Devotions from Judy’s heart

On Friday I went for a prayer walk and to visit my neighbor. It was very warm in the house by the wood stove so I dressed in a t-shirt and then my winter jacket. But when I got outside in the 3 degree weather, I wished I had dressed a lot warmer.  I should have dressed for the outside weather and not based what I wore on the internal temperature. I think it is that way when we go out into the world. We need to insulate ourselves, lest the world get to us. We can go to a nice worship service at church and feel so warm and cozy. But when we go out into the world we need to have on spiritual protection.  In Romans 12:2 we are given a warning, “Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould”.  And in I John 2:15 we are told not to give our hearts to this world or to any of the things in it. “The whole world- system, based as it is on men’s desire, their greedy ambitions, and the glamour of all that they think splendid, is not derived from the Father at all, but for the world itself. The world and all its passionate desire will one day disappear. But the man who is following God’s will is part of the permanent and cannot die.” Let us insulate ourselves but not isolate ourselves from the world. May we give ourselves fully to His kingdom and not give our hearts to the world.
(Today I wore a scarf around my mouth neck and mouth and perhaps the mouth is an area we especially need protection. How easy it is to use our mouth in saying things that are better unsaid!)