The Importance of Focus:

Proverbs 16:17 [17] "The highway of the upright is to depart from evil; he who watches his way preserves his life."

We need to be watching over our hearts with all diligence, for from our hearts flow the substance of our lives. Controlling that which we allow to enter into our hearts is so vitally important.

What we focus on determines what we think about continually. What we focus on determines how we act. The origin of our thoughts is crucial. Where are our thoughts coming from? Are they having their origin in the word of God? Or are our thoughts being determined by the world? Proverbs or Facebook? Ecclesiastes or the news? Christ or politics?

Proverbs 4:23 "Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the forces of life."

Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the forces of life.

What are the forces of life for which we need to guard our hearts with all diligence? The words of our mouths comes from that which fills our heart. Fill your heart with garbage and garbage will come out. Fill your heart with the word of God and God will come out.

From our heart / mind, comes our thoughts, our words come from our thoughts; our words are extremely powerful.

Therefore it is extremely important to: watch over our hearts and minds: and that which we allow to be: sown, watered, nurtured and taken care of within us.

Using a tv show from a major tv network as an example, make note that every single possible theme of sin and or evil and lies are covered, specifically:

- the drinking of blood

- spiritism

- witchcraft

- voodoo

- idolatry

- blasphemy

- betrayal

- destruction

- homosexuality

- rape

- kidnapping

- murder

- orgies / fornication

- theft

- atheism

- evolution

- hypocrisy

- corruption

- expect the worst

- nothing good ever lasts

- you don't deserve anything good or happy

- life is not good

- God, the Church, religion, holiness, righteousness = bad

- witchcraft, voodoo, lawlessness, sin = good

- everyone will betray you or leave you, no one is faithful or truthful, everyone is a liar

- do not trust anyone at all

Exposure to said ideas and themes are not initially harmful, but repeated exposure is dangerous. Think about getting a x-ray at the dentist. The dentist makes you wear a lead apron to limit how much of your body is exposed to radiation. Now, imagine Netflix and chill but instead of Netflix, it's harmful radiation.

All of that unshielded exposure might create some mental cancers, like repeated exposure to radiation causes physical cancer. Like Asbestos causing lung cancer and Mesothelioma, so prolonged exposure to mental and spiritual carcinogens create damaging attitudes, beliefs, perception, and ideas that are equally as destructive and deadly. The outcome not being physical cancers and tumors that can be observed, operated on, treated, and or observed for signs or indications of healing. Much more are these tumors and cancers of the mind and soul invisible and not showing up on a CAT scan or MRI anytime soon, if ever, but just as deadly as cancer.

Exposure to the wrong ideas and thoughts; whether it be from film, music, and images are just as deadly as long term exposure to radiation from Chernobyl. Continued exposure to ideas, themes, examples, and portrayals of: apathy, depression, hopelessness, failure, complacency, etc… is harmful.

Proverbs 14:9 “Fools mock at sin, but among the upright there is goodwill.”

Television and movies make fun of sin. They say that it is funny and harmless. The media of the world has an agenda. They are promoting homosexuality and being transgender or non-binary as being good. There is a concentrated effort to destroy the nuclear family and family values based on God and His laws. Children’s networks are actively putting this in their programming to destroy your children. Gone are the days when content for children was family friendly and wholesome.

Focus on God and His word! Oh, well the world says. The world is not important. Their thoughts, attitudes, beliefs, feelings do not matter. Politics, democrats, republicans, liberals, conservatives, discussions, and all of the arguments that follow are not God and the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Are you focusing on Christ and spreading the Gospel, or how much you can't stand liberals or conservatives? Are you focused on loving your neighbor and trying to give them the Gospel or are you focused on how your neighbor is a "whatever, insert label here" and therefore a stupid waste of time.

They say, they say! What does God have to say? Focus on God and the words of His mouth! Oh, is the word of God offensive? Good! The truth of God that preaches Christ only should be offensive to the world. The world teaches and preaches inclusivity and unconditional acceptance of all.

"Stop regarding man whose breath of life is in his nostrils, for why should he be esteemed? It is the Lord God of hosts who you should regard as holy and He shall be your fear, and He shall be your dread!" - Isaiah 2:22

We should not concern ourselves with the acceptance or approval from man. We should not seek to gain the approval or acceptance from man. We should only seek to gain God’s approval. He is the only One who matters!

Christ tells us that if we love Him and follow Him then the world will hate us as it hated Him. The world hates Christ. The world hates God. The world says democracy is great and the people make the laws. The majority of people who agree, they are right. The majority makes the laws. The majority and what they say is important. What does the word of God have to say, "The Lord is the Lawgiver, He is the King, He is the judge!" - Isaiah 33:22.

God says the penalty for sin is death. The word of God says to speak out against sin. Homosexuality is sin, adultery is sin, bisexuality is sin, transexuals are sinful, cross-dressing is sin, worshiping anyone other than God is sin, idolatry is sin, rebellion is sin, the list goes on and on. The world's love is gross and disgusting. The world teaches to love the homosexual as he or she is. The world preaches sin is good and to love everyone no matter what. This is not the Gospel of Christ! Christ preached repent and believe in the Gospel.

Think about the Jews who believed in Christ but for fear of being kicked out of the synagogue refused to acknowledge Him publicly because they desired and feared the approval of man more than of God.

Prove it! No! 'An evil and adulteress generation seeks for a sign or proof and none shall be given it.' - Matthew 16:4 No proofs must be given says the Lord Jesus Christ. The religious leaders of His day demanded a sign or proof that He was the Messiah or Christ. They said prove Yourself to us. 'You shall not put the Lord your God to the test!'

Equality. The notion that men and women are equal and have equal standing or rights is of the world. The notion of equality is of the world. The only acceptable notion or idea of equality is the law of God and that it applies to all regardless of status, fame, wealth, color, sex, age, etc....

The idea of one being greater than another other than God is offensive. The Pope, Billy Graham, Queen Elizabeth, or Donald Trump or Joe Biden are all equal in the sight of God, and all of them are subject to God and His laws. There are no exemptions or special exceptions when it comes to God and His law.

Being friends with the world or more specifically those who believe and propose the same values and ideals as those of today’s television, even just one ideal, is just as dangerous as the nuclear radiation from Chernobyl. The company we keep is just as is important as that which we allow to influence ourselves from books, magazines, music, movies, television, and all social media. Those ideas that we accept, regardless of the source: have intrinsic power to shape our own personal, thoughts, ideas, perception, attitudes, belief, and faith. Notice the very important concept of those ideas that we accept are the ones that have power in our lives. So if you hear one idea once or twice, no big deal, provided you reject this idea. However, should you be exposed to this idea all day everyday, and give into it and accept it as true, then you are going to be corrupted by this lie.

Proverbs 4:25 "Let your eyes look directly ahead and let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you."

In mountain biking, you go where you focus on. If you are distracted, you will probably hit something. Let's say that you see a boulder up ahead. Find the way around, or over the boulder, and focus on the clear path. If you focus your attention on the boulder, and not the safe path around it, you're going to hit the boulder. The same is true for most everything, you go where you are focused on.

Proverbs 4:26-27 [26] "Watch the path of your feet and all your ways will be established. [27] Do not turn to the right nor to the left; turn your foot from evil.

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Until next time, keep Christ first, and may God bless you.