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.
When I was a young child, I used to put on my rubber boots and walk down the road after a rainy day. Whenever I found a big puddle, I would dig a small trench with the heel of my boot so the water would drain from the center of the road. When the water started flowing really fast, I would grab a big boulder from the side of the road, and throw it into the stream, just to see what would happen. After a few moments, the water would be completely diverted, and head off in a different direction.
This reminds me the Christian Life.
A diversion is an instance of turning something aside from its course, or a certain activity that points the mind in a different direction. Like a rock can divert a stream, the things of this world can divert our attention from abiding in a close relationship with God. They can distract us from maintaining a perfect love for our creator. Although there are many rocks in this world, we must always remember to keep the stream free of obstructions, and never allow anything to come in between us and our great devotion to God.
“Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection,….Colossians 3:5
Inordinate affections can greatly affect our relationship with God. They have been defined in many places as an inappropriate craving or desire that can lead you into sinful actions. Inordinate means unusually or disproportionately large, excessive, immoderate and overabundant. The heart must be filled with a great passion and devotion for the Lord Jesus Christ, but when He isn’t the complete focal point and love of our life, that love can be placed on many other things. Like a stream, the heart can be redirected simply by loving other things more than God, which at that point become an idol unto them, whatever it may be.
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.
We are supposed to be kindly affectionate one to another, but if those affections lead you away from the will of God, then the Lord is not your greatest love. One of the biggest problems is that when Jesus is not first in your heart, all of the decisions that you make will not be made according to obedience to the teachings of the Gospel. This is a grave error because at that point, the things of God are not navigating your life. Something or somebody else has begun to control what you do. Obviously, we are called to love others in this world, but if you love your neighbor enough to help them rob a bank, then you just violated the first commandment. Your love for your neighbor just became inordinate, because your love for them became greater than your love for God. Love is very powerful, but be careful what you place it on. If Jesus does not rule your heart, then it will be ruled by others instead.
Matthew 22 ³⁷ 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. ³⁸ This is the first and great commandment.
Another point is that those who choose to obey this commandment are going to enter into some type of suffering. When Jesus is first in our hearts, your own wife might become extremely jealous, because you spend a lot of your day seeking Him, rather than being with her. It will result in being hated by your own family members and relatives, because your love for Christ Jesus and His teachings, becomes greater in your life than a love for them. Ultimately, this will create variance, which is a clash in relationships, based upon differing opinions and interests.
Matthew 10 ³⁴ Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. ³⁵ For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. ³⁶ And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.
³⁷ He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
Whenever love is misplaced on other things, a person becomes devoted to that, rather than focusing on the will of God. They begin to invest all of their time on temporal concerns, rather than on furthering the Gospel of Christ Jesus. At one point, Solomon’s heart was not perfect before God. His love for his wives became greater than God, which resulted in him getting involved with their false religion. This is a prime example why men must never follow a woman. Adam hearkened to his wife which resulted in being expelled from the garden of Eden. Women take a back seat in comparison to our love for our precious Lord Jesus. A woman is not the only thing in this world that can seduce you from maintaining a perfect heart for God. Other things can get in the way and completely distract people from the direction that God wants to take them.
Mark 4 ¹⁸ And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, ¹⁹ And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.
When the heart is misplaced on the carnal things of the world, they only become an inordinate affection that will eventually lead to death. This is because the love and devotion that is actually meant for God, is placed upon Earthly things instead.
Romans 8 ⁵ For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. ⁶ For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. ⁷ Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. ⁸ So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
Some men will chase after a woman, while others seek after Earthly gain and possessions. When this happens, God is not the center of attention in their lives. This is why the scriptures admonish the church to keep our hearts on Spiritual things, rather than the things of this world.
Colossians 3 ¹ If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. ² Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
When we become a Christian, we must rid ourselves of any earthly desires and lusts.
“And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.” Galatians 5:24
God must be our great obsession and consuming desire, and our love and devotion to Him must be above and beyond compare. The desire for the things of this world can quickly divert one’s heart from maintaining a fervent love for God. We must always remember to keep God first in our hearts, which will require keeping the stream free of obstructions, by…..
……Removing the Boulders
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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