junk mail is still junk

I spent the latter part of yesterday cleaning my office.  Normally, I live by the rule of touching incoming paper once (maybe twice)... once to handle whatever needs to be handled (paying bills, reading notes, etc.), and then twice by filing it away or throwing it out, depending on what the situation calls for.  But as of late, my office has been looking more like a landfill.  Stacks and stacks of catalogs, reading materials, medical explanation of benefit forms, charitable requests, and what not's have started winning the battle over the small square footage I like to consider my most precious writing and thinking space.  Lord, HELP!  Drowning in bills and junk mail is not how I wanted to go!  I can read the headlines now, "Forty-five year old writer suffocates under extreme duress of Pottery Barn catalogs."  It could happen.

Anyway, yesterday was my day to focus on removing this threat.  And it got me thinking.  How easy it is for the enemy to overwhelm us with idols and weights.  With his subtle, casual infiltrations that we fail to acknowledge as sinister, manipulative, menacing.  Instead, we allow the Deceiver inside our homes, and excuse his ability to divide our attention away from what is holy.  We provide his evil ways a foothold to fester and multiply in the very location we consider most sacred.  This is how Satan works.  He deceives us with small propositions that appear to be insignificant and even attractive, of course, mind the small print.  And rather than choosing to immediately reject his beefy catalog of alluring transgressions, we allow him into our homes, our hearts... usually without invitation... but also without refusal.  And, once his vampiric toxins gain a small, forgotten spot in our most treasured of places, he begins to slowly, methodically, weigh us down with ungodliness until we can't seem to find God anymore... until we are sucked dry and barren... until we are overwhelmed, depressed, isolated, and left for dead.  This is how we get stuck.  And sadly, this is how many proclaimed believers in Christ feel right now.  But are they really living, breathing, sleeping with all their heart, soul, mind and strength "in Christ"?  I fear not.  We must confess such sin and repent to the Lord.  We must take the time to throw away all distraction and give Jesus full authority and access to clean our house!  Transfer full ownership to Him.  Run everything... EVERYTHING(!) through His filter of holiness and grace.

Friends, only when we make the effort to remove and reject Satan's ongoing intrusions will we gain access into God's peace.  For God will not tolerate ANY sin.  God will not excuse ANY violation, no matter how insignificant it may seem.  Nor should we.  For when we give Satan a foothold to hang up his dirty rags, we prevent God's willingness to clothe us from His closet of holiness.

So, today I encourage you to really consider what sin you have been overlooking as insignificant.  What are you allowing inside, even if you didn't invite it in?  What are you watching on television?  What are you reading?  What are you even eating and/or spending your time doing?

Is it holy?
Is it healthy?
Is it Jesus?

If not, no matter how small it may seam, treat it as sinister, manipulative, menacing... for that is exactly what it is.  Excuse nothing outside of Christ.  Lay aside every weight and any sin which clings so closely and/or easily.  Stop defending evil to fester and breed.  Stop giving Satan a foothold.

Let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.  (Hebrews 12:1)

Blessings!

Victoria

© The Devoted Woman | Victoria Anderson