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Saturday, April 28, 2007

Setting Your Eyes

"Each of you, get rid of the vile images you have set your eyes on, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt. I am the LORD your God." (20:7)
What have you "set your eyes on" recently?
Have you literally watched images that are "vile"?
The Manual of the Church of the Nazarene tries to help us set a standard that is holy and worthy of the LORD our God.
It calls us to avoid "all types of entertainment...that produce, promote, or feature the violent, the sensual, the pornographic, the profane, or the occultic, or which feature or glamorize the world's philosophy of secularism, sensualism, and materialism, and undermine God's standard of holiness of heart and life."
What have you literally set your eyes on today?
If you're having a hard time with this today, why not grab a trusted brother or sister in Christ and ask them to help you stay accountable in this area?
But equally damaging and potentially damning is the next question:
What have you figuratively set your eyes on today?
These enemies can be even harder to detect. Ask yourself:
Have I set my sights on goals that are selfish (making a lot of money or making that purchase I've been wanting)?
Have I set my sights on revenge or paying someone back (because of what they said about me or did to me)?
Have I set my sights on getting noticed or being complimented (a promotion or getting a kind word)?
We all face these temptations. Maybe we're even tempted to justify them. Till we put them to the Christlike test: Do these sound like the types of things Jesus would have been concerned about?
Ezekiel warns us not to set our eyes upon things about which the world fixates.
Take a moment and ask God to check your eyesight today. Ask Him to help you fix your sights on things that are "true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, or praiserworthy" (see Philippians 4:8).
Grace & peace