Mrs Charissa Andrews
Pastor's Wife
Amazing Grace Baptist Church
O'Fallon, MO
Oh Be Careful Little Eyes What You See
Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things
Philippians 4:8
Recently, I noticed that my furnace wasn't working so well. I could hear it running, and even feel some air coming out; however my house didn't seem as warm as it should have been. I found myself bumping up the thermostat. When I mentioned it to my husband, he explained to me that the solution was probably something very simple. In a few moments, he brought me up a dirty filter. It was a quick fix and what a difference a clean filter made!
I did a little research about the dangers of not having a filter (or using a dirty one). When you don't have a good filter for your AC/furnace, your complete system is in danger. Dust will collect on your motor and act as an insulation and cause premature death to the entire motor. It can also collect in the curved vanes of the blower wheel and build up to cause a considerable loss of air flow. The dust burning off on the heat exchanger will eventually cause an unpleasant odor. Your furnace will lose its efficiency and ability to do the job it was created for. Running a furnace or air conditioner without a filter is one of the most damaging things that can happen to your system. The blower motor and the evaporator coil will become congested with dirt, dust, and other debris until they cease to function properly. Repairing a broken blower or cleaning a clogged coil can become very costly depending on the extent of the damage. Don’t take a risk like this with your heating and cooling systems, and check your filters regularly.
Our minds and hearts are the epicenter of who we are. They are our motors, our engines. God has designed His word to be our filter. It is vital that we keep our thoughts and intents of our heart clean, free from dust and debris. If we don't, the results can be disastrous. We can begin to lose our effectiveness, our power diminishes, our lives can go from a sweet savor to a nasty stench. By not taking care to use Biblical principles as a filter, we can even lose the ability to do the very job we were created for. I believe not having a filter (or using a dirty one) for our hearts, just like for my furnace, is one of the most damaging things that can happen to our systems. The thing is, repairing a broken blower or cleaning a clogged coil can be very costly. As can the results of us not heeding God's word and guarding our hearts with all diligence. It can cost us our influence, our useability, purity, or even worse: a marriage or parent/child relationship.
Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
2 Cor. 10:5
Two areas we found, in our home, that we knew we needed a good filter were the movies we watch and the use of the computer. What we found to be helpful was to sit down and have a family conversation. Instead of just telling them, “If a movie has _________, we are not watching it”, we asked them, “what do YOU think should be our standards regarding movies?” For example, we asked them, “if a movie uses your God's name as a slang or curse word, should we watch it?” And several other questions along the same lines. When doing this, we found it was much more powerful to back up our decisions with scripture and Biblical principles. That way it was not just our opinion, but the power and authority of God's word. This was great because instead of these being mom and dad's rules or standards, they became our family's standards.
Another practical thing we have put into practice is to find a review of a movie before we commit to watch it as a family. If you're like me, once you get into a movie and begin getting interested in the characters and story line, it's easy to overlook something that may not be honoring to the Lord. A great place to find reviews is www.pluggedin.com. You can search for a movie and find what the movie is generally about, what positive elements are included, negative elements, spiritual elements, any sexual content (they even include tight fitting or low cut clothing – which is awesome to this boy mom!) They have a mobil app that can be downloaded as well.
As our children are getting older we have been faced with the dangers of the internet. We knew we needed a good filter. Not just for them, but for ourselves as well. We have found that OpenDNS works great for us! This is a filter that works through the wireless router, not just a single computer. This is great because it does not just filter one computer or device. If one of my sons has a friend over and they have a device that is using our wi-fi, the filter is applied to that device as well.
Let's be vigilant, sober and walk circumspectly. Let's use God's word and the principles we find there to be a filter for our hearts and minds. Let's determine to use a filter to avoid dirt and debris and filth that this world throws our way daily. The alternative is too costly.
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