What most often distracts you or tempts you to stray from the straight path?

 

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2
You can’t walk straight while blindfolded. You can try, and maybe succeed for a while... but soon  you’ll start to go slightly to one side or the other. It is a fact that people apparently go in circles when they can’t see a focal point... like a mountain top, a sun, a moon. Without it there’s something inside us that won’t stay straight. That is why Joel told Dylan on his cell phone to focus on something when him and Jordy were lost in the woods.

Have you ever heard the saying: the line between truth and error is as thin as a razor but as hard as a diamond.?  The trouble is that it’s often hard to see the line. How do I know if I’ve stepped to the side? There are so many competing messages in our world. Despite faithful and well-intentioned devotional reading and prayer in the morning, by the time you complete your day.... you may have been bombarded with hundreds of distractions.
Paul asked the Galatian church: “You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth?” (Galatians 5:7)

The only way to keep going along the straight path is for us to “fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). We are not saved by our ability to keep ourselves on the straight path. Jesus is the author (the source, or cause) of our faith... and also the perfecter (the completer or finisher) of our faith. He is not only Holy God and our Lord and Savior.... Jesus is the model of our faith. Only by keeping our eyes on Him and trusting in Him will we stay on the straight path.
We should be asking ourselves: “Is this the most loving, God-honoring choice I could make?” 

Fix your eyes on Jesus, and He will guide your steps so that you will finish the race and be able to say along with Paul “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (1 Timothy 4:7)