8 reasons we fail to follow God's way: Presumption (of His Forgiveness)

September 20, 2016

Worship: I Will Not Be Moved, by Natalie Grant

I have been a wayward child,
I have acted out,
I have questioned sovereignty,

And had my share of doubts,

And though sometimes,
My prayers feel like they’re bouncing off the sky,
The hand that holds won't let me go,

And is the reason why

I will stumble, I will fall down
But I will not be moved
I will make mistakes, I will face heartache,

But I will not be moved

On Christ the solid rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand,

I will not be moved

Bitterness has plagued my heart,
Many times before,
My life has been a broken glass,
And I have kept the score,
Of all my shattered dreams,

And though it seemed,

That I was far too gone,
My brokenness helped me to see,
It's grace I'm standing on.

I will stumble, I will fall down
But I will not be moved
I will make mistakes, I will face heartache,
But I will not be moved

On Christ the solid rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand,
I will not be moved

And chaos in my life,
Has been a badge of war,
And though I have been torn,
I will not be moved

I will make mistakes, I will face heartache,
But I will not be moved

On Christ the solid rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand,
I will not be moved

Songwriters
NATALIE GRANT

Published by
Lyrics © RAZOR & TIE DIRECT LLC

Read more: Natalie Grant - I Will Not Be Moved Lyrics | MetroLyrics 

https://youtu.be/gTeQdLKiRg8

Witness:

As I have said before, I struggle with pride. Pride born of the fear that I really am a failure and what I say or do is really worthless and unedifying. The Lord called me out on this the other day when I was looking at a post on the internet. I “liked” the post, but I just felt that this person could not have written such a good word of exhortation. So, I copied the article and googled it. Sure enough, I found out that someone else had said it. No credit was given to that person. Before this, I also read another brother’s post and wondered if he was writing them or sharing a devotional series he was reading. After a while, I realized it was the latter. I was delighted when I found these things out. I felt better about myself. I was a spiritual snob.

Why did I do this? Because of envy and pride. After all, I had formal training in Bible College and Seminary, and they didn’t. I felt inferior for a moment and sought to feel superior again. One wonders if those who mocked the Lord and the Disciples because of they hadn’t attended the sanctioned rabbinical schools of the day were not envious of them in some way. However, it is more than that. I also felt inferior suddenly, like when someone gives a good piece of advice to someone I am counseling with, and wish I had thought of it. I feel inferior and useless when this happens. It is then that the Lord spoke to my spirit and reminded me that we are all just vessels that, in His grace, He chooses to speak through. He could just as well have communicated through a donkey – and He has (see Numbers 22:28). With those thoughts in my mind, I had to humble myself and confess to God that I had been such a “Jackass.” I don’t like using such words, but the enormity of the realization called for stronger language to describe what I was acting like in my pride. We are all servants of the Lord called to minister to others with the gifts He has given us without comparing ourselves to others. Is this not one of the points Paul was trying to make to the Corinthians who were dividing themselves up into clicks around certain “celebrity saints”? (1 Cor. Chapters 1, 3). Finally, I need to remember 1 Corinthians 4:7.

For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?
NIV

WORD:

Ps 25:8-10  Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in his ways. 9 He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way. 10 All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful for those who keep the demands of his covenant. NIV (1984)	Ps 25:8-10 8 The LORD is good and does what is right; he shows the proper path to those who go astray. 9 He leads the humble in doing right, teaching them his way. 10 The Lord leads with unfailing love and faithfulness all who keep his covenant and obey his demands. Holy Bible, New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.
Ps 25:8-10 8 Good and upright is the LORD therefore will he teach sinners in the way. 9 The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way. 10 All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies. KJV	Ps 25:8-10 8 Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in the way. 9 He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way. 10 All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies. ESV

Question: Why would we fail to follow the way that God points out to us?

8 reasons:

1. fear

2. Pride

3. doubt (towards God)

4. ignoring

5. rebellion

6. distractions

7. presumption (of His forgiveness)

8. doubtfulness (in yourself)

How many professed Christians presume upon the grace of God? They reason that they are human and are going to fail. God knows this. Therefore, He will overlook their sins. With this belief in mind, they often do not think it is necessary to change their lifestyle or read God’s Word to see how they should live. They ignore such verses as:

Phil 2:12-13

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed — not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence — continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
NIV

Heb 12:14-17

Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no "root of bitterness" springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.
ESV

Titus 2:11-14

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope — the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.NIV

I began by calling them professed Christians because many are not true Christians. They heard the message of the Cross and responded with a raised hand, but they did this to have their sins forgiven and to have their “fire insurance.” To receive their “get out of hell” pass. There was no repentance over their sins, and they weren’t seeking freedom from the power of sin over their life just forgiveness.

