something to ponder....

Reading: Isaiah 1:15-16

CEASE!

The Bible serves as a record of God’s heart towards His people. As we consider the different challenges of those who are at different spiritual levels, we can see that points of temptation can be different for different people.
For those who are new converts, the old life can constantly tempt them to not only look back, but also go back to certain ways or practices. For those who are mature in Christ, they must be aware of losing their spiritual edge. They can become too comfortable with their life in God. In such complacency, they can become dull, and lose their vision and discernment.
When it comes to the youth, their own strength can cause them to walk in a mixture of religious activity. This is where these young people begin with zeal, but they lack the knowledge or the experience to discern what is of God and what is of man’s religion. If they develop such a mixture, they begin to slide into idolatry in some way.
The people of Israel were at the place where they had taken many detours into the way of the pagans. They had strength as a nation, but they began to morally cave in due to idolatry. As a result, God was hiding His eyes from them. He refused to look on them, which meant He refused to hear them.
However, God will not leave His people to their wicked devices or His judgments without first contending with them. He will always call for them to cease from their wicked ways and repent.
The new convert must remember that he or she must experience death to the old life. The mature must remember to stir themselves up, but the youth must guard their lives to ensure that they do not pick up a mixture of idolatrous nonsense along the way.

Prayer: Lord, it is so easy to pick up a mixture. Help me to walk in sobriety about all that I expose myself to. Lord, I need an excellent spirit to guard my life in You. Amen.

©2008 Rayola Kelley, Gentle Shepherd Ministries. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears.
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