Recently our church website was hacked into. I know. Who would ever want to hack into a church site? What are they trying to steal – the announcements? Even church sites are vulnerable to junior class hackers who are trying to learn the destructive trade. These jv hackers planted a very small virus, that grew and grew with time, contaminating many different files. No one ever knew, until the shutdown day came. Our site now is completely ruined and we have been forced to rebuild from scratch.
The problem? We didn’t have adequate security installed on our servers. Our site was left wide open for attack. That makes me think of our hearts and the Great Hacker, our adversary, the Devil, who wants more than anything to plant a virus inside of us. The virus always starts small, but if undetected it can grow slowly over time and contaminate our thinking, our relationships, and our walk with God – viruses like lust, pride, envy, hatred, bitterness, greed.
We need protection. We need a firewall. Our antivirus protection is the Word of God. Psalm 119:9;11 says, “How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word…I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”
When we take in God’s Word through reading, meditating, memorizing, etc, the Word begins to live inside of us. Like a great spotlight surveying the darkness, the Word continually scans the dark recesses of our lives looking for hidden viruses. While we sleep, we can truly rest knowing God’s Word is working over time inside of us to shield us from harm.
Are you protected? When was the last time your spent a little time in God’s Word? It is our sword, our rock, our bread, and our great anti-virus protector.
