Last Sunday I spoke of details...

How the devil uses them to distract us from our real focus Jesus. So, guess what, I have had more details this week than normal and yes I have been distracted by some of them. I have tried to look for and insert Jesus in the details to get back on track with varying degrees of success. No failure on his part it's all on me.

In a message on Monday night Jim Cymbala, Pastor of the Brooklyn Tabernacle Church challenged me and the room full of Georgia Baptists with the reminder that Satan is a thief  ¹⁰ The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; John 10:10 NIV 1984

What is he interested in stealing? It's not what you and I typically worry about Pastor Cymbala went on to say. He is interested in stealing our faith, our first love, and our family. I have continued to think about that.  My question is how does he do that? I have an idea!

Oh, there are the obvious temptations of money, power, fame and companionship which lead us into sin and its consequences. But what about some of the evil ones more subtle tactics? What about the details of life? Children when confronted regarding their poor choice of behavior will often without thinking misdirect the criticism to another. They may say “what about them?” “They are doing …” If a parent or teacher is not quick they will get sucked into that detail and the focus will shift from the perpetrator in front of them to another. This all started in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:11-13 NIV).

¹¹ And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”

¹² The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”

¹³ Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”

The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

Did you notice how each blamed someone or something else? It continues until today. That’s where kids get it from and all of us were kids at one time or another. Maybe that’s why Adam and Eve are so messed up because of their childhood (think about it. The smile will come! Maybe). It comes naturally for us to defer to a detail to deter responsibility and delay the possible consequence. I think evil uses details in everyday life to steal from us the focus of life and living Jesus by distraction. Those details dull our faith, diminish our love for the First of creation and finally degrade our family relationships all so that we are ineffective as light to the world in which we live. The Devil’s in the details for sure!         

Yes, the devil is a thief but Jesus says, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10b He just never leaves us out hanging in the wind. Jesus is Redeemer, Sustainer and Savior. He is not a detail but the Author of Life. Even though the devil is in the details the BIG Picture is of Jesus alone! He is at the center of all life.

Paul writes to us:

^1-3 So, if you're serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. ²Don't shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that's where the action is. See things from his perspective. ³Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life—even though invisible to spectators—is with Christ in God. He is your life. Colossians 3:1-3 The Message