Living in Crisis vs. Living in Christ | Part 4

As much as I hate to admit it, I very easily lose focus on Jesus and shift my eyes to idols in my life. The obvious ones are there—work, relationships, money—but the ones that really take my mind and heart away from Jesus are the more subtle idols: things like doing good things for people but having the wrong motives; or even just my deep-seated desire to know more and be correct at the expense of my relationships with people. I raise those things up on pedestals and it always ends in a broken mess. I'm nearsighted, which means my glasses help me see what's far away, but I don't really need them to see things that are about a foot away from my face. As soon as I take those glasses off, I am practically useless and blind. I can read a book comfortably, but that's about it. Our relationship with Jesus and the way we talk to him—by reading Scripture, praying, and being in community—is like a set of glasses. We are all spiritually nearsighted. We can see what's right in front of us with shockingly good clarity most of the time. But without that spiritual lens, we simply cannot focus on what's ahead: the life God has planned for us and the race he has called us to run.  We try to run blind and we are shocked when we trip and stumble on something! Isn't that crazy? Idols in our lives try to take the place of our spiritual glasses, but really they're more like a sleep mask. Not only do they not help us see what's ahead, but they also can blind us to what's right in front of us. So friends, this week I encourage you to meditate on the words of Jesus and the passages of Scripture that Drs. Shane and Pokey talk about in this episode. I truly believe that it will change your life. We'd love to hear from you, friends! You can send Pastor Shane an email at [email protected]. If you're interested in sponsoring the program or if you have any technical questions, you can email me at [email protected]. Of course, we want to encourage you to explore all our resources at youmatterministry.com. We've got books, podcasts, and encouraging words for you to look through. And if you're looking for a new start and want to know what it means to follow Jesus, we've got information on our Home page that will walk you through that. God bless, Jonathan Gibson Executive Producer