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Religion
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Saturday, June 28, 2008, 3:00 AM
Believers should never lose sight of God By The Rev. Travis Moore | Cornerstone Assembly of God, Fremont Recently, the Lord has dealt with me about the greatest enemy of a Christ-follower. The greatest enemy of someone who is following Christ is distraction, losing sight of who you are following and what God has called you to do. The author of Hebrews 12 encourages us to keep looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith. The Apostle Paul compares the Christian life to a race, one where you have to keep your eyes on the finish line or you will end up losing because you are distracted. Life offers us today so many more distractions than it did in years past, with increasing technology, easy trips to the beach, the convenience of borrowed cash, sporting activities and a host of other events or opportunities. But even as distractions have come, we must remember our relationship with the Lord, his people and Christian service to the world is as much, if not even more, important today than it has ever been. (Hebrews 10:25) No matter how busy life can be, we must get a handle on our time and set priorities that count, not only today but for years to come. The danger of distractions is that they cause you to turn your attention to something else. I can remember a recent outdoor service our community was conducting for the National Day of Prayer. In Fremont, our annual service is held outdoors at the National Guard Armory. Every year the service is held, and every year like clockwork a garbage truck comes and picks up and empties the armory's trash containers while the service is being conducted. The truck is extremely loud, especially when it picks up the garbage cans, dumps them and sets them down. This year, for whatever reason, the noise from the trash pick-up seemed especially obnoxious. The truck came during the prayer of one of Fremont's ministers, who struggled to pray over the noise of the garbage being dumped in to the truck container. I can remember watching many people struggle to stay focused on the events of the service and not the loud, obnoxious sounds of garbage being dumped. Just as those people in that service struggled to stay focused on that service, we can have our own personal distractions that try to get us to lose sight of Jesus, whom we follow. Examples of distractions could be things like church conflict, long hours at the job, issues that stress you out and cause you to worry, and habits or hobbies that take time away from your relationship with Jesus. As a pastor, I have watched many Christians stop following Him, simply because other things had priority in their time. I have also watched those same Christians get themselves in a lot of trouble in life because they made those other things a priority. My encouragement to you today is to put your relationship with Jesus at the top of your priority list. Make knowing Him number one in your life. From the Pulpit is a weekly feature of the Wilson Times. Columns are written by participating pastors in the Wilson area. Interested writers may call 265-7847.
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