pramsay posted on October 10, 2012 17:23 3391 views

BIBLE BITES

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SLOPPY LIVING

So what does another chip bag on the floor matter when there are already other empty pretzel bags and cans kicking around! And why worry about the envelopes that slid off the couch and joined the other pieces of crumpled paper and outdated flyers on the floor? As you rigorously brush your teeth, a few fresh spots on the already splattered bathroom mirror are barely noticeable. Why worry? A plate, bowl, spoon and knife from your breakfast? “Just set it there somewhere on the counter or in the sink along with the rest of this week’s buildup. I’ll rinse them off when I need them.”

It’s depressingly incredible with what speed sloppiness morphs into an overwhelming mess!

Paul was writing the believers in Ephesus. In Chapter 5 Paul is stressing how different Christians (children of light) should be from the dark, godless and immoral world all around them. After using descriptive examples of darkness to get his point across, he then says:

Therefore be careful how you walk,
not as unwise men but as wise,
making the most of your time, because the days are evil.
Ephesians 5:15-16

The 1978-83 NIV says it well:

Be very careful, then, how you live
not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity,
because the days are evil.”

Walking and living circumspectly means to live accurately, very carefully, deliberately and diligently, making sure all the safeguards, fences, boundaries and protective measures are in place to minimize the risk of failure, contamination and a mess.

Sloppy, careless, Christian living slides into messy living quickly. Sloppy slack living greases the slide that hastens the slaughter of our testimony. Without a daily disciplined life and without daily spiritual routines and habits we become sloppy spiritually. Without convictions formed with an open Bible and a bowed heart in prayer, we will have no markers to let us know when we are about to slam into hidden reefs. Without pre-established spiritual boundaries – we will slip and slide all over the place, allowing this and then allowing that; and before we know it, the depressing scenario of the opening paragraph above takes on a spiritual significance.

Read the opening paragraph above again and connect the dots spiritually.

Think about your spiritual condition just now. If you detect a certain slackness creeping into your spiritual life confess it to the Lord and implement the corrective measures to reverse the slide.

“Father, help me to be disciplined each day in my walk with You and for You. I want to be consistent in reading Your Word and in my prayers. How richly I have been blessed in Christ. Thank You Lord for saving my soul and for Your preserving care for me. Heighten my sensitivity to sin and preserve me from sloppiness. May the Holy Spirit impress my heart with Scriptural convictions and teach me to only walk in ways that are pleasing to You. Help me to honor Christ today in all aspects of my behaviour. May others see something of Christ in me.”

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