With all the noise in the world, do you hear the voice of God? Your calendar tells you what to do, but do you remember who you are? Being comes before doing. This is a call to put first things first. Return to the Lord with this daily pattern of prayer and devotion. Set aside this time as a sanctuary. Find a space free of distraction and follow this pattern.
Monitor Media Intake
Invocation
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Prayer
Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me. Melt me. Mold me. Fill me. Use me. Amen.
(from the hymn, Spirit of the Living God)
Word
“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. (Matt 6:22-23)
“Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things;
and give me life in your ways.” (Ps. 119:37)
Meditation
There’s the old saying, “Garbage in, garbage out.” That’s what Jesus is getting at when he said, “The eye is the lamp of the body.” What I see is what I become. What I absorb has the power to shape me. Whatever I’m looking at, whatever I’m focused on, enters my heart and mind through my eyes.
So what are you watching? Where are your eyes trained? Stop watching an excess of news or mindless media. We need to know what’s going on in the world, but at some point news becomes a negative source of stress. And we end up hearing commentary and not the news.
Think about all the things on a screen that can suck our time. You get on Twitter, Facebook, or TicTok, and soon an hour is passed. And you can’t even remember what you really saw. It was mindless.
Monitor your media intake. Set limits. Certain times of the day when you allow yourself to watch. You’ll find you’ll have more time for walks, rest, and talking with loved ones.
“Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways.” (Ps. 119:37)
Benediction
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4:7)