This may be a cart-before-the-horse kind of thing, but my wife and I bought a nice, but used RV to go camping with grand kids.  Great except that my pick-up truck is underpowered and has a manual transmission which my wife can’t operate, and it seats only 3.  Where would we stuff the grand kids? 

Since I bought the cart, I needed a bigger, stronger “horse” to pull it.  We found a used Toyota Sequoia with enough life in it to last the life we have left in us. (hopefully)

It’s packed with every option ever to come out of Detroit (or Tokyo).  Heated leather seats, separate temperature controls and best of all – a moon roof.  Golly gee, we have never had a moon roof before.  So, one balmy December eve, we opened the moon roof and went out for some pizza.

The next day my wife Sharie discovered that we (and I emphasize we – don’t listen to her) – we, forgot to close the moon roof.  And of course, an overnight rain storm left us with a serene reflecting pool in the console of the SUV. 

Unpleasant things seem to happen when we fail to use the protections we have been given. 

If I forgo my gloves when I clean the gutters, I slice my hands.  If I skip my vitamin regimen for a few days, I get a cold.  When I fail to seal the moonroof, I get a moon river. 

This carries over into the spiritual realm as well.  We have been given protective measures from God to keep us from spiritual calamity.   When we fail to employ them, temptation prevails, and our faith fails.  Spirits darken, marriages are wounded, addictions grab hold, and God’s mercy to us takes the form of His painful discipline.

His Word is a crucial protection. Paul likens it to a sword that slays our spiritual adversaries.  (Ephesians 6:17) The old King James asks, “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.” (Psalm 119:9).  

I read my Bible each evening.  If I fall into a pattern where I skip it or I read the words without really chewing on them, my attitude starts to look like the pre-Christian me, rather than the Christ-empowered me.  My family senses it (and would like to knock some sense into me)

Another essential protection is the Holy Spirit.  He alerts us when we get too close to sin – like a smoke alarm only not as obnoxious.  Some of us have silenced that blessed alarm.  (1 Thessalonians 5:19) Change your batteries. Confess your sin and get a fresh start (1 John 1:8) 

Jesus instructed us to specifically ask God to, “Deliver us from evil.”  (Matthew 6:13) Evidently, we need His frequent divine intervention and lots of it, but it is something that comes in response to our prayers, says Jesus.  

And what about the fellowship of the saints?  Hebrews 3:13 says, “But exhort one another each day, as long as it is called “Today,” that none of you may become hardened by sin’s deception.”  NET Bible ®   

I am frightened when I hear people say, “I am a Christian, but I don’t do church.”  This passage and many others tell us that we need our fellow believers.  Without their voices, we become hardened to sin.  Hey, I know that churches are imperfect – but so are you. 

It’s all there – everything we need to protect ourselves from the influences that threaten to ruin our interiors.  So, seal up your soul!   Don’t be a doofus with a moonroof.