I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

People with integrity walk safely, but those who follow crooked paths will be exposed. Proverbs 10:9 NLT

To me, walking with integrity means walking with Jesus. Before evil can take us down a crooked path, we must first disconnect from Jesus. I have learned not only to pray before reading my Bible, I have learned to pray before reading anything! Even when I read secular biographies and human interest stories I often find sermon illustrations or parables for myself. Also, if I feel uncomfortable praying about reading something, there is my first clue I should not read it! If we choose not to pray before a certain activity then we are consciously and intentionally choosing to disconnect from Christ.

That disconnect is where the crooked path begins. Jesus tells us in John 10:28 no one can snatch us away from Him. Yet, we are always free to leave Him by our own choice. Satan can’t force any of us to sin. 1 Corinthians 10:13 tells us God can deliver us from every temptation. Yet if we choose not to pray and stay connected to Jesus, then we have chosen to disconnect and go our own crooked way.

Please remember we are not like golf carts that can charge their own batteries and then run all day on their own power. We are like trolley cars which must always be connected to the cable or they can’t move a single inch. So long as we stay connected Jesus, Who is our Cable, we will never get off track.

Join millions this quarter who are studying the Sabbath School lesson on Proverbs.