Howdy Friends! What if we first look at what separates us from God. That would be anything that becomes our main point of interest. Anything that comes between us and our complete devotion to Him. Kinda tough ain’t it.

That could be anything of the world. Money, fame, power, worldly goods, humanistic philosophies (man first, gender studies, climate change etc). Even “religious rituals.” A career can become a trap. A family unit, son, daughter, grandchild, wife husband, mother father. (Luke 14:26)

Lustful affections for women can grasp men. (Matthew 5:28, 2 Peter 1:4,James 1:13). This includes those two dimensional images on the internet.

For some women, perhaps men can be a snare. Perhaps it’s just the craving for the attention of men, that separates them from their faithfulness to God. (1 Timothy 2:9-10, Proverbs 31:30)

The internet, the grand time and thought gobbler it is, can be the separation. Television. Video games. Sporting events. Fantasy novels or any literature that wastes your precious time and little by little separates you from your Holy obligations before God. Oh how many the distractions! (1 Corinthians 7:35, Mark 4:19, Luke 8:7, 1 John 2:15).

For children: Toys, friends, the things they covet. All of these things can lure them away. (Ephesians 5:15-16).

Most of these things are hidden things. How would we know if we have hidden curses in ourselves? We carve out more time for those things than we do for God. They become our interest. Our focus. God is not in all our thoughts.(Joshua 1:8)

Does our passion for God in prayer, reading, meditation and sharing grow dim to the point where we have to force ourselves to relate to the things of Heaven? Do we rationalize that we are strong enough to curb our desire for the cursed thing so that it doesn’t rule our life. Sadly as we rationalize thinking we have control over it, it actually has already taken control over us. (Proverbs 16:25, Isaiah 66:2, 57:15).

The problem is that rationalization proves the accursed thing has already gotten the upper hand. It controls.

A person knows that they are not right with God if when they wake up in the morning the first thing on their mind is not God but their cherished worldly thing(s). They rush through their daily routine so as to finally relax with the worldly thing. It is always on their mind. It becomes a part of them. An intoxication. They cannot do without it.

A person knows know they are trapped when they hide what they’re doing hoping no one finds out. But God sees all that is hidden. (Proverbs 15:3, Jeremiah 23:24, Job 34:21, Hebrews 4:12)

Whenever the sinful thing is exposed, and a someone discuses their obvious infatuation with it, they become angered that someone dared to infringe into their private life. The usual response is “Mind your own business”

If it is a Pastoral rebuke the response takes on a somewhat different tone, and the person or people leave and find another church.

It is upon each of us, to examine ourselves. We are born embedded with sin, lust, wants. God knows this. This is why He sent His Son. The daily struggle is to not say, “I’m a Christian, But …”

God bless you, as you follow Jesus and seek to honor Him. I love what Philippians 1:6 says. I hope it encourages you too: “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.”

~ Gitty Up, Dutch.

Be sure to visit my BOOK SHOP and see all my books.