Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©
"But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people."
(Ephesians 5:4-5 (NIV))
Have you ever used the word "hint" to indicate a very small unit of measure?
It is such a small amount that it is often used in cooking to indicate something so miniscule that you have to stop and let your taste buds dwell on what you may or may not be tasting. I have often heard sayings like "it has a hint of garlic," or "it has a hint of lemon." These "hints" are just enough to tease your senses. These "hints" make you stop because there is something about them that appeals to your senses, to your tastes.
Is that what we are being told in this passage from Ephesians? Are we being told that there must not be anything, even something so miniscule, that makes us stop because it appeals to our senses, to our sinful nature?
Is there something in your life that you detest, yet it has you under it's control?
We are not alone. Even Paul suffered from these things. We don't know what they were, but we do know that he struggled to do what is right, but he felt that he failed.
I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
(Romans 7:15-20 (NIV))
Did you notice one very important, unwritten truth in these words from Paul.
Sorrow and repentance can clearly be felt through the words that he wrote. He recognized the "hint" of something and he longed to remove that "hint" from his life.
As previously stated, a hint of something can make you stop and dwell on what your senses have detected. Like Paul, we must strive, we must desire, we must long to stay focused on Jesus. We must long to remove anything that hints at anything other that Jesus.
What is there a hint of in your life?
Copyright 1998 - 2024 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
https://www.dailylivingministries.org
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