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Concerning Distractions


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#1 aConcernedBrother

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Posted 04 April 2012 - 11:22 PM

1 Corinthians 13:11 (NASB)
When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.

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Distractions


The life of a Christian is oftentimes misunderstood and misrepresented in today’s world. Christians are often represented as weak individuals who only live for God because they need a “big brother” to emotionally protect them from the world. We are often viewed as individuals who cannot stand up for themselves because of the presence of grace and mercy in our lives. Gentiles do not understand our lifestyle because they cannot see how we find satisfaction apart from the perverse and self-indulgent activities so prevalent in their own lives. As Matthew 7:13-14 says,”Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. 14 For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it."According to this verse, it is easy to understand that Gentiles are distracted by the world and all its temptations and therefore are easily fooled into believing that Christianity is not worth the time that is required to invest in it. With this in mind, it becomes obvious that Christians as individuals are oftentimes looked at as a secondary class of humanity and viewed with pity and disgust while we “waste our lives away”. With their increasing desire for self and an ever growing passion for lust, greed and pleasure, mankind continues to seek out better ways to provide lasting satisfaction for one’s life. Instead of filling the God shaped hole inside their souls with the only being satisfying enough to quench the thirst, they attempt to deliver small doses of “self-drugs” to alleviate the hunger they have for God. Instead of using all of their bundled up passion and drive to pursue the only lasting pleasure in existence, they reach into the pits of hell with all the might they can muster and cover themselves with layer upon layer of slimy filth.

However,

The fact of the matter is that each and every Christian since the creation of the world was once sharing the same exact worldview as the Gentiles. It is only through the saving grace of our Lord and Savior that the importance about life and the truth about who God is was revealed to us. When this transformation took place, we began to remove the thick and heavy wool that the world, Satan and our flesh had placed over our eyes and began to take a glimpse into the realm of true joy, happiness and contentment that can only be found in the satisfying rivers flowing from the deep springs found only in Christ. Yet, even though we have been granted access to the exceedingly great spiritual riches present in the Bible, through prayer and in the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we continue to have a similarly warped perception of humanity. Where the world looks inside our lives and sees self-righteous fools; we look out into the world and see the masses wallowing in pits so deep and thick with self-centered sin we become disgusted. To some degree, whether a conscience thought or sub-conscience feeling, we think we are above the masses due to our pursuit of piety. Yet there is an extremely crucial point we overlook: we are wallowing in pits just as deep and thick with sin as they!
For some reason, we believe that because we do not spend every moment of our lives committing selfish acts (ie-fornicating, stealing, lying, etc…), we are better than the rest of mankind. Instead of comparing ourselves to other humans lost deep in the caverns of sin and justifying our lukewarm, mediocre flame we call “love for God”, we should continuously compare our lives with God’s infinitely flawless standard found in His Son and eagerly strive at every moment to reach the edge of the filth instead of lingering in the middle of sinful indulgences for even an instant.

Isaiah 55:1-3

1 “Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters;
And you who have no money come, buy and eat.
Come, buy wine and milk
Without money and without cost.
2 “Why do you spend money for what is not bread,
And your wages for what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,
And delight yourself in abundance.
3 “Incline your ear and come to Me.
Listen, that you may live;
And I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
According to the faithful mercies shown to David."

This passage from Isaiah reveals many truths about our Heavenly Father and how we are to live our lives. The main truth I would like to focus on is found in verse one. Our Father has blessed us tremendously with His gracious revelation of wisdom and truth concerning His character yet He does not stop there. He says, “Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money come, buy and eat.” Obviously he is not referring to physical food but of the spiritual truth found in Himself. There are many verses that deal with coming to God to find rest, drinking of the living water or partaking of His bread but the unique attribute of this passage that sets it aside from the plethora of similar verses is “you who have no money come, buy and eat.” It does not say, “come and I will feed you.” No, this line reveals the responsibility of the hearer, intended to inspire action in the heart of the Christian. Yes God provides truth, but He does not force-feed us like unwilling babes. He deserves all glory and praise and expects us to acknowledge that fact and seek Him enthusiastically. However a problem exists.

As human being there are an infinite amount of distractions the world, Satan and our flesh throw in between us and the ability to freely and without hinder eat of God’s truth. We willingly choose to linger in distractions each day. If we truly believed that God’s truth is more important than silver and gold then why do we consistently choose things of this world over seeking Him? We spend hours each day browsing Facebook, wasting time with frivolous video games, modifying vehicles, watching sin-filled t.v. as just a few examples of the endless list of distractions we encounter and indulge.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-17 (NASB)
16 Rejoice always; 17 pray without ceasing;

What would happen if we actually listened to these two simple verses? Imagine the impact it would have on our lives if instead of seeking pleasure or indulging distractions, we chose to spend those precious moments with the God who created us, who wants to know us more intimately than we could possibly imagine, who wants us to want Him so much that He sent Himself down to die just so that we could be with Him. What if, while waiting in a waiting room at the doctor’s office, instead of pulling out our phones and playing Angry Birds, we chose to spend that 5 minutes reading God’s Word. That five minutes we spent in the Living Word of God times 50 times a day would draw us closer to Him than we could possibly imagine. What if we expand that thought, not just spending our spare time with Him but every moment in His presence. Maintaining a state of constant communion with our Father and the Holy Spirit, praying without ceasing and meditating on the truths God has revealed to us. This kind of devotion is nearly extinct in modern society yet this is the kind of passion that permeates the many historic characters scattered throughout the Bible. Why do we settle for lukewarm, mediocre passion when the ability to become boiling hot is simple; less of us, more of Him, less of our pleasures, more of His praise.

