Do Not Be Deceived

That is not the refreshing mist you think it is. You feel it while you bike or run by any of the streams in the area. You feel it as you pass under the willows, but it is not the spray of water crashing against a rock. It is not last night's dew falling from the leaves. It is not water. It is aphid juice. What it is exactly, I am not sure, but we can call it spit. There are aphids in the trees. They are spitting on you. If you feel your skin after passing by, you will notice it is sticky. It is not refreshed. It is not washed.

I went biking the other day. I have not yet bought a bike, but I borrowed my mom's. A couple sat by their pickup with their road bikes by their side. They were probably done with their bike ride, and were resting and enjoying each others' company before they went home and went their separate ways. They enjoyed the shade under a willow. They enjoyed the refreshing mist.

"Hello," I thought of yelling as I passed by, "Do you know what that slight rain is? Do not be deceived. It is not the lovely dew you think it is. It is bug excretions."

And what would they have thought about that? Would they be glad? Would they be grateful? Would they wish to forget what they now knew?

And I suppose I didn't care enough to tell them. I didn't care enough to show them the nasty they lived in and thought they enjoyed. I didn't care enough to show them a better way to live.

"Come out and enjoy the Palouse hills. There is sun there, and though it is hot, it is clean."

It is the gospel.

We live in deception. We sit in the shade, separated from the Son, and the devil spits on us. We think it is refreshing. We think it is freedom. We think it is where we want to spend our days. Why would we want to be out in the Son? We might get Sonburned. Ow.

But if I truly love Jesus, I will love the things He loves. If I truly love Jesus, I will love people. I will see them sitting in their sin, and I won't be able to pass them by. There will be as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I won't be able to hold it in.

"Do not be deceived," I will say to them, "You think your life is nice. You think your decisions are flawless. You think you can do it on your own, but you cannot. Come away from your sin. Come into the light. Come and be free from the lies you believe. Do not be deceived."

It is that simple, but I fail every day.

Things to pray for:

Boldness and opportunity to share the gospel. It matters.

I'm still looking for a job. I have two interviews today, but I don't know if either place has full time positions available, and I would really like to have a full time job. I also know that God's plan is perfect and He has me right where I am for a reason. It's easier to serve a boss as if serving God, and it's harder to serve anyone else. Please pray that I would love people as God loves them and do His work among them.

I may have lost sight of God during Elevate. Maybe Elevate is not to blame, maybe it is my own fault, but pray that I would seek Him with all my heart and live completely for Him. Pray that I would lay my life down, that I would pick up my cross daily and follow Him. It's not pleasant, but it's life.