Having this attitude and understanding of the gospel leads to weak Christianity and deception. Many who presumed upon the grace and mercy of God but failed to see God’s purpose in saving them will find themselves amongst those weeping and gnashing their teeth (Matthew 13:41-42, 22:11-14). True believers hunger and thirst for righteousness (Matthew 5:6). One way that hunger is fed and that thirst quenched is through the Word.

Matt 4:4

Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"
NIV

1 Peter 2:1-3

Therefore, putting aside all malice and all guile and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, like newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the word, that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.NASB

Wiersbe, commenting on 1 Peter 2:1-3, says:

God's Word has life, gives life, and nourishes life. We should have appetites for the Word just Like hungry newborn babes! We should want the pure Word, unadulterated, because this alone can help us grow. When I was a child, I did not like to drink milk (and my father worked for the Borden Dairy!), so my mother used to add various syrups and powders to make my milk tastier. None of them really ever worked. It is sad when Christians have no appetite for God's Word, but must be "fed" religious entertainment instead. As we grow, we discover that the Word is milk for babes, but also strong meat for the mature (1 Cor 3:1-4; Heb 5:11-14). It is also bread (Matt 4:4) and honey (Ps 119:103).(from The Bible Exposition Commentary. Copyright © 1989 by Chariot Victor Publishing, and imprint of Cook Communication Ministries. All rights reserved. Used by permission.)

Perhaps this is a good place to plug back into the passage of Scripture from whence I am basing this study on.

Ps 25:8-10

 Good and upright is the LORD;

therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.

He guides the humble in what is right

and teaches them his way.

All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful

for those who keep the demands of his covenant. NIV (1984)

The sinner hears the Word in the form of the good news, the gospel of God’s grace in redeeming the sinner through the death of His Son on the Cross. He hears that Christ bore the full wrath of God for guilty, sinful humanity. In response, the sinner repents of their sins and in faith receives the forgiveness of their sins, eternal life, and the joy and satisfaction in knowing the God who instructs them in His ways. They come to know that God’s paths are paved with “steadfast love and faithfulness” (v. 10a ESV). These are those described as those who “keep his covenant and his testimonies” (v. 10b ESV).

The true believer desires the wheat of God’s Word, but the presumptuous desire only the chaff of fleshly reasoning, external religiosity, and a god whose love is seen in permissiveness and indifference. Please don’t misunderstand what I am saying lest you think that I am teaching perfectionism. Scripture reveals and experience shows that we often stumble in our walk along God’s path. Yet, our desire is to please our Father and are grieved when we disappoint Him. We know the truth and the promises found in 1 John.

1 John 1:5-10

This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.
NIV

In that same letter, he also says this of the true believer.

1 John 2:3-6

We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.
NIV

And

1 John 3:4-10

Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.ESV

God loves His children and sometimes along the way He not only instructs them He disciplines them (Hebrews 12:7-11). God loves us as we are with all our faults and brokenness, but His love, His “goodness and uprightness” (Psalm 25:8), will not allow Him to keep us there. He has a supreme goal in mind, that of bringing glory to Himself through the conforming work of His Holy Spirit in transforming us into the likeness of His Son.

Rom 8:29-30

For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
NIV

And

2 Cor 3:17-18

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

ESV

The true believer finds freedom and transformation. The presumptuous will say, “see Paul says there is freedom in Christ,” as if that means that we are free to live as we want. Listen to the what Wiersbe says concerning this passage.

2 Corinthians 3:17-18

Verse 17 is grossly misused and quoted to excuse all kinds of unspiritual practices. "The Lord is that Spirit"; when sinners turn to Christ, it is through the ministry of the Spirit. And the Spirit gives liberty from spiritual bondage. The Old Covenant was a covenant of works and bondage (Acts 15:10). But the New Covenant is a ministry of glorious liberty in Christ (Gal 5:1 ff). This liberty is not license; it is freedom from fear, sin, the world, and legalistic religious practices. Every Christian is like Moses: with an unveiled face, we can come into the presence of God and enjoy His glory yes, receive that glory and become more like Christ! In v. 18, Paul illustrates the meaning of sanctification and growing in grace. He compares the Word of God to a mirror ("glass" James 1:23-25). When the people of God look into the Word of God and see the glory of God, the Spirit of God transforms them to be like the Son of God (Rom 8:29). "Changed" in this verse is the same as the Gk. word for "transformed" in Rom 12:2 and "transfigured" in Matt 17:2, and explains how we have our minds renewed in Christ. The Christian is not in bondage and fear; we can go into the very presence of God and enjoy His glory and grace. We do not have to wait for Christ to return to become like Him; we can daily grow "from glory to glory" (v. 18).

