Level the Trail

Level the Trail

by Fred Alberti, Crosswalk.com Manager of Communities

"Make level paths for your feet," so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed. Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless…

Hebrews 12:13-16a

My kids and I have been developing a nature path in the back woods of our property. I just love to take them back there and enjoy the sounds and smell of nature.

In the back woods trail there is an area that has holes in the ground that are mostly filled with leaves. This can be a rather treacherous area for ankles and we call it the booby trap zone. One of these days I'll have them help me bring back some buckets filled with dirt to fill in these hazardous little traps.

Today's passage brought this little area to mind. What does it mean to "make level paths for your feet?"

I think the verse is intertwined with the one that follows, "Make every effort to live in peace with all men and be holy."

I think as we journey down our trail of faith there are people with whom we will come into contact. Good or bad, lengthy or brief, our journey with them will leave a mark on their lives. Will they experience healing from their interaction with us or will we sow bitterness? Our charge is to, as much as it depends on us, bring peace to them through our holy living and to make sure they are exposed to the opportunity of experiencing God's grace and salvation.

How level is your path?

Are you leaving pitfalls of bitterness, sexual immorality and activities that promote godlessness?

Start making your path level today.

Intersecting Faith & Life: Take a prayer walk in a park or on a local nature trail. Pray that God will help you to be an agent of peace to someone you have recently had a conflict with.

Further Reading

Mark 9:50

Prayer for Peace

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Stain on the Brain

Stain on the Brain
by Fred Alberti, Crosswalk.com Manager of Communities

I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Psalm 119:11

I watched Caleb as he sat there in deep concentration just staring at the book. Finally, I asked him what he was doing. His response was one I had never heard before. He said, "I'm staining it into my brain."

He was memorizing Scripture verses for AWANA Club.

The thing is he knew what he was doing. He knew that he was trying to burn the words into his memory so he could pass on to the next challenge.

I like how today's verse applies to Caleb's staining power. The psalmist gives the reason why he is hiding God's Word. What is it? So that he will not sin against God.

The reason for Bible memorization is to help us to abstain from sinning.

Oftentimes we resist Bible memorization. Instead we choose to stain our brain with TV shows depicting adultery, murder, and obscenity. Then we get ourselves into a moral bind and we wonder how we got into that place. We shouldn't wonder. We should realize that what we choose to watch and/or memorize is what is going to stain into our brain.

"Oh, that sex scene isn't so bad, at least they muted the sounds."

"Why yes, the whole point of the show was that the husband didn't get along with his wife and had an affair. But at least he was able to get a divorce and the mom was able to keep the kids."

"Well, sure there was a lot of swearing but the story was great and the murder scenes were so realistic. Cinematography has really advanced these last few years."

Folks, these are stains. They will stain your conscious and your heart and those of your family.
What are you staining your brain with these days?

Intersecting Faith & Life:

Spend some time this week with your family memorizing key scriptures about salvation, like Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23, Acts 16:31, and 1 Corinthians 15:3-4.

Further Reading
Why Memorize Scripture?

Teaching Memorization and Speaking Skills to Your Children

2 Timothy 3:16-17

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