As humans we have an instinctive desire to satisfy ourselves and continue on with life. When we eat, we eat until we are satisfied, until we feel full then we continue on with life. When we play, we play until we have been satisfied with pleasure and then we continue on with life. Yet all of these activities provide temporary satisfaction. Within a mere six hours after eating, our bodies will be ready to eat another meal to satisfy our hunger yet again. We can never satisfy our physical bodies to the point where they never want again. In Isaiah 55:2, God says, “Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And delight yourself in abundance."

Delight yourself in abundance! God has enough of Himself to satisfy us forever. We spend so much time seeking temporary fulfillment yet spend so little time seeking after the only genuine joy and satisfaction.
We choose to settle with a 20 min devotion each day that does not push us to allow our relationship with Christ to move past more than having a minor impact. It does not cause a radical difference in the way we choose to live our lives as it should. In case my words are not getting through clearly, we are talking about the Word of God. The One and Only, Holy and Righteous, Omnipotent Ruler, Soverign Ruler of All Things, the Alpha and Omega, the only being worth praising. The mountains tremble at His magnificent name, the entire universe from the largest cluster of stars to the tiniest quark obeys His voice, more powerful and awe-inspiring than we could ever imagine yet more loving and gracious than we could ever understand. He rules with infinitely perfect justice yet grants us infinitely perfect blessings in our time of need. Christianity is not designed to be a title or “feel good” emotional high. As humans we deserve the most painful and agonizing punishment you could possibly imagine, eternal separation from God. Yet Christ came down to save us from that and all He asks is us to set ourselves aside as a pure and spotless bride for the day He returns. I believe that’s a one-sided deal if there ever was one, fortunately we are on the benefiting side.
As Christians we abide in God’s love and grace. One of the responsibilities allotted to us as Christians is the knowledge of what truth is. However, simply knowing what truth is is not what God asks of us. As James 4:17 states, “Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin."

We have an extremely awe-inspiring and delightful duty as truth-bearers to adhere to the truth that God has blessed us with. It is not enough to merely contain knowledge without acting upon that knowledge. In John 8:31-32, Jesus addresses this issue by saying, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

It is not enough to simply know how Christ wants us to think, speak and act. Action is required. It is not enough for us to know that Christ says, “

Matthew 6:19 (NASB)
19 Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal."


We must go beyond simple knowledge and act:

Matthew 6:20 (NASB)

20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal


As Christians we must be able to willingly and without hesitation lay every idle and distraction down at Christ’s feet and take up His yoke for His yoke is easy and His burden is light (reference to Matthew 11:30).


In closing, nothing else truly matters but leading a life-long passionate and glorifying pursuit focused solely on the King of Heaven, Lord of all the living and dead over the expanse of time and space. Bringing glory to His name and spreading His fame by allowing the sole desire in our life seeping out into the world in a natural and fluid way. Not blinding ourselves with the base desires of humanity but looking past the mirky filth; ever longing for the glorious light drawing closer each passing day. Pressing down the rocky road, steep with trials and tribulations, yet pressing forward with an insatiable passion for the glory of the Divine Yahweh who unlocked the mysteries of Himself for us to long for with eager anticipation, excitedly waiting for the day we can meet our Abba Father face to face in all His splendid glory and praise He rightfully deserves.
Desiring to learn more concerning the natural state of mankind. If you can help share any information you might have concerning who man is in his depraved state then please do so.

aConcernedBrotherinChrist@hotmail.com

#2 aConcernedBrother

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Posted 04 April 2012 - 11:25 PM

To admins,

I apologize if I posted this in the wrong area. Wanted to share what I have been learning lately and see what others had to say but not sure as to the most appropriate area in which to do so.
Desiring to learn more concerning the natural state of mankind. If you can help share any information you might have concerning who man is in his depraved state then please do so.

aConcernedBrotherinChrist@hotmail.com

#3 elizabethcog

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Posted 07 April 2012 - 04:03 AM

To admins,

I apologize if I posted this in the wrong area. Wanted to share what I have been learning lately and see what others had to say but not sure as to the most appropriate area in which to do so.

true,and inspiring thank you!This is appropriate Everywhere!God bless :rolleyes:
Jesus and Jesus alone saves=D