Over the past few years, I have become adept at eliminating noise from my life. When in doubt or in "overload", I tend to seek a quiet place. I have found that it helps me regain and maintain my center of calm.
Noise comes in many forms. It is not merely audible. For example, have you been to a shopping mall lately? It is a place that has turned into a constant bombardment of advertisements, flashy this-and-that, with every little nook and cranny having its own different style of music playing. Malls have become a melting pot of noise...and that's just one example.
One of Satan's weapons against our staying in communication with God is noise, and he has done his absolute best to ensure that noise is everywhere! Think about it. Do you carry a cell phone, ipod, blackberry, or some other electronic device on a consistent basis? Do you sit home and watch television? Do you spend a lot of time on your computer doing things that really won't make any difference in the world, like online gaming? Do you listen to the radio while you drive?
These things can occasionally be used for good, such as receiving helpful information like weather warnings and directions to the nearest police station. However, most of the time, these things only serve to distract us. They fill every moment that we're not actively doing something with garbage. They keep us from using these "filler" moments to commune with our Father in Heaven.
As I traveled to Virginia to begin my vacation over the last two days, I had a chance to observe how many people around me handle some of their "filler" moments. I saw kids at restaurant tables playing video games instead of talking to their parents. I saw impatient drivers behind me screaming into their cell phones. Even as I make this latest entry, I listen to the ridiculously loud noises coming from the unit next to us. It's a constant barrage of video game sounds, with many people in the room screaming at each other over the television.
How can people possibly relax amidst all this bedlam? The purpose of a vacation is to rid one's self of the noises of our regular daily lives, yet so many insist on taking all that noise with them. Why? My guess is that they think they need all these things because they have nothing else to fill their downtime with. They have no relationship with the Lord. They are lost, in need of a savior, like most of the world.
Please pray for me this week, that God will make me a light amidst all this spiritual darkness. Pray that His gospel will be shared successfully. Pray that He will give me the courage to be a bold witness for Him.
"Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves." - Matthew 10:16
"And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak." - Ephesians 6:19-20
Noise comes in many forms. It is not merely audible. For example, have you been to a shopping mall lately? It is a place that has turned into a constant bombardment of advertisements, flashy this-and-that, with every little nook and cranny having its own different style of music playing. Malls have become a melting pot of noise...and that's just one example.
One of Satan's weapons against our staying in communication with God is noise, and he has done his absolute best to ensure that noise is everywhere! Think about it. Do you carry a cell phone, ipod, blackberry, or some other electronic device on a consistent basis? Do you sit home and watch television? Do you spend a lot of time on your computer doing things that really won't make any difference in the world, like online gaming? Do you listen to the radio while you drive?
These things can occasionally be used for good, such as receiving helpful information like weather warnings and directions to the nearest police station. However, most of the time, these things only serve to distract us. They fill every moment that we're not actively doing something with garbage. They keep us from using these "filler" moments to commune with our Father in Heaven.
As I traveled to Virginia to begin my vacation over the last two days, I had a chance to observe how many people around me handle some of their "filler" moments. I saw kids at restaurant tables playing video games instead of talking to their parents. I saw impatient drivers behind me screaming into their cell phones. Even as I make this latest entry, I listen to the ridiculously loud noises coming from the unit next to us. It's a constant barrage of video game sounds, with many people in the room screaming at each other over the television.
How can people possibly relax amidst all this bedlam? The purpose of a vacation is to rid one's self of the noises of our regular daily lives, yet so many insist on taking all that noise with them. Why? My guess is that they think they need all these things because they have nothing else to fill their downtime with. They have no relationship with the Lord. They are lost, in need of a savior, like most of the world.
Please pray for me this week, that God will make me a light amidst all this spiritual darkness. Pray that His gospel will be shared successfully. Pray that He will give me the courage to be a bold witness for Him.
"Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves." - Matthew 10:16
"And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak." - Ephesians 6:19-20
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