If left to our own way of life we will drift to old behavior patterns. Slowly but surely we will drift. The drift of self leads to sin and to ultimate trouble. Recently God showed me a picture of me fishing on the side of a stream. Though I have only fished on a bank once I can attest to the fact that it doesn't take long for the bobber at the end of the line to start to drift toward the bank. So our life drifts into sin when we do not purposefully, carefully, and continually pursue God.
If you have ever said to yourself, "How did I end up here?", you have experienced the drift. The drift of sin takes us farther than we want to go, it keeps us longer than we want to stay, and it costs us more than we want to pay. We must recast our line in a fresh way and in new effort toward God. We must carefully focus on His word and continually seek Him in a new way. Don't let your line drift to the bank or worse - get caught and entangled in the lines of others!
Avoiding the drift of self/sin requires us to RE-CAST. It requires purposeful action. Cast off in a new way in the direction of Jesus. Direction, not intent, determines our destination. In order to make sure we are not drifting we need to ask ourselves, and often:
1) Where am I? Pause and take a look.
2) Where do my actions appear to be 'taking me'?
3) What was the last thing I did to cast a fresh line?
Maybe a fresh cast is to go to a mid-week church service, or keep the radio off in the car and speak to God while you drive to work? Maybe a fresh cast is to get up an hour earlier and to make a gratitude list of all God has done for you or to forgive someone who has wronged you? Maybe a fresh cast is to quit complaining for a day or to show love and be of service? Ask God to reveal to you fresh ways to seek Him and you will experience His redeeming power and life in a grand way!! He promises to be found when we diligently seek Him. When we cast a fresh line into the word and in prayer we will come to know Jesus more. God will give you creative ways to put your life before him in a new way and you will shine and sparkle like a rich jewel.
So cast out a fresh line as often as you can!
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Wow! that was great! it is so important for us to keep our mind on Jesus becasue like you said it is so easy to drift off... we must remember the power we have through the Spirit of God to refuse sin and tempations. Remember Romans 6...Its a great chapter in the bible. :) I talk about it in my blog http://oliviamedina.wordpress.com/ you can check it out. :)
ReplyDelete-olivia