LOOK BOTH WAYS

By Rick Mathes

By Rick Mathes

Acts 1:10 And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was departing, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them;

Sermon and Bible study preparation is my favorite adventure into the mind of Jesus through the Words of God. I thrill at word studies and parsing verses in context of the message. My goal is for any disciple to hear, listen, learn, apply and then evaluate the teaching. That’s not easy to impart in their life style because of all the distractions that bombard us from everywhere.

To keep ahead of the devil, I go in advance of what I expect He will try to break the circuit of the learning process the Holy Spirit intends. Let’s sink our toes into holy ground and look around to see the truth that surrounds us.

• Look backwards: Ordinarily I would say to not look back and keep your eyes on the plough but every once in a while it is healthy to be reminded of where we have been. You may not be the Christian you want to be but praise the Lord you are not the person you used to be. Take note that Satan’s darts are in your back because you are pressing on in Him. How about just holding a mirror over your shoulder to peek at the devil’s ugly face once in a while to remind you that you aren’t leaving anything of value behind. The world is his and the Kingdom of the Lord’s.
• Look upward: All the weight of hell is on your eyes to look outward to all the advertised sins in every media Satan can get his smoldering hands on. There isn’t anywhere to turn away from temptation but to look up upon the glory of Jesus at the right hand of God. Your eyes are the origin of sin seeping through your mind, then your heart and finally your soul. Look up! Your redemption is near.
• Look inward: Just what condition is your condition in? The hardest thing to do to see your heart through the eyes of the Lord. I’m including those sneaky little dark places you hide your favorite sins: you know, the one’s you don’t want to repent of. Learn this: The sin you have is the sin you want more than Jesus because if you didn’t want the sin more than you do want the sin, you wouldn’t have it! You are the sum total of all the decisions you have made on the inside.
• Look forward: When I do I imagine the main street of the Magic Kingdom in Florida. I see one glorious, fun opportunity after another to love, enjoy and serve the Lord. It makes me strive for the finish line and complete the race with faith and a good fight. We win if we look both ways and take the narrow road. Stop, look and listen!