(from Wiersbe's Expository Outlines on the New Testament. Copyright © 1992 by Chariot Victor Publishing, an imprint of Cook Communication Ministries. All rights reserved.)

The presumptuous do not see the need for, nor desire the instruction of God. The predestined see the need and savor the instruction of the Lord. The presumptuous are destined for perdition. The predestined for paradise. To the presumptuous, grace is cheap. To the predestined, grace is a treasure. The presumptuous are satisfied in self-fulfillment. The predestined are satisfied in self-denial.

Matt 16:24-27

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?

NIV

God of my delight

Teach me Your way

Satisfy my longings

In Your Word each day

May I never presume

On Your mercy and grace

But daily seek Your will

And Your way embrace

                               - Amen

8 reasons we fail to follow God's way: Distractions

September 18, 2016

Worship: Under the Grace by Phil Keaggy

I lie awake in the middle of the night again
I try to make some sense of it all rushing in
There's so much I feel within this heart of mine
I well up inside and my eyes, they overflow
For I know it is grace.

The look of love in the shape of your face I have known
It speaks of this deep sacrifice you have shown
And the wonder of it all is I didn't deserve this, I couldn't have planned it so right
And so my eyes, they overflow, let it rain, let it pour, let it go
For I know this, yes, I know, it is grace.

And the hungry in heart seeks for its place and a home,
It may tear you apart when you see what this grace here has done
Fly, fly all you burdens, go fly away
It's here I remain, under the grace, the grace.

It seems there's so little time to make amends here
If not for you, well, then I'm without a friend here.

And the hungry in heart seeks for its place and a home
It may tear you apart when you see what this grace here has done
Fly, fly all you burdens, go fly away
It's here I remain, under the grace, the grace.

I lie awake in the middle of the night again, again.

Lyrics: http://lyrics.wikia.com/wiki/Phil_Keaggy:Under_The_Grace

Video: https://youtu.be/NsPnuDIqVUU

Witness:

Every day can be a struggle:

·        The tyranny of the urgent

·        The relentless routine we face every day

·        The stress and guilt we feel because of unmet goals, deadlines, personal failures or expectations

·        circumstances and experiences in our lives such as the death of a loved one, divorce, loss of employment or health

These all can suck the life out of us. Our spiritual well-being, our emotional balance, and our physical strength. In those times, we can choose to wallow in our weaknesses and burdens or worship the One whose grace is sufficient in our weakness (2 Cor. 12:9). Yes, I know it isn’t a simple thing to do. Many times I find myself worshiping only to find myself wallowing again in the mire of my own despair. Thoughts are a funny thing. One minute you are reveling in the heights of ecstasy, as you contemplate on the greatness of our Lord and Savior. The next moment you are down in the depths of misery as the enemy reminds you of your present circumstances (somElijahetimes he doesn’t even have to do this – we can be our own worst enemy when it comes to our own thoughts). I call this the Elijah syndrome (see my September 15, 2015 “Witness “entry). One minute Elijah is facing the prophets of Baal up on the mountain and the next minute running for his life down into the desert. When this occurs in our day, we must remember the words of David and his prescription for overcoming this syndrome. 

Why are you downcast, O my soul?

Why so disturbed within me?

Put your hope in God,

for I will yet praise him,

my Savior and 6 my God.

Ps 42:5-6 NIV

Hope and praise are the answer. Don’t wallow… worship! I found myself in this dilemma on Saturday. I had shared this principle in the Saturday morning Lifegroup I attend. That very same day and all through the night I was tested on this. I found it at once to be very disquieting and perplexing to my soul to be faced with an onslaught of circumstances and thoughts that sought to defeat me. I was not sufficient for such an attack, but my God was. I declared every time I slipped into the wallow hole that my enemy could not keep me there and worshiped in song and by quoting Scripture, which is the sword of the Spirit. I confessed that the enemy may have frustrated me at times during the night when I slipped back into the mire of despondency, but my victory was assured because I was more than a conqueror through Him who loved me (Rom. 8:37). One song that brought tears of praise and joy was the song I heard Saturday night while getting ready for work. It is the song I have used for my “Worship” portion of this journal entry. These words arrested my attention and brought me with upraised hand and tear-filled eyes to the throne of grace!

