A well-known writer, Aldous Huxley, was concerned about the future of society and by the way, was opposed to organized religion, he said, “man had an almost infinite appetite for distraction”. What does God say about this?
We’re going to look at Psalm 119, which is actually written as an acrostic poem. The verses of each stanza begin with the same letter of each of the Hebrew alphabet, such as “Aleph,” “Beth,” “Gimel,” and so on. This is only noticeable in looking back at the original text. There are 22 stanzas or sections, equal to 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet, with 8 verses each, and a total of 176 verses.
The Palmist (many think it was the Priest Ezra) said, “Turn my eyes AWAY FROM WORTHLESS THINGS; preserve my life according to your word.” (Psa. 119:37) Here is the problem BENITA, we’re not simply creatures of our environment; we are influenced by what we choose to LOOK AT in our environment. We really look at what interests us, and what interests us, we pay attention to. What we look at on the internet, what we look at on our cell phones, and on TV, these all have an influence on our lives, unfortunately it’s mostly negative. Remember Lot’s wife, Sodom and Gomorrah were extremely evil cities, angels came and warned Lot to collect his family and immediately depart from Sodom, “…because we are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the LORD against its people is so great that He has sent us to destroy it.” The angels said, “Flee for your lives! DON’T LOOK BACK, and don’t stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!” (Gen. 19:13, 17) As they were leaving Lot’s wife must not have wanted to leave the wickedness BECAUSE SHE LOOKED BACK, disobeying the instruction and was turned into a pillar of salt. She did not turn her “eyes away from worthless things.”
Where is the safest place for us to look? “let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, LOOKING TO JESUS, the AUTHOR and FINISHER of our faith…” (Heb. 12:1-2) Jesus is the place we are supposed to be looking ‘into.’ He is the ‘purpose’ we are running this race, so that we may spread His glory and the Gospel in all the earth.
Your Personal Pastor -Bill Stockham