleasing - Accept that you are different (1 Peter 2:9) so stop following the crowd and doing things to get the acknowledgement of others. It is a dysfunctional mindset and is not God’s desire for us. In Galatians 1:10, the Apostle Paul says “If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ”. People pleasing will hinder your relationship with God because we can not serve two masters. We are to look to please Him and Him alone, the rest will fall into place. As you surrender to God, He will give you the wisdom to navigate this.
PRAY PRAY PRAY that you will not be deceived.
I will leave you with two scriptures to ponder on and an old song I love which is so apt, listen to the lyrics and enjoy…
Stay blessed!
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Revelation 2:29
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Matthew 3:2