As we live our lives, it’s important that we don’t get distracted by temporary things that will pass away. Our focus should be to accomplish everything that God has put us here to do. The things we spend time thinking about can often play a role in the direction our lives are heading in. “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” – Matthew 22:37. Today’s blog entry is titled “What Really Matters”.
“Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” – Ephesians 6:11-12
We have an enemy who absolutely hates us. He wants to kill, steal, and destroy. It’s important that we are aware of this, and that we don’t open doors to him into our lives through our actions. With that being said, we should not be afraid of the devil. God is much more powerful than the devil; however it’s essential that we follow God’s directions so that we are “able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”
We each have assignments, and we should not allow ourselves to be distracted by things that will keep us from carrying our God given assignments. Sometimes a distraction can come in a way that is easy to identify as being wrong. For instance, if you’re not married, and someone is trying to get you to have sex, that’s clearly a sin. A Christian should know that sex should only be done within a marriage. However other distractions can come in ways that aren’t as easy to identify. Distractions can come in the form of something such as a person excessively watching TV during times when they should be spending time with God. If something is causing us to disobey God, we need to address it and make the necessary changes. Picture this, a group a people who have recently enlisted in the military have arrived for basic training. Upon arriving, some individuals notice that certain people were able to sneak video game systems into their location. Instead of getting prepared for battle, a number of the new enlistee’s have been off somewhere playing Madden all day each day. While playing Madden may not be wrong in and of itself, it’s wrong that they are playing video games during a time that they should be preparing for battle. Likewise in our walk with Christ, it’s wrong for us to allow other things to take up time that we should be spending focusing on the things of God.
“For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.” – Proverbs 23:7
So let us examine ourselves, and really take a good look at our lives and what we need to work on. Whether it’s something that is obvious, or something that is subtle, if it’s a hindrance to our growth in Jesus, we need to address it. We shouldn’t allow confusion into our lives. It’s important that we align our thoughts with the Word of God. The enemy understands that our mind is important, and that is why he wants to influence in a negative way. There is so much going on in the world today that is contrary to how the Bible says we should be living. It’s important that we renew our minds daily, and follow the example of Jesus Christ.
“For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? but we have the mind of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 2:16
“Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” – Ephesians 6:11-12
We have an enemy who absolutely hates us. He wants to kill, steal, and destroy. It’s important that we are aware of this, and that we don’t open doors to him into our lives through our actions. With that being said, we should not be afraid of the devil. God is much more powerful than the devil; however it’s essential that we follow God’s directions so that we are “able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”
We each have assignments, and we should not allow ourselves to be distracted by things that will keep us from carrying our God given assignments. Sometimes a distraction can come in a way that is easy to identify as being wrong. For instance, if you’re not married, and someone is trying to get you to have sex, that’s clearly a sin. A Christian should know that sex should only be done within a marriage. However other distractions can come in ways that aren’t as easy to identify. Distractions can come in the form of something such as a person excessively watching TV during times when they should be spending time with God. If something is causing us to disobey God, we need to address it and make the necessary changes. Picture this, a group a people who have recently enlisted in the military have arrived for basic training. Upon arriving, some individuals notice that certain people were able to sneak video game systems into their location. Instead of getting prepared for battle, a number of the new enlistee’s have been off somewhere playing Madden all day each day. While playing Madden may not be wrong in and of itself, it’s wrong that they are playing video games during a time that they should be preparing for battle. Likewise in our walk with Christ, it’s wrong for us to allow other things to take up time that we should be spending focusing on the things of God.
“For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.” – Proverbs 23:7
So let us examine ourselves, and really take a good look at our lives and what we need to work on. Whether it’s something that is obvious, or something that is subtle, if it’s a hindrance to our growth in Jesus, we need to address it. We shouldn’t allow confusion into our lives. It’s important that we align our thoughts with the Word of God. The enemy understands that our mind is important, and that is why he wants to influence in a negative way. There is so much going on in the world today that is contrary to how the Bible says we should be living. It’s important that we renew our minds daily, and follow the example of Jesus Christ.
“For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? but we have the mind of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 2:16