Good morning blessed ones!
I want to encourage you today to be selective about what you are listening to. Jesus said in Mark 4:24 (NLT),
• Pay close attention to what you hear.
Our ears and our eyes are the gateway to our souls ~ What we watch, what we listen to, and who we associate with, are constantly feeding us.
Matthew 6:22 says,
• The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light.
We have all heard the saying, “You are what you eat!” If you eat junk food all that time, you are not going to be very healthy. Why? Because you are feeding yourself the wrong things.
In the same way, if you are watching things that are unwholesome and listening to things that are dragging you down, you are not going to be strong because you are feeding your spirit man the wrong things.
You have to be extremely careful what you take in. Today, more than ever, we have opportunities to feed on the wrong things: There are over 500 stations on TV; we have the internet, smart phones, iPads, facebook…Every place we turn, there are things that are trying to influence us. It is so important that we stay on guard.
I have treasured this Scripture since my teenage years ~ It is from Proverbs 4:20-21, 23 and it says,
• My son, attend to my words; incline thine EAR unto “MY” sayings. Let them (My words) not depart from thine EYES; keep them in the midst of thine HEART. Keep (guard) thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
So, it is imperative that we stay on guard.
Sometimes, even with wholesome entertainment, comes a whole bunch of trash. TV programs now have people airing out their dirty laundry, showing you all the conflict, the backstabbing, the jealousy, the disfunction…With so many outlets, the shock value keeps getting turned up higher and higher. What we thought was far out and bizarre 20 years ago, is no big deal now ~ it is actually normal.
I remember watching, “I Love Lucy” and she and her husband Ricky had twin beds because it was not appropriate back then. Now, oh boy!
“Shock value”” can be entertaining and get your attention, but it can also fill your mind with trash; it is poisoning your spirit. Who in their right mind is going to add a little poison to their Diet Coke today? If you put trash in, you are going to get trash out. If you are constantly watching programs where people are constantly compromising, being unfaithful in relationships, do not be surprised if you find yourselves in that situation. If you are watching people being dishonest, stabbing people in the back, doing whatever they can to get ahead, that is all going into your subconscious mind. Little by little, it is becoming more acceptable. What is happening is, it is desensitizing you. The “shock value” is wearing off. Before long, you may think, “Hey, that’s just really no big deal.”
Ephesians 4:23, 27 (NLT) says,
• Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes…Leave no [such] room or foothold for the devil [give no opportunity to him].
Notice, the enemy cannot take it ~ We have to open the door. One of the biggest doors we open is through our eyes, like watching things that are unwholesome.
Proverbs 15:14 (NLT) says,
• Only a fool feeds on trash.
Family, we are going to become what we eat. I exhort you to take inventory to what you are feeding yourself:
1. What are you watching?
2. What are you listening to?
3. What kind of value is that portraying?
4. Is it building you up?
5. Is it wholesome and inspiring you to be more like God?
If not, make the necessary changes. Paul tell us in 1 Corinthians 15:31,
• I die every day.
What does that mean? Dying to the things of the flesh ~ the things of this world.
Do not feed on trash, family. It may be satisfying for a few moments, but you are just going to have to retrain your mind. Galatians 5:17 (NIV) says,
• For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.
James 4:4 (NLT) tells us,
• Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God.
And, Jesus said in Matthew 6:21,
• Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.
Family, that is three witnesses all attesting to the same thing!
Life is too short and your time is too valuable to feed on anything other than on what is building you up.
Psalm 119:37 (GNT) says,
• Lord, keep me from paying attention to what’s worthless.
Let us be selective, family! The Scripture in Mark 7:20-23 (TLB) states it perfectly,
• It is the thought-life that pollutes. For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts of lust, theft, murder, adultery, wanting what belongs to others, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, pride, and all other folly. All these vile things come from within; they are what polute you and make you unfit for God.
We are exhorted from 2 Corinthians 7:1 (NIV),
• Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.
So, if we continue to listen to and watch the wrong things, before long, we will fall into temptation that could have been avoided if we would have been disciplined with what we watched. See, we are in a war. 2 Timothy 2:4 (NKJV) says,
• No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.
Do not let things pollute you, my dear brothers and sisters. You have got to come to the point where you realize who you are in Christ ~ Your identity is too important to be corrupted by this world. Galatians 6:8 (ESV) says,
• For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.
We have enough to to overcome in this life ~ Let us not make it harder by putting unwholesome things in. Your bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit. He lives in you and was given to you by God (1 Corinthians 6:19). We need to do our best to keep our temples pure!
Let us do what Psalm 101:3 says today,
• Lord, I will not look with approval upon anything that is vile.
I encourage you not to sit inactive in the path of the ungodly. If you want to live blessed lives, do not sit there passively and let that gossip poison you.
If you want to sore with the eagles, you cannot hang out with the chickens. Rise up, be bold, and make the necessary changes today! Be disciplined in what you watch and what you listen to. If you do, I can promise you this: You will grow and rise higher than you ever imagined.
I bless you, in Jesus’ Name,
Lisa Gordon
Gordon Ministries and Jesus City Church