Time for Gardening

I was really blessed in church yesterday and how relevant the sermon is today. The sermon was “Are you prepared”. I wanted to reflect on my life and consider, am I prepared? We live in a world where the influence of Satan is allowed to go about seeking whom he might destroy.

John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy

Jesus was tempted as we are tempted. His victory was in denying Himself and honoring His Father. Satan tempted Him with a kingdom. He was not living in the Ritz Carleton and Satan wanted to offer Him something enticing. He was not offering Him something that was sinful in itself.

Satan does not offer us things that are offensive (or not at first anyways), he is strategic in his plotting. I believe we have come to the place where gradual deception has been surpassed. You cannot look at a magazine rack in a store, watch television or go shopping without the effects of a sinful world touching you. We have all seen too much and heard too much and it has taken its toll.

We have made the statement loud and clear that we will entertain evil to have what we want. Why haven’t we turned off our televisions in disgust and said to the people in tv world, enough!. Why haven’t we said to the store owner who puts filth in front of our children, enough! We have become complacent, and perhaps a little more worried about what people think of us rather than what God thinks of us. You don’t have to barge into the store angry in a cloud of moral disgust. You can simply let the store owner know that you will not shop there until the magazine rack has been cleaned up. What if 100 people walked into Wal-mart every day for a week and did this? What do you think would happen? I think they would start cleaning the shelf up. What if we Christians turned the television off for one month. We would definitely become closer as a family and Hollywood might consider they are not that attractive anymore.

PS Have you noticed how you can watch a television show and it is really good for a few episodes and then BAM, here comes the immoral behavior so idolized by Hollywood. This is the part where denying the flesh comes in and you turn the show off and stop watching it. I will be honest, sometimes I just want to watch the show because I like it and I am an adult, I know how to process this stuff. Hogwash or as God says:

Job 14:14 Who can bring what is pure from the impure? No one!

Besides the obvious, I can become so busy with the day to day task at hand that I am not having in the front of my mind people are dying and going to hell! Who have I led to the Lord lately? Who have I fed, clothed or gave a drink of water in His name?

Mathew 25: 34 - 40 Then the righteous will answer him Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you? The king will reply Truly, I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.

I am so guilty of trying to justify allowing a little sin into my life, excusing being a little too busy and forgetting to read the bible "one day" and there is no justification and I have no righteous excuse when I read what God’s Word says:

Phillippians 4:8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things.

The tool of Satan is to gradually seep into our lives things that will destroy our relationship with the Heavenly Father. He is trying every day to use things that will desensitize us and separate us from God. I know that I need to take inventory and do some gardening, how about you?