“Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away." (Proverbs 4:14-15, KJV)

Most Christians are appalled when it comes to the obvious sins: murder, armed robbery, fornication, even emotional adultery which we watch play out between a husband and wife in Jackie King-Scott's novel, The Allure. Sometimes Christians are quick to make judgments about those who have fallen into sins everyone can easily identify with the natural eye. But the Word reminds us that God examines the heart. If you were to have your heart examined at this very moment, what would the Savior find? Would you be assigned a clean bill of health?

Often Christians with the best intentions, no planning of their own, suddenly find themselves face to face with sin. For example, you and a couple of girlfriends decide to hang out, have some sistahgurl fun, such as shopping or an afternoon at the spa. At the end of the day, one of the girls suggest you all go back to her place, chill with a movie and popcorn. She places the movie into the DVD player, and you soon realize tonight's feature film is a porno flick. What do you do now? Do you stay and watch, flirt with this "itty-bitty" sin? After all, it's not one of those sins that's considered a crime. And no one from your church is in the room, so who'll know? As a woman who's made a committment to live daily for Christ, do you politely say goodnight and go home or perhaps suggest you all watch something else, "abstain from all appearance of evil" as we are advised in First Thessalonians 5:22?

Our relationship with Christ is precious, priceless, and we should strive to keep it pure. If we are not guarding our hearts, sin can slip in and put a gap in our relationship with Christ just as easily as a man or woman can be tempted and drawn away from a mate. As Christins we must deny anything or anyone or anyplace which might lure us away from our union with Jesus Christ. Are you being faithful to Him who has called you His own? Do you love Him with your whole heart or are you sharing yourself with something of the world you should have no part of?

Meditation: "I pray not that thou should take them out of the world, but that thou should keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth." (St. John 17:15-17, KJV)

For Last Month's Devotion see Reflections