BeOnTheLookout

Be On The Lookout! 10/21/02

1 Thessalonians 5:21-23

(v.22) Abstain from all appearance of evil.

Abstaining from "all" appearance of evil protects one from being put in many unpredictable situations. Pastors and laymen alike have ruined their ministry and caused shame and disgrace among the body of Christ. To give you an example, my husband and I witnessed a Choir Director and a choir member being brought before the congregation on a Sunday morning, because of infidelity. We were just visiting that day and were taken by surprise when the Pastor announced what was taking place and why. The Choir Director was a young, good-looking man with a wife and family, but somehow became enticed and involved with one of his choir members. This could have been avoided had he fled as Joseph did in the Bible, in the book of Genesis 39:7-12.

I don't know the circumstances or details leading up to this adulterous affair, but it's always easier to abstain (refrain, avoid) from the beginning than to try and finagle a way out later on. Avoidance is the sure cure of sexual intimacy. Don't put yourself in an awkward situation, where you find temptation upon temptation.

Some Pastors I know, never close the door all the way in their office if they are counseling the opposite sex. My husband, who is also a Choir Director, never has a rehearsal with just one person of the opposite sex. We should also apply this when taking children home from church. It's great to have a bus/van ministry, but make sure you have helpers. You never want a one on one situation, (although it may be innocent) where a woman is taking home a young man or just the opposite, with a man driving a young girl home. Two many have been accused who were innocent, and many innocent children have also been abused.

We as members of God's family need to walk worthily with the shoes the Lord has put on our feet. We need to, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." (1 Peter 5:8) The devil is very cunning/subtle in the devices he uses to entice God's children to cause them to fall. So, be very vigilant, be very alert, be very watchful, be very careful, be very cautious...be on the lookout!

Dear Heavenly Father, there are many things the devil will try to entice us with. Help us to flee as Joseph did when faced with temptations, to resist the devil and have victory over the sins of the flesh through our Lord Jesus Christ. Help us to be wise, to be alert and watchful, to be on guard. Father I pray we as Christians would always keep our hearts and minds to Christ Jesus. For it's in His precious name I pray, Amen.