Does it seem to you, too, that the major news sources are purposely presenting the worst of society for us to see each day?
As I hear and read that society is falling apart and the basic family unit has taken a downhill turn, I pray for all of us. But, sometimes, that news is hard to believe as I sit on my porch and enjoy the passing view of families having a great time together.
I watched as a father with his three little sons, one of the young twins holding his hand, passed by after a trip to the playground.
A smile lit my face. I walk by that playground every day and watch mothers and fathers enjoying their youngsters. I can’t help but see the parents’ love for their children as life moves by on my sidewalk.
But I’m not so naïve as to believe that one of those three little boys may take the wrong step somewhere in life. It could and has happened. Even in families that have brought up their young ones to know that Jesus is with them, watching them as they grow.
I love the message of that children’s song that repeats the phrases: Oh, be careful, little eyes, what you see; Oh, be careful, little ears, what you hear; Oh, be careful, little tongue, what you say; Oh, be careful, little hands, what you do; Oh, be careful, little feet where you go. There’s a Father up above looking down in love, so be careful (fill in eyes, etc.) what you do.”
The remembrance in our everyday lives that the Father up above is looking down in love should be enough to jolt us back into obedience when our eyes, hands, or feet step outside His boundaries – but it doesn’t always.
Sometimes, especially when we are young, we find we are flirting with the devil instead. We are testing the waters to see how deep we can go and still make it back to shore safely. Oh, how quickly some of us go under.
I am remembering two teenage girls growing up, one raised as a Christian and one secular. They were best friends through high school but went separate ways in life. The woman raised in the secular household married, had children, and enjoys her family and life.
The Christian went too deep into the water after flirting with the devil’s ways and finally realized her only hope from the depths was Jesus. She called out to Him and He saved her and brought her into a new and better life of living for Him.
She will be received into His arms in heaven despite her great sin because that sin has been washed clean by the blood of Jesus and is now as far as the east is from the west in His remembrance. How amazing is our God!
But what of the other woman? I don’t know, but I pray that she and her family have also found what a wonderful savior Jesus is.
As we know, in our nation, there are fewer Christians than non-Christians. More and more nonbelievers are unwittingly flirting with the devil as they seek spirituality through the occult.
I read on CBN (Christian Broadcasting Network) that there have been more requests to the church recently of people seeking exorcisms. It appears then that some people have moved beyond flirting to actually engaging the devil.
We know that not every non-Christian is seeking answers from crystals and other forms of the occult, but what this does clearly tell us is that many people are seeking something to fill that spiritual hole in their lives. But, instead of seeking and finding Jesus, they are finding the prince of the world.
Billy Graham once said, “Three times Christ designated Satan as the prince of this world. The Bible is clear that either the world’s inhabitants are under the influence of this world with its cunning, deception, and spell; or they are in Christ and under the direction of the Spirit of God. There is no neutral ground. The lines are drawn by the Bible.”
Jesus told us, “The fields are white for harvest.”
Those of us who know that Jesus is the answer to the woes of our society should make efforts to encounter the plentiful supply of potential believers in our world today. The harvest is waiting.
We should very much now be about our Father’s business of telling others about Jesus, His love, His death, and His resurrection. We might be the one appointed to snatch from the fire another that has dared to flirt with the devil.
I’ll ask myself first, “Have I spoken to anyone about Jesus this week?” Have you?
ED. NOTE: Amy Patsch writes from Ocean City. Email her at writerGoodGod@gmail.com.
