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 Pay Attention!
by Cary Branscum Hey! Hey! Heeeeyyyy! Do I have your attention now? It’s the New Year, and I want to talk about some things to which we need to pay attention. As a single person, you can ask God’s help to really let this year be your “break out” year for spiritual growth. But you have to pay attention to a few things. What gets your attention? It can be something good, bad, or morally neutral. It can be an event, a person, a place or a thing. It can be a noise or a still small voice.
The beautiful thing is this; you can decide what you will “attend to,” what you will focus upon, and what you will pay heed to in this new year. Here are a few I want you to consider. 1) Pay attention to God’s Word. In 2 Kings 22, the young king Josiah commands his men to pay attention to God’s House, and in the process they discover the Book of the Law! Instantly, Josiah responds by calling out to God, and calling the Hebrews to a renewed commitment to God. As a result, Josiah received a blessing. Think about this for a moment. He had a heart to do what is right, he took action, he discovered God’s Word, and he was blessed. This can happen in your life as you unearth that Bible that’s been gathering dust in the corner. If you don’t read it, it will be lost to you! If you rediscover its precious truth, you too can be blessed in ways you never imagined. 2) Pay attention to your body, mind, soul, and spirit. We live by technology, medicine, science, and chemicals. We use these complicated inventions everyday, and many of us don’t have a clue how they work or even how they affect us, for good or for bad. I DO know that God created our bodies, and they have been built in ways to get our attention. Are you listening to your body? It’s the temple of God’s spirit according to 1 Corinthians 6. Stress, illness, job, and relationship problems all affect us in many ways. Are you listening to your body’s warning signs? Are you taking care of this temple so that it will be a better place for both God’s Spirit and your spirit as well? 3) Pay attention to your true priorities. Don’t get distracted by “mind and heart junk.” Don’t let the drivel of daily life drive out the good, the important. Don’t let the urgent things crowd out your highest priorities for God, others, and yourself. Find God’s top priorities for you and DO THEM no matter what. 4) Pay attention to a changing world. National borders are being drawn and redrawn every day. Our own national culture is made up of increasing multicultural influences. We face the challenge of seeing all people as the children of God, a God who longs to know them, and to share His Love with them. Our country is not immune to terror. We face increasing challenges that are global in nature. We cannot hide our heads in the sand; we must live with eyes wide open. Jesus’ last words remind us that we are to live in this world to share His grace and truth with those who don’t know it (Matthew 28:18-20) because God loves this world and wants its people saved (John 3:16-17). Take heart in all this, and PAY ATTENTION! We will triumph as God’s people, for He has promised it to us. 1 John 5:4 tells us our faith overcomes the world. Let’s pay attention and triumph!
Author: Cary Branscum Publication Date: January 8, 2002
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HEARTLIGHT® Magazine is produced by Heartlight, Inc. HEARTLIGHT is a registered service mark of Heartlight, Inc. Copyright © 1996-2007. Heartlight is supported by Westover Hills Church, Southern Hills Church, and loving Christians from around the world. Scripture quotations are taken from the Easy-to-Read Version copyright © 2001 by World Bible Translation Center. Used by permission. All rights reserved. |