Maintenance Required

Have you ever been going along in your car and you get a warning on the dashboard that either says the words "maintenance due", "maintenance required", or some symbol lights up to let you know that something needs done? Have you ever pushed your body to hard and woke up the next day sore from what you did. In both of these cases you may not say something is "broken", but you know that if you just continue throughout your day and ignore these warnings things could definitely get much worse. Our Christian life is very much the same way. Unfortunately we don't get something so vivid as a warning light, but if you know the voice  of the Holy Spirit, then you know He will let you know when an area of your life is getting into the danger zone and may need some maintenance.
Learning to ignore warning signs is one of the worst habits you can ever develop. Putting something off for "one more day" can lead to some very big problems, and this does not just stand true for man made things. As Christ followers we can be going along through life with the best of intentions, but we start to let things that are important in keeping us close to God slip little by little. And that nudge from the Holy Spirit that you feel deep down inside is God's early warning system to us. Letting our quiet time with God become less and less. Allowing ourselves to watch shows or movies that we know send a bad message. And turning on the radio just to "have noise in the background", but not caring about the lyrics that are being fed into your minds. All of these are things that the enemy wants to sneak into your life as he hopes you get too busy, too tired or just to ignorant to realize that you are slipping back a little in your walk with God. And these are just a few. The friends that we keep in our life, and the things that we either stay ok with, or become ok with, are also big indicators that our Christian life may need some maintenance. All of these things can easily become the things that are pulling you away from God if you choose to ignore their impact on your life.
There are companies out there that exist for the sole purpose of offering maintenance to you before you actually need it. The term is called preventative maintenance, and the point of it is to stay on top of things before they need fixed. An oil change for your car. Getting your tires rotated and your breaks changed. These are all things that will cause a breakdown on the road one day if you don't take care of them. And again, our walk with Jesus is very much like this. Asking God to search your heart, and point out areas of your life that need some preventative maintenance is one of the wisest things you can choose to do to show the enemy that you will not become blind to these areas in your life. Show him you will not be one that just lets things slip. And you will protect the relationship you have with Jesus. The Holy Spirit will search you and speak to you about your life, but it doesn't just have to stop there. Having an accountability partner is another thing that you can put in place to keep yourself walking in the truth. And if you have struggled with certain sins in your past life, then having filters in place to make sure those things don't tempt you again is another wise thing to apply to your life. The bottom line is this, satan isn't going to take a break from trying to distract you or get you to step out of God's will, so it would be foolish to think you can just set things on cruise control and just forget about them. Be diligent in how you live for God. 2 Timothy 2:15 says " Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth".
Don't be the guy or gal that is sitting on the side of the road with a busted engine because you ignored a $30 oil change....and don't be the one who sits and wonders "how did I get here" in your walk with Jesus, when you remember how good it used to be. Be purposeful, be mindful, be careful...and most of all, but open to God's correction. These are the things that can help you keep up with the maintenance in your Christian life and not end up broken and beat down by the enemy.
God, thank You for the words of wisdom in Your Word. Help us to apply them to our lives so that we are doing things to stay close to You. Help us to be humble enough to see and admit when we have allowed things to slip, and help us to do the necessary things to get back where we need to be. Always doing what needs to be done so that You get the glory...In Jesus name, Amen