INFLUENCE!

INFLUENCE!

Ex 23:2

2 Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgment:

Ps 119:63

63 I am a companion of all them that fear thee, and of them that keep thy precepts.

2 Thess 3:6

6 Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us.

          Who is influencing you? Perhaps you don’t think about that very much but the truth is that your companions are affecting your thoughts and actions. Imperceptibly, you begin to own their opinions and assume their habits. Why do you think God said that He is the Potter and we are clay? He desires to mold us in a desirable and purposeful vessel.

          Whom are you influencing? Someone, perhaps more people than you can imagine, are watching you and copying your opinions and actions. Are they wholesome attitudes? Are they godly practices? If you casually dismiss the thought then you should reconsider and be more intentional.

          Following God cures both concerns! If I am following God closely then I will gain discernment enough to abandon ungodly or unhealthy influences. Because I follow God, those following me will be traveling in the right direction. God, then, is the answer.

Dear Lord, sometimes I have to abandon my own thoughts and desires so that I can follow you instead. In that case I have become my own evil influence. Let me be a companion of Thy Word and Thy Holy Spirit. AMEN