Day 24: The Departing

“DEPART from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore.” Psalm 37:27

Have you departed today? To depart means to leave … more specifically for a journey. This is interesting because I always saw the depart as a moving away from, but never as the beginning of something else. As I searched the scriptures for  other departings, guess what I found? I found that when someone departed, they were headed in a different direction … a new destination. Is not this exactly what God desires of us … to depart from (turn our back on) the world and to follow Him?

In today’s world, it seems like everyone is a “Christian.” Yet, it really breaks my heart to see so many who claim Christ as their Savior who do not love the things of God. There is no change in their life. II Corinthians 5:17 tells us, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” If they truly are a Christian (have been saved) for any length of time, there WILL be a change in their life. Can you imagine taking a bath and getting all cleaned up and then putting your old, sweaty, dirty clothes back on? Yuck! Yet, many do this every day spiritually.

James in chapter 3 gives us much instruction also on our tongue. The tongue is a very powerful tool. Not only that, but it is a very powerful indicator of our spiritual life as well. I am not talking about cursing, although we will get to that, but I am talking about “Christians” talking to others, non-Christians and Christians alike, with such hateful and bitter words. Recently I was exposed to this in someone else’s life and to be honest, I was in shock! James lays it on the line right here in verses 10-18 of chapter 3:

¹⁰Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing, My brethren, these things ought not so to be! [my punctuation of exclamation]

¹¹Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter:

¹²Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? Either a vine, figs? So can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.

¹³Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? Let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.

¹⁴But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.

¹⁵This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.

¹⁶For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.

¹⁷But the wisdom that is from above is frist pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.

¹⁸And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.

Oh, my friend, please heed this! If you are still doing these things and say that you are a Christian, you are on the wrong path. Depart, my friend! Turn away! Get on the true path of life in Christ! Let Him change you today!