The Overgrown Trail

“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Colossians 3:17 (NIV) “So that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God.” Colossians 1:10 (NIV) “Do everything in love.” 1 Corinthians 16:14 (NIV) A while back I went walking down an old trail I hadn’t been on since I was a kid. I guess nobody else had been either because it was all grown over with weeds, willows, and pretty good-sized trees. It kind of reminded me of our spiritual lives. When we begin our new lives with Jesus, it’s real important that we take care of the details in our walk of faith. You know what I mean — it’s easy to let little things go and then they grow into bigger things. Those times when we let our attitude deteriorate to “stench” level, times we start spouting those words we “swore” we’d never use again, times when we can’t find time to pray, times when we just don’t have any time for God at all, when other things take all our time and attention. Yeah, you know what I mean — like a trail getting overgrown with weeds and bush. The verses above all speak to the importance of making sure our behavior matches up with our beliefs. It’s the little things that — if we don’t get a handle on them — will eventually grow into big things that block and choke our walk with the Lord. We need to stay close to Jesus and make sure our lives show it! — Kene Jackson   Council Fire is a collaboration with Intertribal Life Ministries and Native Evangelical Fellowship of Canada. The Council Fire Daily Devotional Book Set is available on the Intertribal Life Ministries website. Learn more about Council Fire at councilfire365.org