‘The most important command,” Jesus said, “is this…Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul (eyes) and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ Mark 12:29-30
My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. Hosea 4:6
Have you felt “wearisome”?
Wearisome (Defined) causing weariness, restlessness, or lack of interest.
Synonyms (Words that mean the same thing as wearisome) weary, bored, tired, dreary, uninterested, sluggish, annoyed, humdrum, drab, stale, exhausted, barren, spiritless, unimaginative, uninspired, debilitated, irritated, mind-numbed, drudgery, drained, blah, unexcited, fatigued, demoralized, pleasureless, monotonous, unrewarding, discouraged, disheartened, solitary, lonely
Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content. Ecclesiastes 1:8
“The LAMP OF THE BODY IS THE EYE. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body (SOUL) will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body (SOUL) will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” Jesus Matthew 6:22
“For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.” I John 2:16
Insatiable (Defined) INCAPABLE OF BEING SATISFIED.
Synonyms (Words that mean the same thing as Insatiable) lust, ravenous, yearning, clamorous, unsatisfied, pressing, demanding.
NOTE: Is this what you feel when you can’t find your phone? Scroll social media? Searched for stuff and things in the bottomless pit of knowledge (internet). Do you feel lost, though you professed to be found (saved), when you have no access to the things that fill your eyes (body/soul) on your phone or mobile device?
“Knowledge puffs up (pride of life) while love builds up (trusting the Jesus is more than enough).” I Corinthians 8:1
“Daniel, roll up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end. Many will go here and THERE TO INCREASE KNOWLEDGE.” Daniel 12:4
Addicted (Defined) Hooked. Having a compulsive need for a harmful substance or activity.
Synonyms (Words that mean the same as addicted) hooked, dependent, craving, intoxicated.
Addiction is a form of insanity. It involves engaging in an activity that provides a fleeting sense of distraction or a superficially pleasant sensation, artificially stimulating the mind and body in ways that deviate from their natural functioning as designed by God. This inevitably leads to negative outcomes, leaving the individual feeling unwell, dysfunctional, and lost. Despite these adverse effects, the insatiable nature of addiction compels the person to return repeatedly to scrolling the very thing that causes their distress, trapping them in an endless cycle of captive insanity. However, there is hope, as Jesus came to set the captives free!
“If you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land, those you allow to remain will become BARBS IN YOUR EYES and thorns in your sides. They will give you trouble in the land where you will live.” Numbers 33:55
Here are ten feelings addicted people say the feel when they don’t have access to that which they are addicted to:
- Desperate
- Anxious
- Agitated
- Depressed
- Irritable
- Restless
- Hopeless
- Fearful
- Confused
- Overwhelmed
THE LIE:
The devil presents a variety of images and videos through computers, phones, and mobile devices, showcasing various stuff, things, and people. He then incites lust in your eyes and flesh, and pride in your heart, urging you to compare what you possess and lack, who you are and aren’t, with what and who he has shown you. This leads to a feeling of deficiency, as if God is withholding these things from you, suggesting that you ‘should’ have more. This deception started in the Garden of Eden with Eve and has continued for thousands of years. He even attempted to deceive Jesus in the wilderness—all to tempt us into believing that God is not sufficient and is holding something back from us. Consequently, as James describes, our susceptible flesh, lured by our own evil desires and exacerbated by our endless scrolling on social media, leads us into a state of weariness and captivity to a spirit of weariness.
The Truth:
“WHAT NO EYE HAS SEEN, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”—the things God has prepared for those who love him—these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.”
“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:18
The Truth:
“God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” 2 Corinthians 9:8
The Truth:
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21
The Truth:
Jesus is more than enough to satisfy!
Therefore, “I made a covenant with my eyes…” Job 31:1
Notice that at this point, the adversary has attempted to shift your focus onto yourself, which ironically reveals God’s secret for achieving freedom. The key lies in helping others and focusing on their needs rather than our own. God wants us to assist in meeting the needs of others while trusting Him to take care of our needs in return, a promise He assures us He will fulfill. This approach aligns with the kind of fast that the Lord has chosen. Make a pledge towards missions in 2024!
Missions: This is why we focus all year in our missions providing for the needs of others!
Isaiah 58
“Shout it aloud, do not hold back.
Raise your voice like a trumpet.
Declare to my people their rebellion
and to the descendants of Jacob their sins.
For day after day they seek me out;
they seem eager to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that does what is right
and has not forsaken the commands of its God.
They ask me for just decisions
and seem eager for God to come near them.
‘Why have we fasted,’ they say,
‘and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled ourselves,
and you have not noticed?’
“Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please
and exploit all your workers.
Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,
and in striking each other with wicked fists.
You cannot fast as you do today
and expect your voice to be heard on high.
Is this the kind of fast I have chosen,
only a day for people to humble themselves?
Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed
and for lying in sackcloth and ashes?
Is that what you call a fast,
a day acceptable to the Lord?
IS NOT THIS THE KIND OF FASTING I HAVE CHOSEN
“Is not this the kind of fasting i have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?
Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
and not to turn away from your own family?
THEN! After you have helped others!
Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you,
and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
“If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
and if you spend yourselves in BEHALF OF THE HUNGRY
and satisfy the needs of the OPPRESSED,
THEN!
Then your light (spirit) will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday (no weariness).
The Lord will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.
Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings (the home).
“If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath [Be faithful to the day of fellowship with the Church family]
and from doing as you please on my holy day [be dedicated to your fellowship on the day of fellowship],
if you call the Sabbath a delight [take joy in being and fellowshipping with your church family]
and the Lord’s holy day honorable [focus on the Lord],
and if you honor it by not going your own way [not a heart of just doing God a favor by showing up, but filled with exciting to be with the Lord, hear His word, fellowship with His people, your family]
and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, [careful to only speak well of God and His people, the church]
THEN!
Then you will find your JOY IN THE LORD,
and I will cause you to ride in TRIUMPH on the heights of the land
and to feast on the INHERITANCE of your father Jacob.”
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.