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| Captured Words Photography |
It has been a beautiful day. I don’t know about you but when the weather is nice I seem to get distracted easily. I like to notice the new sights of Spring as I am driving along.
The trees and flowers blooming.
The home improvement projects going on.
The people driving by with their car top down.
And then I jerk back to reality.
I am driving and I need to pay attention to the road, not everything happening around me. Break lights can pop up suddenly, yellow lights turn red and cars suddenly change lanes. Paying attention isn’t a suggestion, it is a necessity. A life saving necessity. I need to concentrate on getting to my destination.
I think as Christians we need to remember there are things we can easily be distracted by. Just today I have had so many issues come at me; each one vying for my attention. Each one seemingly more important than the last. Here are just a few:
Bible prophesies. End times are coming. Have been for over 2000 years. Should I dig in and study deeply, find out every single hidden meaning, or should I just trust Jesus and keep on going. He wins in the end after all, right?
What about politics? As a Christian I should believe a certain way about a certain issue, right? And if I do then I should certainly vote for a certain politician who stands for my certain beliefs… The issues are urgent. My vote counts. Have I called my Senator/Representative/Mayor/School Board Member yet?
Raising my children. They should be smart, humble, respectful, obedient, modest, happy, self motivated, hard working, fearless, bold, friendly… And if they aren’t whose responsibility is it? Do I need to have another heart to heart talk?
Modesty. I need to be sure I am modest in my appearance. Because it is my fault if a man is tempted by me and my blue jeans. (Didn’t I hear that from a Muslim man as well?) So can I wear a tank top or not? What about shorts?
Stewardship? Do I really need those new curtains? Or should I send more money to my neighbor’s kid who is going to Honduras this summer? If I just give money am I doing enough?
Arrrrrrrggggghhh
Can I just offer one piece of advice?
Pay attention to the road.
What is going to keep you moving along? What is going to get you where you need to go? What is life or death? I have my top four listed here for you. Just trying to keep it simple.
#1 “In the beginning God…” Put God first in your life. Every morning wake up saying, ”Hello God, here I am ready to know you better and obey you more. Show me how.”
#2 Get to know Him more by reading His book. It’s a best seller, available in many languages with or without pictures.
And in the sequel (New Testament) you can find out about #3 His Son, Jesus. Very powerful Guy. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (NIV John 3:16) Get to know Him better.
#4 Everyone else on the planet. “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (NIV Matthew 28:19) Everyone needs to know Jesus too. Hear His words, see Him alive in someone’s life by their actions. Have the chance to breath eternal life for free.
And you know what?
That’s stinking IT.
That’s all you need to worry about. Because if you worry about:
God,
His Word,
Jesus,
and telling/showing others about those 3,
then you have got it all DONE.
What about Prophesy, Modesty, Politics, Children, Stewardship, Organic Food, Save the Dolphins, Attend Bible Study, bla…bla…bla…bla…
In the grand scheme of things they don’t really matter as much as we let them matter.
(you have no idea how much I want to SCREAM that sentence, but I will be restrained)
All that matters is keeping your eyes on the road, keeping everyone else alive and reaching your destination. Can we strive to keep important things important? Can we just agree that we need to keep the focus on Jesus and stop fretting and beating each other up over the small stuff?
First things first.
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