There are things we all do as the cold weather approaches to get prepared for winter. We make sure the gas tanks are full, the filters are clean, all the windows and doors are sealed with no air leaks. We make sure the right amount of antifreeze is in the cars. We switch our summer clothes over to winter in our closets. We get out those jackets and gloves and hats. And my husbands favorite, I start putting the flannel sheets on the bed! These are just some of the things we do to prepare ourselves for winter. Most things we do without even thinking about it, it just becomes second nature over the years. How much the more should it be for us to prevent ourselves from a spiritual winter!
Bear with me for a moment, the other day I was watching a cooking show. They were cooking fresh seafood. The chef bought crab and lobster, fresh from a seafood farm. He placed the crab and lobster on their heads in the freezer. He began explaining that this is the humane way to kill them. They get cold and everything slows down, and they go into a deep sleep. So, when it is time to cook them, they do not feel anything. Well, that got me thinking in a spiritual sense.
Isn't that just what the devil does to you and I? We don't start drifting from God all at once. The devil knows better than to sit a 6 pack of beer in front of us, or whatever the temptation, we won't go for that! But he just starts slowly, gets us to miss a church service here and there, gets us too busy at home to read the Word or stop and pray, and before you know it, we've drifted away from God. If you will, he puts us in the freezer until we are cold, stiff, slow to react, and then he's got us right where he wants us, and can literally kill our christian walk before we even realize what has happened!
I can't help but think of Peter over in Matthew, he was on fire for God, and boasted that even if someone turns their back on Christ, that he would never do that! Well, you know how the story goes, and when that cock crowed for the third time, Peter had indeed denied Christ and went out and wept bitterly!
My friend, prepare for winter! Just as you prepare for the winter season physically, do so for that spiritual winter as well! No matter how we think we could never drift away from God, we ARE human and we will!!
How do we prepare? Well, keep the fire burning!! Any fire that is left unattended will dwindle, and eventually burn out! Every now and again, we must stoke the fire, rattle the dead ashes off, and then add more logs to keep the flames blazing. We've got to hit that prayer closet and shake the dead ashes off, keep reading the Word of God, that will add fuel to the fire! There's no place for turning back, there's nothing to go back to! Stay on fire for God, He's done so much, blessed us so much, been so good to us, we could never repay Him!
No comments:
Post a Comment