Denying Christ

I knew a young Christian woman who began dating a non-believer, even though she was well aware of God’s clear command not to do so. (2 Corinthians 6:14-18) When she decided to bring her boyfriend home to meet her parents, she told them that she did not want them mentioning anything about God, or their faith, in his presence. As the relationship continued, and this woman kept concentrating on pleasing her boyfriend, rather than God, she had a mental breakdown and ended up in the hospital. Even after being released months later, she continued to struggle with depression and confusion, as she refused to let go of the destructive relationship.
Jesus said: “Therefore, everyone who acknowledges Me before men and confesses Me [out of a state of oneness with Me], I will also acknowledge him before My Father Who is in heaven and confess [that I am abiding in] him. But whoever denies and disowns Me before men, I also will deny and disown him before My Father Who is in heaven.” (Matthew 10:32-33 AMP) These verses make it clear that there is protection in living for Christ, and refusing to keep our faith in Him a secret. When we live in a “state of oneness” with the Lord, He fights our battles for us and meets our needs. And since “He always lives to intercede for [us],” we know that He is continually pleading our case before our Heavenly Father. (Hebrews 7:25 NIV)
Living our lives in a way that denies Christ’s lordship over us makes us an easy target for Satan’s attacks. When this young woman denied her Savior with her lifestyle, she opened the door for the devil to come in and “steal, kill, and destroy.” (John 10:10) We don’t have to go around hitting everyone we meet over the head with our Bibles, but we can’t afford to have people we are in relationship with thinking that we are anything less than totally committed to Christ. Ask the Lord today if there is any area in your life where you might be denying Him by your thoughts, words, or actions. Then commit yourself anew to follow Him wholeheartedly all the rest of your days!