What's Stealing My Attention - Martin Wiles

Your own ears will hear him. Right behind you a voice will say, “This is the way you should go,” whether to the right or to the left. Isaiah 30:21 NLT

Getting shoppers sidetracked is a retailer’s dream come true. Who hasn’t had to ask, “What’s stealing my attention?” And not for the better. 

After a long day of sweating in the hot, humid temperatures of a South Carolina August, my wife and I showered and readied ourselves for church. Moving isn’t fun, but we had no choice.

Following church, we stopped by the local Wal-Mart for a few necessities: curtain rods and a gallon of milk. Tired from a day of moving, I said, “Now, we’re just going to get those two things and leave, right?”

“That’s all,” my wife remarked.

As we entered the store, we began walking in the wrong direction: the garden center. “Your mom said they had chair cushions on sale.”

And so our visit went. Although we only came out with four items instead of two, I had to continually keep my wife pointed toward what we came to get. My recliner was calling my name, but the retailer’s reputation for putting things in my wife’s path that attracted her kept sidetracking her.

God did his best to keep the nation of Israel on track. He sent prophets, priests, and judges who kept his ways before them, but they kept getting sidetracked. The pagan nations around them put more attractive things in their path.

I’m not much different than God’s people of old. In fact, I’ve been known to get sidetracked in Wal-Mart myself—just not over the same things my wife does. That’s how the enemy of our souls works. Through experience, he learns what attracts us. He won’t try to sidetrack me with clothes or shoes because he knows they don’t interest me. But he will throw up a few tech gadgets, a new backpack, or a recently released Kindle book.

I had to continue telling my wife not to get sidetracked. “Keep your eyes focused on what we came for,” I reminded her.

I must do the same for myself. If I don’t, Satan will lead me in sinful or unhealthy directions. And like a puppy on a leash, I’ll follow if I’m not clothed in my spiritual armor. By the power of God’s Spirit, we can say no, get what we came to get, and go home.

Don’t get sidetracked by Satan’s attempt to convince you that you need things you don’t.

Father, give me the power to say no to Satan’s attempts to sidetrack me. 

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Ignoring God - Martin Wiles

I warned you when you were prosperous, but you replied, “Don’t bother me.” You have been that way since childhood—you simply will not obey me! Jeremiah 22:21 NLT

Our challenge seemed simple, but proved more difficult than we imagined.

The final day of school is always a half day. Following breakfast, teachers and students head off to the gym, where eligible students receive various awards. Typically, this had been followed by two hours of dead time. But one year, we teachers decided to show a movie. As a Christian school, we are required to show only G-rated movies unless we have parental approval.

Our lead teacher picked Star Wars, thinking that none of the students would have seen the original and that it would interest them. She was correct on the first count but miserably wrong on the second. What we teachers hoped would be a relaxing time turned into a scene more challenging than the classroom.

Jeremiah, known as the “weeping prophet,” was also given a daunting challenge: deliver a message to God’s people, warning them of coming destruction by a foreign force (Jeremiah 22:21). A destruction they had brought on themselves by ignoring God, just as most of our students ignored the movie.

Most of the students ignored the movie because they had no interest in it. Since it was space-related and showed examples of techy stuff, we assumed they’d love it. The trouble was that our world has advanced so far since the movie’s production that the production itself was now dated. Without God’s intervention, we’ll respond to God the same way the students did to the movie. While we’re born with spiritual interest, we’ll ignore God because of our sinful nature unless we listen to the Spirit of God pulling us in the right direction.

As a believer, I’ve ignored God numerous times because I had my mind on other things. Had we shown the movie earlier in the year, the students might have watched. This was the last day of school, and they were moments away from the final bell and summer vacation. Unless we allow God to keep our minds on spiritual things, we’ll also find ourselves ignoring God.

Initially, a few students were interested in the movie but were eventually distracted by classmates who weren’t. I, too, have been led away from God by others. Going was my choice, but letting them influence me was also my choice.

Don’t let things or people lead you to a place where you are ignoring God. Doing so always has devastating effects.

Father, may I always give you my full attention so I can accomplish Your perfect plan. 

I invite you to try my book Hurt, Hope, and Healing. No one escapes life's hurts, but we can move beyond them to hope and healing. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

Throwback Tuesday - The Art of Good Listening - Martin Wiles

The Art of Good Listening

Intently locked into what she was doing, she didn’t hear me when I spoke to her.

In the days before DVD’s, my daughter was still a distracted listener. A “Barney the Purple Dinosaur” VCR tape was a convenient way to keep her occupied while I did other things. I was able to get some work accomplished, and she was watching material with honorable values. Trouble was, when the time came for her to listen to me she didn’t hear me when I called. The purple dinosaur had captured so much of her attention that she didn’t hear a more important voice. Read more...

Tweetable: Are you a good listener?

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