What's Your Habitat?

When my uncle, Jeremy, graduated high school, he took a one way ticket straight Hungary. There, he learned the native language, worked at a local church, and eventually got married to a nice, little Hungarian lady named Izabella. A few years later, his wife gave birth a child I like to call "the tornado" - his real name is Ezekiel. A few months ago, Jeremy started thinking about moving back to Hungary to continue missionary work, and Ezekiel was thoroughly upset with the idea. At pre-school, my four year old nephew constructed a poem in which he expressed his love for his "habitat." He talked on and on about why it's not good to leave your "habitat," and why he didn't want to go back to Hungary. Despite the odd word choice, "the tornado" was onto something. He understood that there are places that are good to live and places that are not. For example - hundreds of thousands of people live in Southern California right? What about death valley? What about the Gobi Desert? What about on top of Mount Everest? Yeah ... didn't think so. So let's think about this spiritually. God has put rules before us - He's given us an outline of the way that we should live our lives ... why? Because we are in control of the spiritual habitat that we choose. You can purposefully live where God wants you to ... or you can be an idiot and choose to live somewhere else (spiritually speaking of course). The question: Are you living in a spiritual desert? Or are you like a tree planted by the rivers of water? (Psalm 1)

Psalm 26


Verses 1-7 A lot of the times when you read the Bible, you realize that so many of the characters have the same heart and the same passion for God. In Ezekiel 11, we see that God makes a promise to His people to give them an undivided heart ... so this makes perfect sense. Although God has separate plans for each and every persons life - an individualistic adventure that He has set aside for you, the heart behind it is always the same for a person who chooses to follow. Daniel, the guy that almost got devoured by lions, has a famous Bible verse set apart to describe his life. It talks about how he purposed in his heart to not to live in sin, but to set apart his life for the purpose of pursuing the Father (no matter the costs). David echoes some similar thoughts in this Psalm. David says that he has "walked in integrity" - that he has walked in "the Truth" of God's word. David even asks God to examine his life and point out any areas where he might be stumbling. Michelle (my beautiful girlfriend) and I just started reading the book of Hosea. The book is such a wonderful reminder that we are all sinners. As Jesus would say - there is no one good but God. We fall short - we do not hit the mark, but are we living in a way that allows God to fix that in us? David continues and gives us an idea of how we are supposed to live our lives. He says that he chooses not to dwell in the midst of evil-doers - that he will not sit with the wicked (read Psalm 1:1-2). HAVE YOU CHOSEN A SPIRITUAL HABITAT THAT IS SUITABLE? If you're struggling with swearing, don't hang out with people who swear. If you're struggling with temptation to abuse drugs and alcohol, don't hang around people who will cause you to even be tempted. It just makes sense. In fact, I would encourage an even stricter policy - just don't hang out with bad people. Lambs don't drink water where the wolves are close by. Warthogs won't go to the fields where a pride of lions is hanging out. Humans don't camp in a cave full of bears. Why would we do that spiritually? In the new testament, Jesus says that if an eye causes you to sin, pluck it out (Matt 18:9). Maybe a bit extreme (don't rip out your eyes please) - Instead, I would encourage you to choose a "habitat" that is spiritually sound. Use discernment when choosing friends, places to hang out at, or even in participating in something you love. I have a friend of mine who plays college baseball - he tells me that he struggles with sin just because of the people on the team. How did I encourage him? What did I say to do? ... quit baseball. Easier said than done. It's much more important to build up barriers between you and sin than between you and God. period.

Verses 8-12 I don't want to go on very much longer, because I don't want you guys to fall asleep reading this ... but this is important. David says that he loves the "habitation" of the Lord's house (NKJV). He desires to live in a spiritually healthy place - in the presence of "living water" and not in a desert. He will choose to walk in integrity - meaning he will not choose a life of sin (or live in the presence of sinning people). Instead he will dedicate his life to glorifying God. Have you chosen your habitation out of love for God or something else?

Hope you guys are having a blast before school starts!
-Chris