Recapture my Attention

King of My Heart: Love and The Outcome




I don't know if any of you this week has felt like your attention has been pulled in a million directions. My thoughts have been preoccupied with things that are not pure and I have been renewing myself daily to try and keep the thoughts from taking root in my heart and in my mind. The temptations that I have been facing have been in multiples and they have tried to steal my attention from my Lord and the King of my life. The struggle is real and it has created an uproar in my soul. It has been a trying week facing one giant after another. It has caused me to remember the frailty of my humanity. My attention can too easily be stolen away from the things of God's Kingdom to things that have no eternal value.  

There are genuine reasons for my attention to be captured and these are often not evil in and of themselves. However, my focus has lacked discipline. Negative and ungodly thoughts have been given the roam of my mind and some of the thoughts have caused confusion and a fight for guarding my purity and this is my job. I am the protector of my heart and I choose what captures my attention. For a while now, my heart I believed was safely guarded and protected. Through several breaches I have seen how the worlds' ideas, perceptions, and values have distorted my perception. Thankfully, I have noticed it through reading God's word. being diligent in filling my spirit with truth and meditating on the truth I have seen the weak areas where the enemy has tried to attack my defenses. The fight is ongoing. The war does not stop. Don't become complacent for you will see as I have now come to see that your defense system can be challenged and negativity and corruption of your mind will enter if you allow it. We have the role as guardian of our hearts. 
It says in God's word in Mark 7:14-23 (NLT)14 Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. “All of you listen,” he said, “and try to understand. 15 It’s not what goes into your body that defiles you; you are defiled by what comes from your heart.[h]”

17 Then Jesus went into a house to get away from the crowd, and his disciples asked him what he meant by the parable he had just used. 18 “Don’t you understand either?” he asked. “Can’t you see that the food you put into your body cannot defile you? 19 Food doesn’t go into your heart, but only passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer.” (By saying this, he declared that every kind of food is acceptable in God’s eyes.)

20 And then he added, “It is what comes from inside that defiles you. 21 For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, 22 adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. 23 All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you.”

The important thing to remember is that the things we allow in our heart will have the power to defile us. In Proverbs 4:23, it says that we must guard our hearts, for it determines the course of our life. I have seen how vital it is as believers in Christ to keep track of the breaches in our security, look at where we have left our hearts unprotected. We need to read his word and meditate on it for it is the life to our souls and the truth in the midst of much confusion (which comes from the world we live in and its precepts).  It will help us navigate this life and avoid the ditches and detours. Our God wants us to live with our hearts and minds captivated by him and his glory. he gives us the tools and wisdom to protect our minds and our hearts but it is our job (one that I will take more seriously) to be diligent and guard them.  

Prayer: Lord, recapture my attention and let me see where the possible cracks are in my defense wall. Teach me to guard my heart and abide by your truth and live by your ways. For your ways are higher than my own and they alone will lead to life abundant. Thank you for giving me your word that I can use to lead me through the battles of this life. Help me Lord to set my eyes on your Kingdom, on things eternal. You alone are the king of my heart and I truly want to serve you and live to bring you honor and glory forever, Amen. 

Throw Aside Every Encumbrance: What Does This Mean For Us Christ Followers?

Hebrews 12:1-2 (amplified version) " Therefore then, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses [ who have borne testimony to the Truth], let us strip off and throw aside every encumbrance (unnecessary weight) and that sin which so readily (deftly and cleverly) clings to and entangles us, and let us run with patient endurance and steady and active persistence the appointed course of the race is set before us, Looking away [from all that will distract] to Jesus, Who is the Leader and the Source of our faith [giving the first incentive for our belief] and is also its finisher [bringing it] to maturity and perfection]. He, for the joy [of obtaining the prize] that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising and ignoring the shame, and is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God."  * all emphasis is mine

Let's look at a simpler translation (NLV)

Hebrews 12:1"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us."

Before I talk about what spoke to my heart from this verse today, I want to first take a look at the word encumberance in a few different contexts different contexts. 

Strong's Concordance

Greek: ogkos: bulk, an encumbrance

Original Word: ὄγκος, ου, ὁ
Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine
Transliteration: ogkos
Phonetic Spelling: (ong'-kos)
Short Definition: a weight, burden
Definition: (properly: bulk, mass, hence) a weight, burden, encumbrance.

Business: An encumbrance is a financial burden, or a hindrance that can take several forms: mortgages, claims by other parties, court judgments, pending legal action, unpaid taxes, restrictive deed or loan covenants, easement rights of the neighbors, or zoning ordinances.

Read more: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/encumbrance.html#ixzz3IKBcUdEq


The verse above says to run and throw aside every encumbrance, this means anything that is going to slow you down from reaching the finish line. This could be regret, resentment, unforgiveness, negative thoughts, past relationships, anger, feelings of hopelessness etc. It says later on in the sentence why we must let them go and intentionally throw them off and leave them behind. We must let them go for if we don't they will entangle us, cling to us. They will SLOW us down and the weight of what we are carrying will cause our balance to be shifted. 

Today as I was reading this, a soft whisper whispered " Throw it off. Be intentional about it."

This world is full of distractions, full of opportunities to be slowed down on the race that God has set before us. Our role is not to worry or carry the weight ourselves, it is to throw the burden/circumstance into the hands of the one who can handle it (Our  Heavenly Father) and be intentional about casting aside anything that will slow us down, and reminding ourselves that God will take care of any encumbrance that needs to be dealt with (something in process). Our job is to run patiently and with endurance and keep looking ahead to Jesus who is giving us the strength, the faith, and the motivation to cross the finish line.  Let's let people see that we don't have to let things slow us down or keep us in constant turmoil. We can be free from the heavy burdens of this life. 

God gives us the answer for when we are burdened about something in life: "Be intentional and look towards me. I alone can carry your burdens for I am the Author, Source and Finisher or your faith and only have I successfully defeated the things of this world. Come to me and I will give you rest. Give me your burdens. Throw off the excess baggage and run towards me. I am waiting here with open arms. 

Suticases Lyric Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4cFZcSivZI