Inspirational thought of the day:

Guard against the pollution of our souls.  Light and darkness have no fellowship apart from God’s grace.

Scripture:

Psalm 1, 3-5

1 “How blessed is the one who does not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand in the pathway of sinner, or sit in the assembly of scoffers! 3 He is like a tree planted by flowing streams; it yields its fruit at the proper time, and its leaves never fall off. 4 Not so with the wicked!  Instead they are like wind-driven chaff. 5 For this reason the wicked cannot withstand judgment, nor can sinners join the assembly of the godly.”

I vividly remember the whipping wind and the piercing sand stinging the back of my legs as I walked down my street in Las Cruces, New Mexico. It was March, the windy season, and you had to be on the watch for tumbleweeds blowing down the street toward you at a rapid pace.  The .7 mile walk to school (yes, I mapquested this, since I was going to guess 2 miles and did not want to exaggerate), seemed like an eternity in such conditions.

What a vivid example it serves to me now as I consider the verses above. The wicked are not able to choose righteousness apart from the grace of God.  Wind-driven chaff such as the tumbleweeds I encountered, are dead and are not able to steer or guide, but are completely driven at the whim of the wind. But the follower of Christ is alive; like a blossoming, fertile tree who does have a choice and is able to choose righteousness by the Holy Spirit.

We are deceived if we think we can dabble in a little wickedness.  A speck of dirt contaminates a glass of water and sin hardens our hearts over time.  But God.

When my children all reached between the ages of eleven and thirteen, I went through the “Passport to Purity” with them – a wonderful study by Dennis & Barbara Rainey for parents to guide their children through discussions about purity.  One statement has left an impression on my children and I like no other.  When confronted by sinners who invited a young man to join in their revelry, the young man commented, “At any moment I could become just like you, but you can never become just like me”.

The wicked cannot choose to be righteous, save the grace of God.  Man cannot undo decisions of impurity, but God can redeem them all.  Praise be to God who plants the righteous firmly by the stream of His Word.  They cannot be moved.  They might suffer in this life, they might stumble and fall, but they will rise again and their foundation is firm.

Lord, thank You for your salvation!  Thank You for the gift of the Holy Spirit, Who guides us into understanding and obedience.  Please help us to remain firm in our faith and to resist evil.