I admit it. I was caught off guard.
When I first heard the announcement that this latest Christian leader had stepped out of leadership in his ministry due to an inappropriate relationship, I was stunned. No, not stunned that it had happened. Ministry has its own set of pitfalls, and for men in ministry there is none so time-tested by the enemy as the ancient trap that caught David in its grasp.
No, I was stunned because I know this man. I have moved in the same circles with his family and his ministry for years. "Not HIM!" was my first thought.
Yes, him.
Yes, me - potentially. Yes, each of us.
The pain of having this so close brings two truths into startling clarity. First, it is far too easy to justify the small steps off the path we walk with our Lord, and we cannot afford that mistake. Second, to think that you will not fall is the greatest pride we can know. We all must acknowledge that the qualities we have come to rely on to survive in this world do not protect us. Intelligence is not a shield. Good intentions - even a tender and gentle heart - do not provide protection from straying away from God's best for our lives.
Realize, the enemy of your soul does not need to persuade you into a 180 degree turn away from God - just one degree will do. One degree now is all that is required to drift away from the most important thing in life.
One degree off course, and a missile will be a mile from its destination after flying for sixty miles. One degree off course, and by the time a captain circumnavigates the globe, he will be 500 miles away from his intended port. A pilot trying to land at JFK airport from LAX had best not have gotten a single degree off course. He would miss his target and leave the passengers clinging to their seat cushions in the frigid waters of the Atlantic. Little foxes certainly do have a way of ruining the vineyard.
We must guard against the unconscious spiritual drift that leads us - not necessarily away from God - but that leads us anywhere but directly into His presence.
Take just a moment today to examine your course. Right now is the perfect time to make a course correction, to set your sights on God, and to pursue Him full speed ahead. His continual abiding presence in our lives is the best compass.
"Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing."
- John 15:4-5 ESV
For His Glory,
Cara & Patti
Classic Christianity
When I first heard the announcement that this latest Christian leader had stepped out of leadership in his ministry due to an inappropriate relationship, I was stunned. No, not stunned that it had happened. Ministry has its own set of pitfalls, and for men in ministry there is none so time-tested by the enemy as the ancient trap that caught David in its grasp.
No, I was stunned because I know this man. I have moved in the same circles with his family and his ministry for years. "Not HIM!" was my first thought.
Yes, him.
Yes, me - potentially. Yes, each of us.
The pain of having this so close brings two truths into startling clarity. First, it is far too easy to justify the small steps off the path we walk with our Lord, and we cannot afford that mistake. Second, to think that you will not fall is the greatest pride we can know. We all must acknowledge that the qualities we have come to rely on to survive in this world do not protect us. Intelligence is not a shield. Good intentions - even a tender and gentle heart - do not provide protection from straying away from God's best for our lives.
Realize, the enemy of your soul does not need to persuade you into a 180 degree turn away from God - just one degree will do. One degree now is all that is required to drift away from the most important thing in life.
One degree off course, and a missile will be a mile from its destination after flying for sixty miles. One degree off course, and by the time a captain circumnavigates the globe, he will be 500 miles away from his intended port. A pilot trying to land at JFK airport from LAX had best not have gotten a single degree off course. He would miss his target and leave the passengers clinging to their seat cushions in the frigid waters of the Atlantic. Little foxes certainly do have a way of ruining the vineyard.
We must guard against the unconscious spiritual drift that leads us - not necessarily away from God - but that leads us anywhere but directly into His presence.
Take just a moment today to examine your course. Right now is the perfect time to make a course correction, to set your sights on God, and to pursue Him full speed ahead. His continual abiding presence in our lives is the best compass.
"Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing."
- John 15:4-5 ESV
For His Glory,
Cara & Patti
Classic Christianity
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