Psalm 119: 9
Having a 7-day practical faith is about what happens between Sundays. I believe our faith journeys go beyond the foundations of prayer and Bible reading to expand into how we respond to life, applying scripture and faith to life situations.
I caught some wisdom from my newest Christian brother, Keidrick Elijah, who interviewed me on Da Willhouse podcast recently (publication date TBD). I had listened to an excellent Da Willhouse podcast beforehand, called "3 Ways to Succeed from Sunday to Sunday Without Giving in to Sin," found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZArwUA9zNWo .
Keidrick's three ways were, in summary:
Church is a safe house. But make your own house a safe house from evil.
Surround yourself with like-minded believers and accountability partners who pray with and for you.
Say no to the world. Allow the Holy Spirit to fill you; you need him day to day to counsel, guide, teach.
I find wisdom in this approach, because he describes three circles or buffers to place between yourself and sin. First, make your house a holy place, set apart, and tend to anything therein that leads to temptation. The second buffer is the collection of your Christian brothers and sisters who can walk with you and upon whom you can call when you are tempted or have gotten out of line. Third, say no to the world's temptations with the guidance and strength of the Holy Spirit.
This method reminds me of a great verse from Psalm 119: 9:
How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word.
I used to teach a parenting class that included a module called "Purity in an Impure World." It included one of my favorite analogies about sin, from Martin Luther, who said:
Because we cannot prevent the birds from flying over our heads, there is no need that we should let them nest in our hair.
Temptation is always going to be nearby. Sin is waiting for us. Satan is a hungry lion, roaming around looking for his next victim (I envision the lying, conniving Scar from "The Lion King"). But don't let sin settle in and build a nest in your hair or a place in your life. These three ideas, these three circles or buffers, can help us ward off temptation, as long as we put them in place and in practice.
Which of these buffers do you need to build to assist your 7-day practical faith journey?
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