Tear Off That Rearview Mirror!

Proverbs 4: 23-25

23 Watch over your heart with all diligence,
For from it flow the springs of life.
24 Put away from you a deceitful mouth
And put devious speech far from you.
25 Let your eyes look directly ahead
And let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you.

Skeletons in the closet. That's what some people call them. Those things in our past that we want to forget...that we want to keep in our past and not bring them into our present. We all have them. Every. Single. Adult has a skeleton in their closet. Some of us just have a whole family instead of a hermit...and some of us have an entire convention of lifeless bones just hanging out there keeping each other company.

But read that passage above.

Read it again.

Now read it and focus on verse 25.

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

The enemy of our lives ~ God's enemy, satan ~ he wants us to be reminded of that school of skeletons hanging out in our rearview mirror.

But God (remember yesterday's post? See how He does that? He keeps coming back....)....

But GOD wants us to focus on what lies ahead. Later in the Bible he tells us that if we are IN HIM we are a NEW creation! Those skeletons are there not to keep us back from being better, but to remind us of His lovingkindness and His mercy, and His grace in our lives so we can share His truth, His love, His lovingkindness, His mercy, His grace with others.

Today, make the choice (it IS a choice) to focus not on what you've BEEN, but on what you are called to BE. Fear will come because it's freaky looking ahead. I mean, really, have you seen the movie Cars? (trademark Pixar and all that stuff) Mater, the tow truck driver, is a prime example of why we keep looking in our rearview mirrors. It's easier to know where you've been than where you're going. But looking ahead? Looking ahead and keeping our eyes focused on who we are Becoming is worth going through every fear and every twist and turn.

Today, make the choice to focus straight ahead on Christ!

Looking out my window....

Psalm 2

Why are the [a]nations in an uproar
And the peoples devising a vain thing?
2 The kings of the earth take their stand
And the rulers take counsel together
Against the Lord and against His [b]Anointed, saying,
3 “Let us tear their fetters apart
And cast away their cords from us!”

4 He who [c]sits in the heavens laughs,
The Lord scoffs at them.
5 Then He will speak to them in His anger
And terrify them in His fury, saying,
6 “But as for Me, I have [d]installed My King
Upon Zion, My holy mountain.”

7 “I will surely tell of the [e]decree of the Lord:
He said to Me, ‘You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.
8 ‘Ask of Me, and I will surely give the [f]nations as Your inheritance,
And the very ends of the earth as Your possession.
9 ‘You shall [g]break them with a [h]rod of iron,
You shall shatter them like [i]earthenware.’”

10 Now therefore, O kings, show discernment;
Take warning, O [j]judges of the earth.
11 [k]Worship the Lord with [l]reverence
And rejoice with trembling.
12 [m]Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way,
For His wrath may [n]soon be kindled.
How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!

There are school shootings, school stabbings, workplace violence, rapes, gangs, racial divisions, family divisions, political upheavals...there is unrest around the world. To quote the Psalmist, the nations are in uproar and the peoples are devising a vain thing.

But God....

Two of the most beautiful words ever written.

But. God.

As in, "but then God showed up" or "but then God did His thing." Have you ever seen a little kid really mad at their parent and they're bound and determined to take them down but their efforts are so hilarious the parent can't help laughing? This is the picture I get of God when I read this Psalm. He's looking at all that is going on ~ and seeing those whose hearts would prefer a God-of-the-Bible free world and He's got no other reaction but to laugh because their efforts are futile.

Christians! GOD WINS!!! GOD....WINS! He's still in control. And we're still here because there is a Kingdom that people need. People need to know The One who truly loves them....truly will give them peace...will truly BLESS those who take refuge in Him!

I'm sitting at my desk looking out over my neighborhood and wondering....what can I do today to take refuge in my King and what can I do today to share Him with those who don't know His peace?

How 'bout you?