We all have that one thing that draws our attention. But what we allow it to pull us away from makes all the difference.
While reading in Deuteronomy 13 this morning, as Moses was talking to the children of Israel, this chapter really stuck out to me. Read along with me.
Verses 1 ¶ If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, 2 And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; 3 Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. (We may be saying, there’s no way I’d allow some false dreamer to come in and seduce me like that. I’m not that gullible. Beware. Be on guard. We have to keep our eyes on Jesus. The devil can appear as an angel of light and so can some of our family and friends.)
4 Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him. (Stay in your Bible, watch and pray! Don’t slack up. When you do, that’s when the deceiver slips in. Try the spirits, whether they be of God.)
5 And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the LORD thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee. (If you find yourself being drawn away from where you once stood, turn back to God. Stop right where you are and repent. Remember where the Lord has brought you from.)
6 ¶ If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers; 7 Namely, of the gods of the people which are round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth; (Sometimes those that are closest to us can turn us away from decisions we have made for the Lord. We may decide to go to the places they go, dress the way they dress, partake of the things they partake in. Are they holy? Are we walking as closely as we once did with the Lord?)
8 Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him: 9 But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. 10 And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die; because he hath sought to thrust thee away from the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. (No matter who it is, take a stand and we have to separate ourselves. Sometimes we don’t want to hurt someone’s feeling by not hanging around as much, or being at every family gathering. BUT the things and people who are pulling us away from godliness has to die. Don’t be killing anyone haha. That’s not what I’m saying!!! But die to self and your desire to please them and turn back to God and let’s please Him.)
11 And all Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall do no more any such wickedness as this is among you. (We have no idea who is watching us, who will follow us as we walk closer to the Lord.)
We all are gonna be tempted to turn away. The devil doesn’t like us serving the Lord. Culture around us says you don’t have to dress modestly anymore. The world screams to give in a little or you’ll never reach that loved one. Every excuse will surface for you to miss church saying that is more important. If we feel that the Lord is ok with something we are doing, we need to make sure it doesn’t contradict His Word. If He commands it, then no matter what the “dreamer” says, we should obey God’s voice!!!
But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
James 1:14
This verse pricks the heart…when he is drawn away of his own lust… What are we really lusting after? What are we really wanting? What are we allowing to turn us away? What small compromise are we making? What is that one thing that constantly draws our eyes off of the things of the Lord? Don’t let that fleshly desire to be accepted, wanted or more beautiful than so and so, pull you away from the Lord.
Please turn back to Jesus! In doing so, it may just be what our children, our families and our friends need to see in order to be saved.
My friends, it feels good to be accepted, to dress like so and so, to be popular. It goes against our flesh to be separated. But in the end, we have to choose what’s more important-our fleshly lusts or a submissive spirit to the Lord. What will we choose?
With a heavy heart, I’m praying for us all.
