Daily Jewel

by Pastor Carnell, McAlester, OK

“Fending Off Attacks!” (Busyness)
“Above all else, guard your heart….it is the wellspring of life.” – Proverbs 4:23

This may put a whole new spin on the word "BUSY."
Satan called a worldwide convention. In his opening address to his evil empire he told the audience of the frustration in dealing with Christians because, “…we can't keep them from reading their Bibles and knowing the truth. We can't even keep them from forming an intimate, abiding relationship experience in Christ. Once they gain that connection with Jesus, our power over them is broken. So let them go to their churches; let them have their conservative lifestyles, but steal their time, so they can't gain that relationship with Jesus Christ. This is what I want you to do, angels of destruction; distract them from gaining hold of their Savior and maintaining that vital connection throughout their day!"
"How shall we do this?" shouted his angels. "Keep them busy in the non-essentials of life and invent innumerable schemes to occupy their minds," he answered. "Tempt them to spend, spend, spend, and borrow, borrow, borrow. Persuade the wives to go to work for long hours and the husbands to work 6-7 days each week, 10-12 hours a day, so they can afford their empty lifestyles. Keep them from spending time with their children. As their family fragments, soon, their home will offer no escape from the pressures of work! Over-stimulate their minds so that they cannot hear that still, small voice. Entice them to play the radio or cassette player whenever they drive. To keep the TV, VCR, CDs and their PCs going constantly in their home and see to it that every store and restaurant in the world plays non-biblical music constantly. This will jam their minds and break that union with Christ. Fill the coffee tables with magazines and newspapers. Pound their minds with the negative news 24 hours a day. Invade their driving moments with billboards. Flood their mailboxes with junk mail, mail order catalogs, sweepstakes, and every kind of newsletter and promotional offering free products, services and false hopes. Keep skinny, beautiful models on the magazines so husbands will believe that external beauty is what's important, and they'll become dissatisfied with their wives. That will fragment those families quickly! Even in their recreation, let them be excessive. Have them return from their recreation exhausted, disquieted and unprepared for the coming week. Don't let them go out in nature to reflect on God's wonders. Send them to amusement parks, sporting events, concerts and movies instead. Keep them busy, busy, busy! And when they meet for spiritual fellowship, involve them in gossip and small talk so that they leave with troubled consciences and unsettled emotions. Go ahead, let them be involved in soul winning; but crowd their lives with so many good causes they have no time to seek power from Jesus. Soon they will be working in their own strength, sacrificing their health and family for the good of the cause.
“It will work! It will work!" It was quite a convention. The evil angels went eagerly to their assignments causing Christians everywhere to get more busy and more rushed, going here and there. I guess the question is: Has the devil been successful at his scheme? You be the judge!
Could it be that the word "busy" means: B-eing U-nder S-atan's Y-oke?
As has been said the past couple of days…this may not seem like a big problem (at first sight) but by looking at this story it is plain to see that busyness is indeed a “Passion Thief!” The busier we are serving our self-interests the less time we have to strengthen our relationship with Christ. And if you do not think that is by design…think again! Guard your time. Guard your interests. Guard your relationships carefully and do not allow busyness to defeat you.