“Anything that is going to hinder me from the closest walk possible with Jesus Christ is not for us.”

That’s a strong statement. But what does it mean?

Leslie Ludy is a  wife, mother of six, author, and speaker. She shares what she’s learned about how to live a holy life – and it’s not the same as the isolated life.

“It doesn’t mean that you completely cut out all connection with social media, or you never ever watch a movie, and you just go move away to a cabin in the woods and detach from society.”

“But where is your heart? Where is your passion? Where is the gaze of your soul – is it on Jesus Christ, or is it on the things of this world?”

In Leslie’s book, , she explores what the set-apart life truly is. We can gain a closer walk with Jesus by examining where our time and treasure go.

Leslie has a few questions for us to consider:

• Do I make my time with Christ a higher priority than frivolous pastimes?

• Is this hindering my relationship with Jesus Christ, or is this helping my relationship with Jesus Christ?

 “It’s not just a matter of sitting in your bedroom with a Bible in your lap 24 hours a day doing ‘spiritual activities.’ It has to do with the attitude of your soul and what is the end result of those activities.”

We can laugh, watch movies, climb trees, build things, listen to music… but the key is to do it all to the glory of God.

How can we know if something is healthy or unhealthy?

Look for the fruit of the Spirit. Does this activity breed the fruit of the flesh in your life or does it breed love, joy, peace, long suffering? Does it deepen your relationships with the people that God has put into your life, or does it just fill time and distract you?

“If they serve the purposes and the priorities of God in your life then you can engage in them without worrying about it.”

If we truly lay things before God, He will show us what is preventing us from fully surrendering to Him. It might be a painful process but the result will be a joyful, deep walk with Christ.

“God is so faithful to show us what those things are and convict us of those things. So just having that heart attitude to say, does this have eternal value? Does this honor God’s priorities in my life? And He guides us in all the details.”

Key Scriptures: Psalm 4:3

Featured Songs: Adore by Chris Tomlin; You’re Here by Francesca Battistelli; O Come, O Come, Emmanuel by Steven Curtis Chapman

Highlight : What is distracting you from Jesus?

The set-apart life