21 Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.
The life of a Jesus-follower is one that has two parts. We must reject the evil and accept the Word. I really wish this was a onetime event. But I have found that it is something that I must do again and again. The moral filth and evil seem to creep into my life. I guess that is because I have cracks in my spiritual armor. I have not fully and continually submitted to Christ. I have not given full access to His Spirit. I have kept Him from working in certain areas of my life. He is not going to rip those filthy areas out of my life. I must surrender them. But each of those unyielded areas provides an opportunity for weakness and stumbling. But the areas where I allow the Word to work, those are areas of strength, not my strength, but His. As we traveled East for Thanksgiving I could not help but notice the layers of rock exposed by the highway path through the hills and mountains of Eastern Kentucky and West Virginia. What I noticed most was that different layers weathered differently. Some seemed to crumble and fall away. Others seemed to have weathered very little creating interesting patterns of strong and weak. This is very much like our lives. Where we allow the Word to transform us, we become solid in character and capable of withstanding great external and internal pressures. The storms of life don’t break us apart. The internal freezing and thawing does not break us apart. The seasons of life, the ebb and flow of existence does not affect us. That is because the Lord has filled and strengthened. If He were not there, we would crumble and disintegrate. We must humbly accept the Word. The Lord will not force Himself on us. And we must remember that we never deserve His life freely given to us.
The Arnold Journey 