“And the hungry in heart seeks for its place and a home

It may tear you apart when you see what this grace here has done

Fly, fly all you burdens, go fly away

It's here I remain, under the grace, the grace.”

Who shall ever separate us from Christ's love? Shall suffering and affliction and tribulation? Or calamity and distress? Or persecution or hunger or destitution or peril or sword?  Even as it is written,

For Thy sake we are put to death all the day long; we are regarded and counted as sheep for the slaughter.  [Ps 44:22.]

Yet amid all these things we are more than conquerors and gain a surpassing victory through Him Who loved us. For I am persuaded beyond doubt (am sure) that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things impending and threatening nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Rom. 8:35-39 AMP

https://i.vimeocdn.com/video/115530319_1280x720.jpg

WORD:

Ps 25:8-10  Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in his ways. 9 He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way. 10 All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful for those who keep the demands of his covenant. NIV (1984)

Ps 25:8-10 8 The LORD is good and does what is right; he shows the proper path to those who go astray. 9 He leads the humble in doing right, teaching them his way. 10 The Lord leads with unfailing love and faithfulness all who keep his covenant and obey his demands. Holy Bible, New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.

Ps 25:8-10 8 Good and upright is the LORD therefore will he teach sinners in the way. 9 The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way. 10 All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies. KJV

Ps 25:8-10 8 Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in the way. 9 He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way. 10 All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies. ESV

Question: Why would we fail to follow the way that God points out to us?

8 reasons:

1. fear

2. Pride

3. doubt (towards God)

4. ignoring

5. rebellion

6. distractions

7. presumption (of His forgiveness)

8. doubtfulness (in yourself)

As if to drive home the meaning of this word (and with a little ironic humor from the Lord I believe) I was distracted by a guitar jam by Phil Keaggy who is playing in the background as I was trying to begin this portion of my journal.  Even now, I want to go back and watch the video. Now my dog, Prince, wants me to pet him. Distractions, they meet us at every crucial juncture in our lives. We have an important decision to make concerning serving the Lord, or in spending time in the Word, and we let distractions get in our way. They seem innocent enough. They may even have spiritual significance, but when we allow them to distract us, we are taking our eyes off the path the Lord wants us to choose whether it be a time in the word or a task he wants us to accomplish.

A perfect example of distraction is found in the Gospel of Luke:

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made.Luke 10:38-40 NIV

And there are other examples as well:

Distracted by the stormy waves, Peter sank (Mt. 14:30). Distracted by the world, Demas abandoned his ministry with Paul (2 Tim. 4:10). Paul’s thorn in the flesh was a distraction until he learned that God’s grace was sufficient, for His power was made perfect in weakness (2 Cor. 12:9).

Some distractions that keep us from following the path of the Lord are the idols and lusts that line the way seeking to distract us with their wares (lust is a form of idolatry because it is the inordinate over desiring of something that may be morally neutral in itself such as sex or money or food). Think of Solomon enticed to idolatry by his many foreign wives (1 Kings 11:4). The Apostle Paul speaks of the person distracted by a desire to be rich wandering from the faith and being pierced with all kinds of grief (1 Tim. 6:10) and while food is not the only meaning tied into Philippians 3:19 it is undoubtedly one of them.

Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.Phil 3:19 ESV

It is interesting to note where this phrase “god is their belly” comes from. Some commentators say Paul had borrowed the thought from the story of the Cyclops of Euripides who said:

"My flocks which I sacrifice to no one but myself, and not to the gods, and to this my belly the greatest of the gods: for to eat and drink each day, and to give oneself no trouble, this is the god for wise men" ("Cyclops," 334-338).(from Vincent's Word Studies in the New Testament, Electronic Database. Copyright © 1997, 2003, 2005, 2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Herein are the distractions that keep us from following God’s path. It is the mind set on the things of this earth. John says this about these things:

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. For all that is in the world— the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
1 John 2:15-17 ESV

It is also interesting to note what John’s last words are in this same epistle:

Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.1 John 5:21 NIV

What steps can we take to avoid these distractions?  I came up with six. Perhaps these will help us to keep the distractions out as we focus on glorifying the Lord in our thoughts and actions.

