Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith Hebrews 12:2
George Barna said that we live in the midst of a distracted culture. Not just in the secular realm, but the spiritual one as well. That makes living out the truth of Hebrews 12:2 impossible for us by any other means than by His Holy Spirit. Only He can work so that nothing else has the power to draw our eyes and our heart away from Him. And the distractions available to us are nearly unending. Here are a few. To what degree are they at work in us?
Comfort - We're obsessed with our personal comfort. Our efforts to provide a comfortable life for ourselves will always push Jesus off the center of our being. It makes any idea of "taking up our cross and following Him" an impossibility. His cross does not offer us comfort. It offers us His way of life. It offers Himself. Comfort has no place for the cross.
Entertainment - We are being entertained to death. Not just in the culture, but in the church. So much of what we call "worship" involves seeking to provide congregants (actually the audience) a good church experience. There's little difference between a Hollywood studio wanting the audience to leave the movie house feeling well entertained and the church wanting the congregation leaving the church house with much the same feeling. Our lust for entertainment is killing us by inches....and Jesus has no place in it.
Pleasure - We're pleasure seekers. We always have been, but our hunger to feed our desire for pleasure, sexually, emotionally, and physically, is leading us to spiritual destruction. Again, there is no place for His cross. No self-denial, no hardships or suffering. We medicate our lives with sex, drugs, video games, Tik-Tok, and relationships. Relationships with anyone and everyone but Christ.
Entertainment - We are being entertained to death. Not just in the culture, but in the church. So much of what we call "worship" involves seeking to provide congregants (actually the audience) a good church experience. There's little difference between a Hollywood studio wanting the audience to leave the movie house feeling well entertained and the church wanting the congregation leaving the church house with much the same feeling. Our lust for entertainment is killing us by inches....and Jesus has no place in it.
Pleasure - We're pleasure seekers. We always have been, but our hunger to feed our desire for pleasure, sexually, emotionally, and physically, is leading us to spiritual destruction. Again, there is no place for His cross. No self-denial, no hardships or suffering. We medicate our lives with sex, drugs, video games, Tik-Tok, and relationships. Relationships with anyone and everyone but Christ.
Survival - This may be our greatest distraction. Countless lives are affected by the simple action of just trying to hang on, to make it through the day, the month, the year(s). Get the bills paid. Provide for our families. Keep our jobs. Find a job. Pay the rent, the mortgage, the car. We're not really living. We're just surviving, and for many they think it's "victory" if they do. We are born with an instinct to survive. It is so strong in us as to render Jesus Christ as an afterthought, if He is any thought at all. Worst of all, Christ offers a life that will thrive, but most often, we choose one that allows us to survive. Barely.
These are just a few of the distractions. Where are they found in your life and mine? What ones are there for us besides these? How much of a field day would George Barna have for his statement about distraction if he were to use you or me as His example?
Blessings,
Pastor O
Blessings,
Pastor O
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