Hijacked

I've been away for so long!! My computer was taken over by a browser hi-jacker, and I could not access my blog or anyone else's. It was a nightmare getting everything quarantined and operational again. The entire time I was dealing with this frustration, I couldn't help but relate it to how messed up we can become when Satan hi-jacks our lives.

My computer was hi-jacked one day without my knowledge. Some deviant just sneaked in and took over. I'm sure there were other "cookies" and spyware programs that opened the door for this massive take-over, but I was oblivious. I never swept my system for junk like that. Sure, I had "virus protection" installed, but I never ran a deep clean scan of all my files and operating systems to see what might be buried deep inside. Eventually my failure to do the proper maintenance forfeited my freedom to surf the web and I fell victim to the controls of the hi-jackers.

Looking at this from a spiritual perspective, how often have I viewed church attendance as my "virus protection," assuming that my punching a time card will be enough to keep me in line? Satan would love that because he is able to sneak in through some backdoor when we let our guard down. That's what scares me about these internet hi-jackers. I don't know where they come from or how they get in. Truthfully I can't spend all my time worrying about that. As long as I equip myself with the proper tools to search them out and destroy them, I will be okay. So it is with Satan. I don't always know what little thing he is going to use to try and get a foothold in my life. That's why it is so important for me to continually sweep my soul for "spyware" and equip myself with spiritual tools to combat him.

"Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." 1 Peter 5:8

"Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you - unless of course, you fail the test?" 2 Cor 13: 5

I installed a program on my system called Spyware Doctor that scans my system each time I sign on. It runs other scans at various times and alerts me of "infections" it finds. When I am on the web and am about to enter a site that may have potentially compromising content (as far as spyware, cookies, etc) it will alert me that the site I am entering may contain things that could infect or damage my system and asks me if I want to continue. Before installing this onto my computer, I apparently just stumbled around allowing all kinds of "bacteria" to attach itself to my system.

We have so many tools with which to scan our lives spiritually and be cleansed and prevent infection. God gives us His Spirit, the Word and friends to hold us accountable (just to name a few). If we are not utilizing these tools to keep ourselves in top working condition, we will begin to slow down and eventually be crippled by the fungi and junk that will choke out our spirits.

Prevention is so much easier and more pleasant that re-construction. Once that infection gets into your system and takes over, getting order restored can be very time consuming and painful. That's so true in our lives. Not to say that forgiveness doesn't come quickly, but forgiveness doesn't always undo circumstances. While my system was infected, I was cut off from the outside world. I was stuck here - just me and my problem. During my absence, I was robbed of opportunities to encourage others and be encouraged by them. In essence, my system problem effected more people than just me.

I encourage you today to install some spiritual spyware doctors in your life. Run that deep scan of your system. You might be surprised at how junky it has become. But I guarantee that you will feel a new kind of freedom once that stuff is quarantined and removed!

"Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." Heb 12:1