The Need For Awareness

I Peter 5:8
STAY ALERT!!
WATCH OUT!!
For your great enemy, the devil, he prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.

ap·a·thy

ˈapəTHē/

lack of interest, enthusiasm, or concern.

The silent killer of all who are on this journey of following Jesus. You slowly begin to lose momentum in your journey. You stop doing the disciplines that are a part of every day life. You never develop the daily study of your Bible. You never spend time with God.....sitting and waiting for Him to speak to you. You never communicate with Him through prayer. You quit looking around you as you move through your day for signs and evidence of Him in your situations and circumstances. You stopped looking for opportunities to give back to others. You quit reaching out to those around you who may need help. And then you fall back into old habits....old thoughts.....and old behaviors. You know what the funny part in all of this "going backwards" is? When the wheels come off, your first thought is "Why me, God? Why did you let this happen to me?" When in fact God didn't let it happen.....we brought it on ourselves.

Great truth is found in Hebrews 2:1-3: So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may DRIFT AWAY from it. For the message God delivered through angels has always stood firm, and every violation of the law and every act of disobedience was punished. So what makes us think we can escape if we IGNORE this great salvation that was first announced by the Lord Jesus himself and then delivered to us by those who heard him speak.

WE must never let ourselves become apathetic or complacent.
These "Twins of destruction" can never be allowed to exercise their power in our lives.
Recovery / Salvation requires the commitment to stay focused and aware of our own emotions and thoughts. When we become aware that our heart-thoughts are drifting away from the truth.........when we are aware that our wants and desires fill our thoughts, telling us that we have  need to take control of our lives, that should set off the bells and whistles in our spirit. Such thoughts should set off all the alarms that we are headed toward dangerous behavior. When this happens, we need to take those thoughts captive and not allow them to produce death in us.

I've heard several make the comment that all this "NEW LIFE IN JESUS" is a lot of work. This recovery stuff requires way to much work and effort. Really? Do you really believe that the end result is not worth the effort? Excuse me------didn't your old life require effort on your part? You spent your days expending all your energy on how you could get what you needed to stay high. You lied to your family in an effort to get them to give you money so you could get high. You used everyone around you so you could sustain your habit. You became the center of your own little warped universe and you dedicated your life to doing whatever it took to keep the train rolling down the addiction-line. Don't talk to me about recovery being too hard, or following this Jesus not being fun. We're talking about the difference between dying and living. We're talking about the difference between eternity in hell or spending it with Christ. 

Life is hard buttercup....

But life is harder when you step away from Jesus. That is why we take this recovery/salvation journey one day at a time. Because we don't let our focus or energy go beyond the twenty-four hours God has given us in this day. If I am faithful with this 24....then I've laid the groundwork for the next 24. And with every day that I stay focused and do the right thing....I grow stronger in Christ. Believe you me, the effort to listen and then follow instructions as we learn to "hear" God, will definitely bring the change to your life that you have been searching for.

Think on these things today....

God on you...

mbb