There is a song that I find intriguing. It is called “Slow Fade.” The words go like this:
It’s a slow fade
When you give yourself away
It’s a slow fade
When black and white have turned to gray
And thoughts invade, choices made
A price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day
That last line is so powerful! No one wakes up and says…I think I will become a drug addict…I think I will become a bank robber… I think I will start to destroy my marriage today. It was all a “slow fade” down a dark path. Satan loves to use this tactic. He gets into your mind and says…”it’s only a small sin…no one will care…you can stop whenever you want…it won’t lead to other more serious issues”… and the slow fade begins!
Right and wrong…good and bad…things that were seen as black and white…slowly become darker and darker shades of grey!
The story is told of a college campus that was located in a valley between two mountains. The water tower for their college was located up on one of the mountains. One morning while the guys were taking their showers, the water was turned off. They thought that the girls were playing a trick on them, so they quickly got dressed and ran to the girl’s dorm, only to find that the same thing happened to them.
When they realized that it was not a trick, they called the maintenance crew. When a maintenance crew arrived, they were perplexed. They could find no pipes that were burst or valves that were turned off, so they began a tedious job of following the pipe all the way back up the mountain. Piece by piece they took it apart to see if there was any blockage. Finally, they came to the last piece of pipe that went into the water tower. They opened it and found a big bullfrog stuck in the pipe.
They could not understand how a bullfrog could have gotten into the water tower. There was just no way. Then they realize that it hadn’t come in as a big bullfrog but as a tiny tadpole. It had worked its way in and lived off the algae in the water until one day it was swimming too close and it was sucked into the pipe, cutting off the water supply to the whole campus!
When you ignore the sin in your life, even when it’s a small, seemingly insignificant thing…..eventually that sin will grow and become second nature to you…. robbing you of your joy and fellowship with Christ.
James 1:13-15… When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
So…this tadpole story reminds us that we need to resist the “slow fade” of seemingly harmless thoughts, words, and actions! But what can we do about it?
Let’s exchange the “slow fade” for a “slow growth!”
That happens as you grow closer to the Lord one day at a time…and watch it grow in positive ways.
It starts with a 5-minute daily prayer…and eventually it grows into conversations with the Lord throughout the day!
It starts by reading a chapter in the Bible a week…and it grows into a daily time in God’s Word!
It starts with worshiping once a month…and it grows to weekly worship!
It starts with worshiping online…and it grows to active participation in the mission of the church! Serving, giving, joining a small group!
It starts with a phone call to someone lonely or in need…and it grows to God using you to bring them His Love and Joy!
It starts with looking deep and assessing your temptations …and it grows to you asking God to guide you to healthy choices! And then avoiding places of temptation as well as resisting the temptations that you cannot avoid!
Each of us have our own struggles and weaknesses. God is aware of them, and yet He still loves you. He wants to offer you His forgiveness, Grace, and Mercy.
Psalm 32:5…Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin.
Take time today, find a quiet place, all alone and talk to your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Seek His will for your life. Ask Him to help you to grow into the person He made you to be! Be the best “you” you can be, to His glory.
Humor For the day:
On the first Friday of Lent, John (who is a Baptist) was outside grilling a big juicy steak on his grill. Meanwhile all of his Catholic neighbors were eating cold tuna fish for supper. This went on each Friday during Lent.
On the last Friday of Lent the neighborhood men got together and decided that something just HAD to be done about John, he was just tempting them to eat meat each Friday of Lent and they couldn’t take it anymore. They decided to try and convert him to be Catholic. They went over and talked with him and were so happy that he decided to join all of his neighbors and become a Catholic.
They took him to church and the priest sprinkled some water over him and told him “You were born a Baptist, you were raised a Baptist and now you are a Catholic”. The men of the neighborhood were SO relieved, now their biggest Lent temptation was resolved.
The next year’s Lent rolled around. The first Friday of Lent came and just at supper time when the neighborhood was setting down to their fish dinners came the wafting smell of steak cooking on a grill. The neighborhood men could not believe their noses! What was going on? They called each other up and decided to meet over in John’s yard to see if he had forgotten it was a Friday in Lent.
The group arrived just in time to see John standing over his grill with a small pitcher of water. He was pouring small droplets over his steak on the grill and saying, “You were born a cow, you were raised a cow, and now you are a fish.”