Good morning and welcome in everybody. Today we are going to take a look at a passage of Scripture, but before we do that I wanted to tell you a little story.
Everyday in this nation, people drive their vehicles to and from work, pick up their children from school, and purchase their food at the nearest grocery store. Although driving is an activity that can become very routine, one must always remember the serious nature of what they are doing and keep their eyes focused on the road. I used to transport high schoolers and I understand how young people can become quite the distraction inside of a vehicle, insomuch that it can cause great injury to the safety of both your passengers and other drivers on the highway. Recently, the use of cell phones has caused a large uptick in distracted driving, insomuch that they have enacted safety laws to make sure that drivers don’t become preoccupied by texting or other activities stemming from cell phone usage.
This reminds me of the Christian Life.
A cell phone can be very distracting, but there are numerous other things that can cause a distraction in our relationship with God. The world that we live in is filled with lusts and temptations, each of which are trying to pull our hearts away from a perfect love for our precious Lord Jesus. We always want to make sure that we keep our love completely focused on Him, and stay away from anything that might distract our attention from our service, loyalty, and obedience to His will. We’ve got a narrow road in front of us, and if we want to make it to eternal life, we must make sure that we don’t get involved in any type of distracted driving.
“And this I speak for your own profit; not that I may cast a snare upon you, but for that which is comely, and that ye may attend upon the Lord without distraction.” 1 Corinthians 7:35
People can become distracted by all sorts of things. A mother might call her child to the supper table, but he never shows up because he is so distracted by his game station. A teacher might try to get the attention of their students, but they are distracted by their classmates who are playing out on the playground. Cooking in the kitchen can even become a distraction, pulling somebody’s heart away from learning about the things of God.
Luke 10 ³⁸ Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. ³⁹ And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word. ⁴⁰ But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.
⁴¹ And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: ⁴² But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.
Lot’s wife loved the world, which caused her to turn away from her own husband. Demas loved the world which resulted in him forsaking the Apostle Paul. Judas loved the world, because of which he betrayed Christ Jesus. As I’ve taught my family for 20 years, be very careful what you love. People must examine the things that they do during their day to see if what they do brings them closer or further away from obedience to God.
1 John 2 ¹⁵ Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶ For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. ¹⁷ And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
Many times when you walk into a lecture, they will ask you to turn off your cell phones so that you will pay attention to the things that are being taught. Out of a love for God, this is exactly what we need to do with the things of this world, turning them off so that we can be closer to God. It’s like walking into a desert where all the distractions are completely gone, where there is nothing but you and God so you can focus completely on Him. Some people experience this for a short period of time when they take a two-week primitive vacation out in the woods, or go camping up in the boundary waters. All of a sudden they find solitude and seclusion, the perfect opportunity to redeem the time that they have been given to draw near unto Christ Jesus. The more we keep separate from the world, the more time we have available to seek God and to love Him with all of our heart.
“O love the LORD, all ye his saints: for the LORD preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer.” Psalms 31:23
Mark 12 ²⁸ And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? ²⁹ And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: ³⁰ And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
If you truly want to obey this commandment, you must reject the things of this world and place God first in your life. You must seek Him with a diligent heart, not just because it’s the right thing to do, but because He loves us and shed His own blood on the cross for our redemption.
“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Hebrews 11:6
People wanted to be near the Lord so much that they would walk for hours just to find out where He was. They would fast for days on end just to listen to Him preach. That is a devoted heart, just like a wife devoted to her own husband, who is ready to serve him, willing to obey him, and follow his commands in everything. True devotion for God comes at a price. Reject the world and you will find it. Resist temptations and you will obtain it. Turn away from distractions, and you will acquire it.
“I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O when wilt thou come unto me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.” Psalms 101:2
We want to be prepared for the return of our Lord Jesus by keeping our lamps burning brightly and our hearts filled up with the love of God. Every day we need to keep our eyes completely focused on the narrow path of Christ, and make sure that none of us get involved in any type of….
….. Distracted Driving
Let’s think about these things for right now. We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you all, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody.
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