Have mercy on us, O Lord,
have mercy on us! For we are exceedingly filled with contempt. —Psalm 123:3
{CHAMBERS} “What we must beware of is not damage to our belief in
God but damage to our Christian disposition or state of mind. “Take heed to
your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously” (Malachi 2:16). Our state of
mind is powerful in its effects. It can be the enemy that penetrates right into
our soul and distracts our mind from God. There are certain attitudes we should
never dare to indulge. If we do, we will find they have distracted us from
faith in God. Until we get back into a quiet mood before Him, our faith is of
no value, and our confidence in the flesh and in human ingenuity is what rules
our lives. Beware of “the cares of this world…” (Mark 4:19). They are the very
things that produce the wrong attitudes in our soul. It is incredible what
enormous power there is in simple things to distract our attention away from
God. Refuse to be swamped by “the cares of this world.” Another thing that
distracts us is our passion for vindication. St. Augustine prayed, “O Lord,
deliver me from this lust of always vindicating myself.””
{ELGIN} There are things in
this world that are spiritually neutral.. In other words, they don’t have a positive or negative effect on
you. The problem is that our discernment can become dulled to those things that
are acceptable in our culture but contrary to the Word. (Proverbs
4:23) “Guard your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of
life.” There are certain things in everyone’s life that we cling to, even
though, in our heart, we know they are not right. There are things that we teach our children
are wrong, yet we will sit in our living rooms and watch those wrong things
being played out on the television screen or in a movie theater. What you allow in your home through music and
visual media is a statement by you to your children that those things are
acceptable. Do this. The next time you watch your favorite
television show, count those things (words or relationships) that are contrary
to the Word of God. Each one is a
lesson. There is an old adage “Do as I
say, not as I do.” Well, I would suggest
that that opposite of that is in effect in most homes .. “Don’t do as I say, do
as I do.” I can remember when I was a
little boy, my dad told me not to smoke because it was bad for me. All the while he was smoking a
cigarette. What is the “real” message
there? If you want to be like me, then
you should smoke.
As we observe sin,
vicariously, we convince ourselves that it is entertainment and not “really all
that bad”. What we don’t realize is that
our flesh is at the root of it. Sin is
attractive to our flesh because our flesh is sinful. Look, you can put lipstick on a pig, but it
is still a pig! Whether it is language,
life style, or sinful behavior … it promotes those things that are supposed to
have been crucified in your life. Bottom line, if you crave those things, you
have a sin problem. Hope you don’t stop
reading my devotions because of that!
Our country has a problem with violence and the most popular television
shows are about people killing people.
Parents fear their daughters getting pregnant before marriage, yet most
movies and television dramas portray and promote extra-marital sex. The same media that is slamming men for
sexual aggression toward women is promoting Victoria Secret in China, the
world’s sexiest man, and promoting women as sex objects at every turn. Think about it Church! It’s the frog in the pot. Christians are being boiled alive … and they
think the water is just right! Don’t try
to vindicate yourself .. justify you actions .. confess and repent .. honor God
in all you do.
Pray about this … and listen
for the Spirit to guide you. I’ll close with a couple of verses that you might
consider. (Philippians 4:8)
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just,
whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any
excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” (Joshua
1:8-9) “This Book of the Law [the Word of God] shall not depart from
your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be
careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make
your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not
commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be
dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” Stop
turning your spiritual nature off when you turn your TV on or sit down in a
movie theater. Ok last verse …
(Proverbs 3:5-6) “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and don’t
trust in your own understanding. In all
your ways (including television and movies) acknowledge Him and He will direct
your path”
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