Yuck! Just the sound of the word “muck” brings a not so appetizing picture to our mind, doesn’t it? (Something needs to replace it quickly!)
But, can one sift through muck? The expression often used is “wade,” not ‘sift.” Wading implies the use of the legs, and even arms if need be, while sifting denotes the use of one’s hands.
And here lies the dilemma of the Believer in Christ. We don’t often stop to think that’s what God is faced with day to day with some of His children.
The muck is the veil we are each faced with. We each carry our own. What we give our attention to in our daily lives, is what we are giving our power to rule over our thinking.
When we rely on others for our spiritual sustenance, we are either hoping their spirituality will rub off on us, or believe it already has. This denotes stagnation preventing us from growing spiritually in the Lord.
RENEWING
Where is the renewing of our mind, headed?
Or, has it even ever begun?
Who or what triggers it?
Is it a pastor, a preacher, a movie, a book, a YouTube video…what?
Opinions are there for the taking, aren’t they? Are those opinions then what we are bringing to the body of Christ? Is this edifying in any way? Is it bringing light to His church or is it serving to confuse other believers into carnality and the mundane?
RESPONSIBILITY
Whom do we place this responsibility on? Our pastors? Our preachers? The so-called Christian media? (Even so-called Christian movies are tainted…a little leaven leavens the whole bread.)
At what point do we take control of our spiritual growth and start searching the Scriptures diligently on our own?
When do we stop depending on one preacher after another to teach us what we are responsible for learning at the Master’s feet?
Mere mortal man will always be full of opinions. That’s why Jesus said to follow Him. Why are we seeking Him outside of ourselves when He can be found so easily inside our hearts?
OUR WALK
Our walk with the Lord is a one-on-one walk. It is personal. It is not intermediary through any man.
No intermediary is needed but Christ. Until this sinks in, the Christian will be trying to sift through the muck and getting nowhere.
Putting that muck in a pastor’s (or anybody else’s hands), to sift through for us is being downright irresponsible for our own spiritual development.
The more one is looking to others or other things such as movies, we become followers, until someone else comes along with a better opinion, or perspective.
We are then standing in the path of sinners, and sitting in the seat of the scornful. (Read Psalm 1:1.) On the contrary, our delight should be in the law of the Lord, and in His law, we should be meditating on day and night. (Refer to Psalm 1:2.) That should be our substance, if not we end up losing whatever substance we had—if we had any there to begin with at all.
Feeding our earthly, carnal nature instead of our Spirit-man will only lead to more muck in our lives. Our spiritual sustenance is not, should not, come from the earthly plane. A Believer who still doesn’t “get it” has no right trying to teach others how to run when they are still locked into the infantile stage.
Learn, before sharing, for the edification of the Body. Impart the goodness, not the muck.
Our source should be found in two places; our knees, and our nose. Yes, nose. Let’s stick our noses where they belong—in the Bible.
This can’t be by-passed. If it is, then it becomes evident and obvious to everyone else, except that Christian, where his or her nose is at.
Maranatha,
Mindy