Don’t Turn It Off!
But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts. – Romans 13:14 NKJV.
Another translation puts this verse as: Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.
Recent numbers (in 1999) indicate 148 million people are connected to the Internet. Most likely you could multiply that number by 3 or 4 to obtain the number that have access to the Internet in some way. People all over the world have access.
The Internet is in many ways a mirror of the real nature of our world. There are some good things on the Internet but there are some really, really bad things on the Internet as well. It is much like our world. We do not live in a perfect world. We live in a corrupted world. It became corrupted when Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden. Sin entered the world through one man, Adam. God has a remedy for sin through one man, the Son of Man, Jesus Christ.
On the Internet there are filters which we can download or purchase that will block out sites that have the bad stuff. These filters are not perfect. Some sites are fine but because they are not rated the filter will not allow you to go there. Also, the filters may be turned off by the person that has the password. So, even if you have a filter, if you don’t use it; then, it will not protect you.
We have a spiritual filter from the bad stuff this world, the flesh, and the devil throws at us. The name of the spiritual filter is Jesus Christ. We must clothe ourselves with the mind of Jesus, with His attitude, with His resources. We must put our focus upon our Lord. This spiritual filter is the ultimate model. It is perfect. However, it is used by imperfect people. Too often, even though we have the perfect filter, we choose to turn it off and think about the things that will gratify the desires of the sinful nature.
When you start your days, make sure your filter, Jesus Christ, is going full strength! Clothe yourself with the Lord!
(This devotional has been updated and was originally written and sent by email on 02.10.1999.)