The scribes and Pharisees wanted Jesus to conform.  They didn’t like the way He ate nor the company He kept.  They despised His apparent neglect of their traditions.  His ways simply did not mesh with theirs.  Jesus made it clear that His gospel was incompatible with their teachings.  It was like a new piece of cloth or new wine, which is the fresh unfermented juice.  “And he spake also a parable unto them; No man putteth a piece of a new garment upon an old; if otherwise, then both the new maketh a rent, and the piece that was taken out of the new agreeth not with the old.  And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish. But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved. No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he saith, The old is better” Luke 5:36-39. 

"Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts, which wage war against the soul." 1 Peter 2:11 NASB

With a term of endearment and tender affection, Peter begins a new section describing his readers as aliens and strangers. These terms describe one who is living in a land that is not his own. Peter may have been calling the believers temporary residents, referring to their home in heaven and not in this physical world. He urges them to stay away from worldly, fleshly desires. Believers are not exempt from temptations caused by desires of all kinds that seek to destroy their spiritual life and make them ineffective in their witness to others.

Remember that old Hank Williams song? Well, it had a country music message; you know, it was a ..."she done me wrong, I am hurting, my heart is breaking and I'll never get over this one"...kind of song. But we know, that for many,

June is a blissful month of celebrating marriage. Already, you probably have attended several weddings this month. There seems to be at least two each weekend all the way through the month. We just hope and pray that the commitments and pledges made will be honored by the bride and groom as they move on down through the years.

I recently read an article in IMPART Magazine by Mark Jones and felt impressed to share some of his teaching.

In 1 Corinthians 15:33 the Bible says, Do not be deceived: ?Evil company corrupts good habits.  The plain, simple truth is that those we choose to hang out with will determine who we become.  Evil or wrong company won’t overwhelm or overpower our will.  However, by allowing those kinds of people into our lives, we open ourselves up to their influence.