Turning Our Eyes….

Morning!

Raises his cup of coffee

It is Wednesday March 26th of 2025.  A chilly morning in spring with a high of 51 forecast on this sunny day.

This morning, before diving back into our Psalm 119 challenge, I thought we’d start in Colossians.  Paul wrote this letter to the church in Colossae—a church he had never actually visited. He wrote on the occasion of false teaching that had started to take root among the believers there.  From what we know, the philosophy troubling the Colossian church was a mixture of Greek and Jewish influences. It promoted the idea that Christians were vulnerable to spiritual forces—cosmic powers that had to be appeased.  To stay safe, followers were being encouraged to offer food and drink sacrifices, and to observe specific days meant to honor these spirits.

Does that sound familiar?

Colossians 3: 1-11

“If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.  Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.  For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.  Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.  Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them.  But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth.  Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.”

We are called to lay up for ourselves fruits in heaven.  Paul teaches us to keep our minds on the things above—not on the fleeting things of earth. We are to seek heavenly fruits—the knowledge of God, the character of Christ, the wisdom that comes from the Spirit.  Jesus said that those who lose their life for His sake will find it in Him.  So if we’re seeking to find our life in Jesus, doesn’t it make sense that He should be the one we seek our answers from?

Paul teaches that we are to keep our minds on heavenly things—not to be consumed by the thoughts and desires of this world. He doesn’t stop at the abstract, either. He goes on to list specific behaviors that believers need to address in order to stay focused on Christ.  And the list? It’s pretty self evident.  I’ve found that when I catch myself trying to reason through whether something is actually a sin, it’s often because I already know it is, and I’m just looking for a way around it.  It’s worth being honest with ourselves about that.

For example…

Fornication: (noun)

- Consensual sexual intercourse between two persons not married to each other

The Greek word used here is…

Porneia: (Greek)

- Harlotry (including adultery and incest)

- idolatry, fornication

Now, just for a moment let’s consider that idolatry is in the definition of the word we are looking at here.  For what else is idolatry except giving that which is rightfully due God to something that isn’t God?  What else is fornication except cheating on God, in essence?

Exodus 20: 1-6

“And God spoke all these words, saying: ‘I am The LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.  You shall have no other gods before Me.  You shall not make for yourself a carved image- any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them.  For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.”

We are to keep our mind on heavenly things and to do that we are to put aside anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy and filthy language.  As Peter teaches us, we are to desire the pure milk of the Word and then to accept it with meekness.  For it is the meek who inherit the earth.

Our passage in Colossians continues.

Colossians 3: 12-17

“Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, long-suffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.  But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.  And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.  Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.  And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the Name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”

Paul begins our passage by giving us a list of behaviors we need to put to death—things we must get rid of.  More often than not, I’ve found that this is harder than it sounds. Letting go of old habits, attitudes, or thought patterns takes real, intentional work.  But Paul doesn’t leave us with just the removal of sin. On the other hand, he calls us to replace those behaviors with something new—something holy, something God-honoring.  It’s not just about what we take out of our lives…. It’s about what we’re putting in as well.  Out with the old. In with the new.  The new life in Christ.

Each one of these godly traits Paul lists could represent a completely new behavior for us.  For many of us, it may mean unlearning old reactions—resetting the way we respond to stress, conflict, or discomfort. It may mean retraining our instincts. That kind of change doesn’t come easily. It takes time. It takes humility. And it takes work.  But we’re not alone in the work.  As we’ll see in our next passage from Psalm 119, David doesn’t try to transform himself through sheer willpower. He asks God to teach him.  David’s desire to change is driven by something deeper: His love for God.  And his love for God’s Word.

