June 10th
“Be on guard, so that your hearts will not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day will not come on you suddenly like a trap” Luke 21:34 NASB
“But the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful” Mark 4:19 NASB
“Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.”1 John 2:15-17 NASB
One of the difficulties we may face in following Jesus is the problem of “heavy weights” that hold our hearts “down.” Jesus mentioned that things like dissipation, drunkenness and the worries of life can weight our hearts down such that we might not be ready for his return to earth. Each of them are linked to loving the world or the things in the world in some way. As John pointed out in 1 John 2:15-17, such love is not from God but from the world.
Dissipation is “extravagant pursuit of pleasure” in order to feed our lusts. Because lust is never satisfied, dissipation locks us into an endless pursuit of gratification. As we go from old thrill to new thrill, our minds can even become intoxicated with pleasure such that our perception of reality and discernment of right and wrong are altered. It should be easy for us to understand how pornography addiction is related to dissipation.
Jesus mentioned that the “worries of life” can weigh our hearts down. The worries of life are usually connected with money, materialism and pride The love of money is a root of many kinds of evil. Paul warned Timothy about this: “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows”(1 Timothy 6:10 NKJV). People who live in an affluent society run a higher risk of being infected with an unhealthy love of money. Here in America, it seems that some people live beyond their means in order to satisfy desires for prosperity, comfort and status. With the help of loans and credit cards, nothing seems beyond our reach. If we pursue an unhealthy love of money and things (i.e. greed), we’ll discover that they divert our attention from God to earthly things.
We have to carefully examine our hearts to see if they are being enslaved or held down by any of these types of heavy weights. All of them will choke the fruitfulness of our new life in Christ and slow us down from reaching our God-designed potential. God will help us cast the weights off and stand ready for our Master’s return.
Questions for further thought:
Has the Lord shown you any heavy weights (lust, love of money, addictions, cares of the world, etc.) that need to be removed from your life?
Why don’t we want our hearts to be “weighed down”? (Luke 21:36)
Concerning the love of money, what does it mean to be “pierced with many sorrows”?
How do heavy weights affect our minds and block our renewal process in the Holy Spirit? (Romans 12:2)
Prayer:
“Lord Jesus, thank you for warning me about the “heavy weights” that can weigh my heart down and choke the fruitfulness of my life. If I’ve allowed any of these weights in my life, please reveal them to me and show me how to get rid of them. I look forward to your return and desire to be found ready. Please help me join the Holy Spirit in the renewal process of my mind and no longer be conformed to the world’s thinking any longer. Thank you, Lord! In your name I pray, Amen.”