WHATEVER IS PURE
Carey Madding
Today's Scripture: “Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.” James 1;21, ESV
Theme: Get rid of all filth (which can feed anger).
WHAT I WANT TO DO
My undergraduate degree is in English. My hobby is reading. Some of my giftings are writing and editing. My quiet time is always first reading, followed by my written thoughts. I am such a passionate reader that I must tell myself: “Don’t start another book until your taxes are done.” “You can’t pick up your story until the bills are paid.” I have a new reading hack: if I am on a long solo drive, need to fold the laundry, or pick up the house, I switch to an audible book and have that one running concurrently. It doesn’t much matter the genre (although I avoid lewd romances, demonic thrillers, and such.) If you’ve got a good book recommendation, hit me up.
GIGO
Computer science and IT types use the phrase “garbage in; garbage out” (GIGO) to explain that if you put bad data (addresses, GPS coordinates, or whatever you are trying to track) into your database, you will get worthless reports. When I am faithful and consistent with my daily time in the Word of God, I can hear Him whisper into my soul, and my words, and even wisdom, pour from that source. Maybe I’m in Ezra or Ezekiel – which sometimes seem to have no relation to the tasks ahead of my day. Yet God bubbles up what I have just read and applies it to my life, my project, or my friend’s need in a way that can only be supernaturally empowered.
The exact opposite can also be true. Tom Clancy’s Patriot Games, Hunt for Red October, and more were favorites long before the movies. I followed his character (Jack Ryan) through thick and thin. Obviously, I like Tom Clancy. However, his book, A Clear and Present Danger, messed with my head. In it, we end up following a squad of military men into the jungles of Columbia, fighting a covert war against the drug cartels. Can I just say, the grunts’ language was foul, frequent, and pervasive?!? Though I have plenty of sins, crass language, vulgarity, cussing, and taking the Lord’s Name in an inappropriate way had not been one of them. Yet, that book caused me to think words I had never said out loud; I mentally applied them to situations with regularity...until I put down the book. Which God convinced me I had to do.
BIG AND LITTLE WAYS
In all kinds of ways—from a juicy bit of gossip at the water fountain, to watching that one show, or downloading that new song God said not to buy—we indulge in deliberate sin when we want to do it. And that embeds “filthiness and rampant wickedness” in our hearts. Then it comes out.
Jesus said: “The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45, ESV). There is no way in “H. E. Double Hockey Sticks” that I can read that kind of language all day and not think it -- the real version of it. There is no way that it will not become the regular, rancid overflow of my heart into my mouth. In fact, hell rejoices when these things become a routine part of my mind, heart, mouth, being, and sadly, my testimony to the world. Because someone is always going to find out.
Make It Personal: In what area is God speaking to you now? Do not feel an overwhelming sense of guilt. Just review your Input/Output. Ask God what area He needs you to flee, put down, avoid, or remove from your device. What place do you need to vacate? Ask Jesus for forgiveness and start the new thing He wants to do in your life to replace this old habit with one that glorifies Him.
Pray: Lord, thank You for always and repeatedly washing me white as snow. Thank You for Your Spirit, who tenderly whispers “Whoa. Not that way. Not that thing.” Help me to hear, stop, and be glad to have a tangible way to obey. I love You and want to honor You. In Your Name I pray. Amen.
Read: Ephesians 4:22-24; 1 Peter 2:11; Romans 6:6; Philippians 4:8
Weekly Memory Verse: "Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. Ephesians 4:32, NLT