5-5-5 Daily Devotions Challenge: Paths, Part 4, “Attention Deficit Disorder”, Sep 9-10, 2022

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S.O.A.P. – “Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer”

Are you easily distracted or do you “pay attention” fairly easily?

The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty. Proverbs 27:12 NIV

My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity. Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.

Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine. My son, do not despise the LORD’s discipline, and do not resent his rebuke, because the LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.

Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her; those who hold her fast will be blessed. Proverbs 3:1–18 NIV

What is an area of your life that is uncertain? Are you trusting in the Lord or leaning on your own understanding to deal with it?

Is there an area of danger in your life that you need to “take refuge” from?

Are you honoring God by giving away the first part of your wealth as an act of worship and trust (rather than “leaning on your own understanding”)?

Are you embracing wisdom as more precious than any other worldly acquisition?

Lord, I often respond to fear with “control” to relieve the feeling of being powerless. But being “in control” has caused me to be more powerless. Teach me to trust in you with all my heart and not lean on my own faulty understanding.

Who has helped you see your role in life more clearly?

So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it. For the message God delivered through angels has always stood firm, and every violation of the law and every act of disobedience was punished. So what makes us think we can escape if we ignore this great salvation that was first announced by the Lord Jesus himself and then delivered to us by those who heard him speak? And God confirmed the message by giving signs and wonders and various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit whenever he chose.

And furthermore, it is not angels who will control the future world we are talking about. For in one place the Scriptures say, “What are mere mortals that you should think about them, or a son of man that you should care for him? Yet for a little while you made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor. You gave them authority over all things.”

Now when it says “all things,” it means nothing is left out. But we have not yet seen all things put under their authority. What we do see is Jesus, who for a little while was given a position “a little lower than the angels”; and because he suffered death for us, he is now “crowned with glory and honor.” Yes, by God’s grace, Jesus tasted death for everyone. God, for whom and through whom everything was made, chose to bring many children into glory. And it was only right that he should make Jesus, through his suffering, a perfect leader, fit to bring them into their salvation.

So now Jesus and the ones he makes holy have the same Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters. Hebrews 2:1–11 NLT

Jesus created a “body” on earth composed of people who have given their lives to Jesus whom God has filled with the Holy Spirit. Jesus went on to prepare the way so his “body” will be with him in Heaven to experience things we cannot begin to imagine.

How does this intentional attention to our future help us resist the temptation to give into fear?

Are YOU one of the ones Jesus makes holy? How does that affect your relationship with the Father and Jesus?

Lord, thank you for making me holy! Help me to keep my focus on things above, where you reign in love and power and where your will is done. May your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.

What do you enjoy talking about?

Teach me your decrees, O LORD; I will keep them to the end. Give me understanding and I will obey your instructions; I will put them into practice with all my heart. Make me walk along the path of your commands, for that is where my happiness is found.

Give me an eagerness for your laws rather than a love for money! Turn my eyes from worthless things, and give me life through your word. Reassure me of your promise, made to those who fear you. Help me abandon my shameful ways; for your regulations are good. I long to obey your commandments!

Renew my life with your goodness. LORD, give me your unfailing love, the salvation that you promised me. Then I can answer those who taunt me, for I trust in your word. Do not snatch your word of truth from me, for your regulations are my only hope. I will keep on obeying your instructions forever and ever. I will walk in freedom, for I have devoted myself to your commandments.

I will speak to kings about your laws, and I will not be ashamed. How I delight in your commands! How I love them! I honor and love your commands. I meditate on your decrees. Psalm 119:33–48 NLT

Sermon Insights: When something captures our attention, we turn in that direction. What we give our attention to, however, is much more intentional.

What has captured your attention?

What do you need to be intentionally giving more attention to?

How grateful are you that you have access to the very words of God? How will you show your gratitude today?

Lord, renew my life with your goodness. Give me your unfailing love, the salvation that you promised me. Thank you for sharing your wisdom and laws with me; help me learn to live according to your principles of life and love so that I can be blessed and be a blessing!

Do you believe your best days are ahead? Why or why not?

King Solomon wrote, “The way of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, which shines ever brighter until the full light of day. But the way of the wicked is like total darkness. They have no idea what they are stumbling over. My child, pay attention to what I say. Listen carefully to my words. Don’t lose sight of them. Let them penetrate deep into your heart, for they bring life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body.

“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life. Avoid all perverse talk; stay away from corrupt speech. Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you. Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path. Don’t get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil.” Proverbs 4:18–27 NLT

Now King Solomon loved many foreign women. Besides Pharaoh’s daughter, he married women from Moab, Ammon, Edom, Sidon, and from among the Hittites. The LORD had clearly instructed the people of Israel, ‘You must not marry them, because they will turn your hearts to their gods.’ Yet Solomon insisted on loving them anyway. He had 700 wives of royal birth and 300 concubines. And in fact, they did turn his heart away from the LORD. In Solomon’s old age, they turned his heart to worship other gods instead of being completely faithful to the LORD his God, as his father, David, had been. 1 Kings 11:1–4 NLT

King Solomon wrote, “So I became greater than all who had lived in Jerusalem before me, and my wisdom never failed me. Anything I wanted, I would take. I denied myself no pleasure. I even found great pleasure in hard work, a reward for all my labors. But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless—like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere.” Ecclesiastes 2:9–11 NLT

The “way of the righteous” and the “way of the wicked” have two very important things in common—you get to choose which one you want to spend your life traveling, and they can each be left in pursuit of the other. Which one are you on? How can you tell?

Which one are you going to pursue and how?

Lord, you gave King Solomon wisdom and the power to make life choices. He wandered and finally returned to his senses. Help me stay on the way of the righteous and bless those I love so they can be saved from the darkness.

What is one thing that you want people to say about you after you pass on into the next life?

Jesus said, “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.

“Your eye is like a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is filled with light. But when your eye is unhealthy, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is!

“No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.

“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?

“And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?

“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today. Matthew 6:19–34 NLT

To whom do you look for 1) protection from harm, 2) provision for life, and 3) purpose for living? Have you chosen wisely so far?

If God is completely trustworthy, how will you be able to tell in your own life?

Lord, thank you for lighting my path. Teach me to fear you so I can be relieved of lesser fears and lean on you for protection, provision, and purpose! I love you!

5-5-5 Daily Devotions Challenge: Paths, Part 4, “Attention Deficit Disorder”, Sep 9-10, 2022

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