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 lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever (1John 2:15-17 NKJV).
Jesus came, obeyed the father’s will, fulfilled his task and is now seated on the throne with God the father. We are encouraged by John the beloved not to love the world or the things of the world. All that is in the world is the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life (1John 2:16). Pride can be defined as allowing our desire for approval and self validation to become more important than that of God’s approval. So pride can be seen as a declaration of independence from God. This occurs when we trust in what we have rather than who we need to have. Pride will eventually lead to death as with many biblical characters who thought they could operate on their own, see 1Samuel 15 and Judges 13-16.
Lust is defined as an overwhelming desire or craving for something or someone. It is akin to love but is about pleasing me, rather than others. So the lust of the eyes is seeing something and wanting to have it [in Caribbean parlance this is called RED EYE]. Similarly the lust of the flesh is seeing someone and wanting to have them.
John warns us against these things and informs us that this is the lot from the world. When we go down this road, we will eventually end up on our own. The pride of life, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes can only be averted by us being humble and saturated with love.
I often heard that prayer was the key to most things, but the Lord revealed to me that prayer is the door to the things of God and love is the key that unlocks that door and this must be done in humility. So today let us humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God and he will exalt us in due season, Right Simon Peter!
Read 1John 2
Pastor Bell's Words To Live By 
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