For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. Philippians 1:21 (NKJV)
Have you ever gone to the grocery store, only to forget what it was you came for? How about this one; you get out into your car and remember you forgot something (Oxymoron). So you end up going back into the house - there you stand with that deer in the headlights look on your face - unable to remember what it was you were coming to retrieve.
The mind is a complex and funny thing. As we get older, we begin to have brain cells die off slowly, thereby causing some of our memory loss. Another recent study in Japan, found that 1out of every10 people between the ages of 20-35 interviewed suffered from significant memory loss.1This was linked to their dependence on computers and electronic devices that discouraged the use of the human brain and recalling memory.
It is the same for all of us who are being bombarded with technology - we are getting lazy to do any real searching for answers. Unfortunately, many of the alleged facts available online are not authenticated or remotely true. And this is especially true with respect to false religions. So what happens? We can get discouraged from even studying, and end up believing some of these things and inevitably stray from the faith (1Tim. 4:1).
Q: What does this mean to us as Christians?
A: It means we must guard ourselves against those things causing us to be distracted.
The enemy will forever distract us; it is his goal to get our eyes off of God, and His Word. He will entice us to look to the left or to the right - anywhere but on God.
Q: Why does Satan attempt to distract us?
A: So we forget why we are here, and where we are going.
We don't need to know everything there is about God to know His desire for us. We are to live our lives in a selfless way, sharing the message of the Gospel with others. We are to be eagerly expecting the return of Christ and living each day as it were our last (Heb. 9:28).
- Satan knows if he can keep us from walking with the Lord, then we will be less apt to be a threat to his plan of deceiving people into hell.
- Satan knows if he can get us to take our eyes off of Christ, we will stumble and be ineffective Christian witnesses.
- Satan knows if he can get us to look at our past we will be paralyzed in guilt - again useless in Kingdom building ministry.
- Satan knows if he can get us to feel as though we have accomplished everything we need to by simply accepting Christ as our Savior, we will be content in our Christian walk - apathetic to those lost.
The Apostle Paul spoke of this very thing as recorded in the Book of Philippians.
Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead,Philippians 3:13 (NKJV)
Paul is identifying his need to forget the past. This isn't speaking of wiping out his memory of his past - it was a conscious decision by him to not allow it to consume his attention or hinder his progress for sharing his faith with others. There was no way Paul was going to allow any current achievement to sucker him into thinking he had somehow reached the finish line or experienced everything Christ had called him to do.
It is the same with us today as Christian men and women. We must, like Paul, press forward to those things ahead. We must ask ourself these questions.
Q: Am I content with accepting Christ as my Savior?
Q: Am I willing to be used to help others to be saved?
Q: Do I have a burden for the lost?
Hey Christian, I want to encourage you to guard yourself against forgetting why we are here. It is to glorify God and to share the message of the Cross - Jesus Christ died for our sins and was resurrected on the third day (1Cor 15:3-4). If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved (Rom. 10:9-10).
STUDY QUESTION: What was Paul's philosophy about living once he had accepted Jesus as Lord according to the Scriptures in this devotional?
PERSONAL INVENTORY: Are you willing to say as Paul did, "For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain?"
APPLICATION: Make it a point to make a bullet list of priorities to do daily. These will keep you focused. This should include praying to God for His leading. Don't be legalistic - be loving and Spirit led.
...you have sinned against the LORD; and be sure your sin will find you out. Numbers 32:23 (NKJV)
We have all seen and heard those commercials promoting tourism for the city of Las Vegas - AKA Sin City. Their catch line became, "What happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas!" I guess the concept being, you can do whatever you want here, and it will be our little secret. The very essence of this sales pitch being you can do things here you might not otherwise do, and no one will no about it. But this couldn't be farther from the truth.
We can see in the Book of Numbers Moses warning the tribes of Gad and Benjamin to obey the Lord in what He had instructed them to do - if they chose not to, their sin would find them out. All too often, people think they have gotten away with their sinful actions, only to have them resurface later.
We can see an example of this in the Book of Genesis. We read of the story of Joseph and of how his brothers had sinned by throwing him into a pit and eventually selling him into slavery. They thought their actions would solve their problem of jealousy and anger, and yet their sin found them out many years later (Gen. 37-50).
When you think about it, this is what sin always does - it entices us into believing it is the answer for something, and into it being able to fulfill a need in our life. It can be the temptation to gamble in an effort to win some money to handle a financial problem, or to buy the things they are coveting as well - the car, or lifestyle your neighbor has. It can be the temptation to have an affair, or to go and get drunk and seek to forget ones problems.
The fact is, it can be just about any type of temptation to sin, and we don't have to go to Las Vegas to be tempted or to act upon our temptations either.
As tempting as sin may present itself, it never truly satisfies in the way we perceive it will - it always leaves the sinner longing for more. The more a person sins, the more they desire to fulfill the lust of the flesh. The fire of sin burns hotter and hotter, never having enough to fuel it completely. In the end a person will find himself or herself still wanting something more to bring true lasting satisfaction and fulfillment - and it will never be found in stoking the coals of sin. Only Jesus can truly meet the need we have deep within our lives for fulfillment.
And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19 (NKJV)
As Christians, we must deal with any and all sin within our life by confessing it, repenting of it, and allowing God to use it to help others by sharing what we have learned from it. All too often, people attempt to cover up the things they have done wrong, thinking they can hide it. We see Adam doing this very thing in the Garden of Eden once he sinned by eating the forbidden fruit - it was only then that he knew the difference between good and evil and immediately he became ashamed of being naked.
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. Genesis 3:6-7 (NKJV)
It is always the same pattern of Satan tempting, man partaking in what is forbidden, the damaged caused by the sinful action, including the consequences of the sin finding them out.
I want to encourage you today to bring any unconfessed sin before the Lord and lay it at His feet in prayer. Ask for His forgiveness, repent of any ongoing actions you may have in your life - those actions not in the will of God. Seek His forgiveness and cleansing today. Jesus' blood was shed for your sin, and it is ample payment for any sin one confesses with a truly repentive heart. Walk in the Spirit by abiding in God's will and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh (Gal. 5:16). Remember, once you do this, you are forgiven, so don't allow the enemy to come back into your life and attempt to condemn you for these sinful actions which have been paid for by Christ.
There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. Romans 8:1 (NKJV)
STUDY QUESTION: What can we learn from Numbers 32:23 with regard to our unrepented, unconfessed sin?
PERSONAL INVENTORY: Is there any sin you have not confessed to God and repented of (turned from)?
APPLICATION: Seek the Lord and ask Him to reveal any sin in your life in which you have not confessed and turned from. Now ask Him to strengthen you to walk in freedom from this sinful action. Believe in His healing hand for any strongholds the enemy may have developed - those bad habits you're fighting to quit.
