Combat That {Junk}

A wise friend once shared with me, "Hon, you can't go to church and allow all the junk to interrupt your worship with Jesus. You have to let all the junk go and fully concentrate on Him". I told ya, right? Wise words. Wise, but is it easy to do? Jesus never asked us to do {easy} for Him. 

This morning I had every intention to study Ephesians, but the Lord had other intentions. I opened my Bible to 2 Timothy and was wowed! Should we expect anything less from our Lord? His Word is living and powerful. I found myself meditating on 2 Timothy 2:1-13 and this is one of the verses that truly shouted out to me and confirmed what my friend had shared. 

"You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier." 2 Timothy 2:3-4

I have read that soldiers at times disengage themselves from home and all that takes their mind away from what is present before them. They keep their minds upon the mission. They cannot allow their thoughts to be distracted. It's when their thoughts are torn from the mission that they are caught off guard. Doesn't this make total sense? It sure does for me. As a soldier of Jesus Christ, I cannot allow the junk to get in the way of my worship with Him. 

Maybe you are new to church. Maybe you're a lifetime member of your home church. Just maybe you are blessed not to be touched by {junk} of any sort. Junk can be anything from meddlers to gossip to people arguing over what color the new carpet should be. Junk is ANYTHING that distracts us away from the Lord. 

Church is where we go to worship. Church can be the place where we most love to be. But sometimes..sometimes..junk gets in the way. It can be misunderstandings, words that cause wounds, a Sunday school teacher you don't agree with, jealousy, competition. Yes, we are real people. Sinners in need of grace. We attend church to worship, but somehow we allow the world inside our church doors and all Satan needs is a foothold and pretty soon it becomes a stronghold and here comes the junk. In fact, we often give it a red carpet opening. 

"Finally, brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." Ephesians 6:10-11

Friends, no matter what the junk is that is distracting us, we must let go of it and set our focus straight. Straight on what really matters. Jesus. Worship Him today wherever you are. Set aside anything that takes your thoughts away from Him. In doing so we gain a new perspective. He gives us new insight as the Spirit speaks to our heart. Avoid being distracted by worldly problems. That is huge in growing in Christ. A life lesson I am still learning. 

I'm learning to let go of the junk that clouds my vision. Junk can wound. Shrapnel doesn't just cut deep. It leaves a gash. An open wound that tears. That isn't what Jesus wants for us. We can walk in His glorious power and wondrous grace. We fight for what truly matters and silence what doesn't. We don't give room for Satan's traps. We don't allow the world room to change us into something we are not to be. Stay focused. Remain pure. Push that junk aside and I guarantee, you're going to be wowed!

Don't allow your daily walk with Jesus to get obscured by day to day annoyances. Combat that junk through prayer, Bible study, and worship.

"We must be absolutely committed and disciplined in our relationships with the Lord--especially as we face trials. Like the soldier, we serve at the pleasure of our Commander, and we must be focused on Him and obedient to His orders--despite the hardships and obstacles. Like an athlete, we press through the pain and abide by the rules to reach our goal, which is glorifying Him. And like a farmer, we patiently wait as our seeds of consistent faithfulness bloom into a harvest of righteousness." Charles F.Stanley