I remember the first time I watched the X-Factor. It didn’t take long for me to get addicted. At the time I was blissfully unaware (Proverbs 7:7) that I was being drawn away from the Holy Spirit by the strange woman in the book of Proverbs 7. (Do read this when you can)
It usually starts with one episode, then anticipation of what happens in the next, combined with glitz and glamor it enthralls and captivates until it takes full mind control. You find yourself recording episodes and caught in the fever…… then suddenly it ends, there is an emptiness and you immediately start looking for the next show to fill the void….Have you been this way before? Side tracked by the strange woman in Proverbs 7? There is help against falling for the strange woman. Proverbs 7:24 – Your heart! Stand Guard over it. Daniel did so when he purposed in his heart not to defile himself in Babylon. Wow, that decision brought him in line with Proverbs 4 and ultimately saved his life as he avoided the lure of the strange woman in Babylon and developed a relationship with God instead. When the storm came (remember the Kings dream and the dilemma that followed), Daniel was not shaken. Proverbs 4 gives lots of advice on what to do to avoid the strange woman particularly verse 23. “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life” We can control what goes in, because what goes in can spring up to life Pro 4:23 or down to the chambers of death Pro 7:27. Today I set before you life and death……Choose Life! we are advised. Deuteronomy 30:19. The X-Factor was for me that Strange Woman but I chose life today with the help of the Holy Spirit. I must choose life tomorrow and the next….and the next…..and so on……………….