Green Light

The purpose of my instruction is that all the Christians there would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and sincere faith. But some teachers have missed this whole point. They have turned away from these things and spend their time arguing and talking foolishness. (1 Timothy 1:5-6 NLT)

My computer kept bugging me when I tried to write this blog post this morning.  Little windows kept popping up to tell me that I needed to run some type of security update or my computer was vulnerable to attacks.  It told me the seriousness of my situation by showing me a "red light" picture.  I couldn't see the problems on the outside, but the system saw problems on the inside.

I ran the programs it told me to run so my computer would be "protected" on the inside as well.  It scanned things again and came back with a "yellow light," telling me that I had missed one of the programs it told me to run.  I ran the last one, scanned it, and I got a "green light."  Now I can begin to blog.

I think many of us would benefit from a little "internal scan" of our mental, emotional, and spiritual systems and processes.  God tells us that our "systems" are designed to love - God first, People next.  Both are equally important, so our "systems" run at peak efficiency when we love both.

The thing is, not everyone in the world wants us to live at this "peak efficiency" in our lives.  We will experience attacks on our faith, the thoughts in our minds, and the memories of our hearts.  Each attack attempts to "bring us down" and stop our "systems" from running at "peak efficiency".  Each attack goes after our vulnerabilities.  Too many vulnerabilities create a "red light" situation.

When we begin to learn how to walk with God, we being to do an "internal scan" of ourselves to find "security vulnerabilities" inside us.  Where are places where my faith is weak?  What thoughts come through my mind that don't point me toward loving God and people?  What have I stored away in my heart that threatens to destroy my love for others from the inside out?

The Apostle Paul was writing to his protege, Timothy, about this internal system scan we can begin to do.  God's word helps us do this scan.  "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12 NIV84) 

When we allow God to do a "system scan" on us, we most probably will find "security vulnerabilities" that threaten the health of our "systems."  God also gives us all the tools we need to "patch" things up so we can end up with a pure heart, clear conscience, and a sincere faith.
Green light - all systems go. 
Now you can begin to live.