Therefore, I only have to plan for 2 professional outfits for this week! Yay!
Don't you just hate it when you've spent all day doing laundry - only to find that some of the clothes came out - not cleaner than they went in - but stained from some strange source inside the washer?!
Recently we discovered that some of the clothes were coming out of the wash with cute little lined up in a nice row - black dots! Oh no! Where was this coming from?!
Stained. Not a good word. We had to do two things. Try to get the stain out - but more importantly establish the source of these little black dots.
I recently read a verse about stains in James. A kind of spiritual "little black dots."
James 1:26-27 (ESV)
If anyone thinks he is religious and does not
bridle his tongue but deceives his heart,
this person's religion is worthless.
Religion that is pure and
undefiled before God, the Father, is this:
to visit orphans and widows,
and to keep oneself unstained from the world.
"Unstained from the world" - how in the world do we do this?!
I feel like each morning I have a wonderful prayer time, and then I step outside my house and am immediately faced with the source of little black dots! How do I avoid getting stained?!
I'm bombarded with many who do not have positive attitudes, who do not share a love for Christ like me, and I'm tempted to engage in their way of thinking, acting, and living. I want my faith, my "religion" to get me much farther down the road than just my own house.
This is going to sound strange - but I want my prayer time to stick! I want it to last throughout the day! I want to remain unstained from all that comes my way in the washer of my life.
The first part of this verse gives us a hint as to how we can avoid the little black dots - or stains...
1. watch what I say
2. do not deceive my heart, and
3. look after those that may need my help
It begins with my tongue & heart, and ends with my actions!
We found that the little black dots was probably coming from grease leaking out of those little holes in the washer. It was important that we find the source so we could do more than just get the stains out - we wanted to completely avoid the stains in the future.
Today, I want to remain unstained from the world. I've learned here that the source of stains can come from my speech and my heart not being set on the things above. I will have a closer watch on those today. As a result, I hope to have a cleaner - more pure - example of my relationship with the Lord! A religion that is not worthless - but one that is pure and undefiled - unstained.
Will you join me in keeping the stains away?
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