Set –

            your mind –

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
Col 3:1-4 NIV

Your eyes –

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal2 Cor 4:18 NIV

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of GodHeb 12:2 NIV

Slay (I have Warren Wiersbe to thank for this one, “Slay the Earthly (Col. 3:5-9)”

(from The Bible Exposition Commentary. Copyright © 1989 by Chariot Victor Publishing, and imprint of Cook Communication Ministries. All rights reserved. Used by permission.)) –

Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.  You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived.  But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.
Col 3:5-10 NIV

Seek –

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.Matt 6:33 NIV

Serve –

Serve the Lord with gladness!Come into his presence with singing!Ps 100:2 ESV

Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire.
Heb 12:28-29 NASB

Saturate –

Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.KJV

Blessed is the manwho does not walk in the counsel of the wickedor stand in the way of sinnersor sit in the seat of mockers. (i.e. the distractors!)
But his delight is in the law of the Lord,and on his law he meditates day and night.
Ps 1:1-2 NIV

Set Apart –

Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good?  But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. "Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened."(i.e. the distractions)  But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.
1 Peter 3:13-17 NIV

Or as the Message paraphrases verses 15-16:

Through thick and thin, keep your hearts at attention, in adoration before Christ, your Master. Be ready to speak up and tell anyone who asks why you're living the way you are, and always with the utmost courtesy.
1 Peter 3:15-16 (from THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language © 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved.)

Finally, we must sometimes let other things go for that which is most important. I have sat here working on this journal since sometime after 10 pm yesterday till now, which is 4 am. I know most people don’t have that kind of time and usually, I don’t. However, I have the time today on my day off to do it. Yet the only way this was accomplished was by forgetting about the dishes and the laundry to do that which is more important – to worship the Lord, witness to something the Lord is teaching me, and meditate on truths found in His WORD. He is my “one thing” (Luke 10:42).

You guide me with your counsel,

and afterward you will take me into glory.

Whom have I in heaven but you?

And earth has nothing I desire besides you.

My flesh and my heart may fail,

but God is the strength of my heart

and my portion forever.

Ps 73:24-26 NIV

My One Thing by Rich Mullins

"Everybody I know says they need just one thing

And what they really mean is that they need just one thing more

And everybody seems to think they've got it coming

Well I know that I don't deserve You

Still I want to love and serve You more and more

You're my one thing

Save me from those things that might distract me

Please take them away and purify my heart

I don't want to lose the eternal for the things that are passing

'Cause what will I have when the world is gone

If it isn't for the love that goes on and on with

My one thing

You're my one thing

And the pure in heart shall see God

You're my one thing

You're my one thing

And the pure in heart shall see God

Who have I in Heaven but You Jesus

And what better could I hope to find down here on earth

I could cross the most distant reaches

Of this world but I'd just be wasting my time

'Cause I'm certain already I'm sure I'd find

You're my one thing (one thing)

You're my one thing (one thing)

And the pure in heart shall see God

You're my one thing (one thing)

You're my one thing (one thing)

And the pure in heart shall see God

Every night and every day

You hold on tight

Or you drift away

And you're left to live

With the choices you make

Oh Lord please give me the strength

To watch and work and love and sing and pray

'Cause who have I in Heaven but You Jesus

And what better could I hope to find down here on earth

Well I could cross the most distant reaches

Of this world but I'd just be wasting my time

'Cause I'm certain already I'm sure I'd find

You're my one thing (one thing)

You're my one thing (one thing)

And the pure in heart shall see God

You're my one thing (one thing)

You're my one thing (one thing)

And the pure in heart shall see God

You're my one thing

One thing

You're my one thing

The pure in heart the pure in heart

One thing

And I know that the pure

That the pure in heart (that the pure in heart shall see God)

And I know that the pure in heart shall see God

And I know that the pure

That the pure in heart (that the pure in heart shall see God)

And I know that the pure in heart shall see God

And I know that the pure

That the pure in heart (that the pure in heart shall see God)

And I know that the pure in heart shall see God

That the pure in heart (that the pure in heart shall see God)

And I know that the pure in heart shall see God"

Lyrics: https://www.lyricsbox.com/rich-mullins-my-one-thing-lyrics-g1fl77j.html

Video: https://youtu.be/9aqP-A4tKCA