Unspotted by the World

My husband preaching "Pure Religion or Purely Religious"

 

I am in complete wonder and awe at how my God loves me.  How He steers me when I start to vear to the right or to the left.  Have you ever found yourself veering and not even know that you were doing it?  Or maybe you did but you did not think that it was enough to move you completely into another lane? 

This make's me think of a road, and your moving along this road which has ferocious curves and roller coaster hills and sometimes steep mountains.  It may be smooth, straight, and long like the roads in New Mexico.  It may be dirt, gravel, or paved (or completely covered in potholes like here in Ukraine), but you still manage to stay on this road no matter how bad it gets.  Sometimes you were speeding through and sometimes slowly cruising.  But the danger comes when you start veering.  You may only veer alittle, but depending on the road, alittle veer can send you over a steep cliff, or you can just catch the curb and it send you tumbling off the road.  I've always been very nervous about riding too close to the edge of a road. I'm always worried that I'll run off of the road and end up wreaking.  That's a constant fear when I'm driving, especially on  our Ashe County NC mountain roads. 

Not until recently, though, did it even cross my mind that I had not been doing that spiritually. I had not been aware of my position on this road of life.  I'm still on the road, I haven't wrecked, but I have not been as conscience and aware of where I was or how close I may be to the curb....that was an eye opener for me!!!

All this came about from a message my husband had preached out of James 1:21-27.  He was preaching on Pure Religion or Purely Religious.  The thing that got me was vs. 27 at the end where it says...to keep himself unspotted from the world.  That hit me like a ton of bricks.  It stirred in my heart like a tornado.  You would think, since I am an KJB only independent Baptist that that would be a no brainer.  But is it really.  Do we sometimes let ourselves see things we shouldn't be seeing or do we hear things we shouldn't be hearing.  Or do we put ourselves in a place where the world is much closer than it should be.  And I am not taking about blatant sin.  But, watching a movie with one bad word, or when they mention something that makes you uncomfortable.  Do you keep watching, or do you let that part of the "world" rub off on you, or spot you? So many times, here in Ukraine, morality is not in their vocabulary, so you see a lot of things you don't want to see.  But it's the attitude of heart and mind that helps you not to be spotted....to think on these things (Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Phil. 4:8)

Sometimes I find it absolutely amazing at how God can just open your eyes so wide open about certain things at certain times.  Why now?  Why not earlier?  Not that I didn't understand that verse of scripture before, but that it spoke volumes to me on that Sunday.  It was like when I got saved. It was how the way I thought and saw things was so different.  How my thoughts processed differently.  This is what I like to call the Great White Way :)  How God gives light in certain areas, and if our reaction is one of repentance and submission, it purifies us, it cleanses us. 

But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.   Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.   Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.   Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.   Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.  James 4:6-10

I see that sometimes I get so caught up in life I forget to "walk circumspectly". I forget to stay conscientious about those things which I often take for granted. Sometimes I forget about all those potholes in the road dug out by those who would like to see the end of me.  Hitting enough of those potholes without the proper daily maintenance in all probability can also cause a wreak.  I don't want to become shipwrecked....  Daily maintenance of Bible reading and prayer is the way to keep everything tight and running.  Not forgetting the occasional part replacement that will need to take place (biblically called pruning)....