Fatal Distractions

I don't normally write devotionals about biblical passages, but something struck me when doing my bible reading today. I am a day behind in my study of Colossians, so this is about yesterdays verses. Colossians, 3:1-4 "Since then you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on the things above, not on earthly things. For you died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ in your life appears, then you will also appear with Him in Glory." What struck me about this was it says to set your hearts AND minds on the things above. We have to turn all of ourselves towards Christ. We need to be mindful of where our hearts are and we need to be mindful of where our minds are. Our minds are processors, just like computers. We take in info and process it through our world eyes, which is what we have lived and learned, and come up with our thoughts and opinions about how we see this world. We are the only creation on earth that processes our world that we are surrounded by, in this way. We can choose to make the choice, good or bad. Each choice then leads to a consequence. Really, it is something that we teach our children from the very beginning. So, when we run into a situation that will affect it, our minds have to consider the different outcomes and then make the choice to do whichever we choose. It is beautiful. We get to choose. That is the freedom that the Lord granted us. For instance, I can look at that little Mazda 5 that will fit all six of us and no one and nothing else, but gets great gas mileage. I could sell my vehicle that seats 7 and has room for groceries and a dog too. I could spend hours of dreaming of a new vehicle and searching for good deals on the internet, trying to figure out how I would be able to talk my hubby into buying it for me. OR I could be content, that I have a vehicle that is in good shape, gets ok gas mileage, is already paid off and fits everything that I need. I could do either of these things. Sadly, I have been doing the first choice. I got so distracted that I obsessed about it. It was a distraction which keet me from things of above. Instead, I need to be attracted to the things of above. When you are attracted to something, it keeps your eyes from looking elsewhere. Got it? Are you still with me??? So, back on track, if we have made the choice to follow the Lord, Jesus Christ then, my sweet friends, our world has changed. We now have a filter named Christ. Our processor includes a built in feature. See, we live in a tangible world where the things of this world are in our faces. TV's, nice cars, big homes, commercials and magazines, they tell us we are not good enough the way we are. In order to make it through these attacks from the evil one, which they are, we have to USE THE FILTER of Jesus to tell us who we are. We have to make the effort to SET our hearts and minds on the things of above, towards Jesus. It takes effort. It is easy to sit and SEE and FEEL and HEAR and TASTE the things of this world because it is here. It is now. It is real. But our minds and hearts know different. Jesus is here and now. He lives in us. He is our filter. All the things we do go through Him and our choices and lives should reflect that. Truly, it's not about the things here and now, it is about Jesus and being a reflection of the above things and not the world things. We should be going into the world and showing Jesus to the lost. We should be a city on a hill, above this world. Not of it, but in it. If you are not using your filter to process your world, you should be. If you haven't accepted this filter, you need to. Your life will change and He wants to do it for you. He is reaching His hand out to bring you above this. All you have to do is reach out and take it and let Him. It is amazing what your life and world will look like with the filter of Jesus Christ to look through. If you want to and don't know what to do, ask a friend who does. If you don't have one or know one, send me an email or make a comment, I will help you. All you have to do is ask. Wow, that was a sermon! Sorry about that...it just started flowing out. Hopefully, it touches someone out there. Praise God! Be Blessed, Until we read again. wt