Psalm 119: 33-40

“Teach me, O LORD, the way of Your statutes, and I shall keep it to the end.  Give me understanding, and I shall keep Your law; Indeed, I shall observe it with my whole heart.  Make me walk in the path of Your commandments, for I delight in it.  Incline my heart to Your testimonies, and not to covetousness.  Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things, and revive me in Your Way.  Establish Your Word to Your servant, who is devoted to fearing You.  Turn away my reproach which I dread, for Your judgments are good.  Behold, I long for Your precepts; revive me in Your Righteousness.”

David turns to God and asks God Himself to teach him the way of His statutes.  He’s not approaching the Word casually. David has buried himself in the Law of the LORD. He loves the Word with all his heart—and now he wants to live it.  So he asks for more than just knowledge. He asks for direction—not only for the physical path he walks, but for the spiritual path of obedience. The Way of the LORD.  And in a moment of raw honesty, he prays: “Turn my eyes away from worthless things.”  That line suggests something—David struggled with what his eyes were drawn to.  He knew there were things that were empty, distracting, and spiritually worthless… and he found himself looking at them anyway.  Things that took his attention away from God.

So.

Have we asked Jesus to teach us?

Are we seeking the Holy Spirit to guide us into Truth?

David started in the Scriptures.

Paul started in the Scriptures.

Have we asked the Holy Spirit to turn our eyes away from worthless things?

What is worthless?

And if we are turning our eyes away from one worthless thing, where are we then turning our eyes?

Let’s not forget from a few days ago…

2 Peter 1: 2-12

“Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.  But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.  For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.  Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make. Your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth.”

Rejoice always.  Pray with out cease.  Add to our faith.  Diligently add to our faith.  We are to elevate our faith from wherever it is and we are to focus on our faith with diligence.  With diligence we are to add virtue to our faith.

So what was our list again?

Tender mercies.

Kindness.

Humility.

Meekness.

Long-suffering.

It’s midweek, and I’d like to propose that today is a good day to start our faith challenge for the week ahead.  Each of the virtues we’ve looked at—whether from Paul’s writings or David’s prayers—is a Jesus-honoring characteristic.  These are the things we’re meant to add to our behavior.  They’re the traits we’re called to carry in our hearts.  These are things we’re meant to strive toward.  Some of these virtues we may already walk in. Praise God for that.  But if I may be so bold as to offer a word of caution— let’s be careful not to clothe ourselves in false virtues.

False mercy.

False kindness.

False humility.

As for me—I’m going to pick one virtue this week to really focus on.

Just one.

And I invite you to do the same.

My choice: Long-suffering.

After we have chosen the one we want to work on, let’s start by asking The Holy Spirit to teach us this week, just as David did.  Then let’s get out our chronicling pens and get ready, because…

Matthew 7: 7-8

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”

As we get started, let’s not forget what David models for us in Psalm 119.  If it is God we’re asking to teach us, then it is God’s Ways we’re seeking to learn.  And if we truly want to learn His ways… shouldn’t we also resolve to keep them—to the very end?  We are praying for understanding, just as David prayed.  But let’s remember why David prayed for understanding: So that he could keep God’s Law with all his heart.  Let’s not forget—we’re called to delight in the Law of the LORD.  To find joy in His commands.  To hunger for His truth.  And some of the lessons the Holy Spirit teaches us are hard.  This is deep, spiritual work.  But in the midst of it all—let’s not forget to rejoice always, and to pray without ceasing.

Let’s take David’s prayer to heart: “Turn my eyes away from worthless things.”  And might I offer a suggestion?  When we turn our eyes away from what is worthless, let’s be intentional about where we turn them next.  What if we turned them toward Scripture?  How many moments in our day are spent scrolling social media, glancing at headlines, or refreshing notifications?  What would happen if we exchanged those moments for Scripture instead?  There are plenty of Bible apps out there.  Some of them are even free.  God’s Word is closer than ever—if we’re willing to look for it.

Let’s devote ourselves to fearing the LORD and hope for Him to revive us in His righteousness because, after all…

Proverbs 1: 7

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

That’s where I always start.

And I think this is a good start for the day.