Distractions

      One of the many things in this life that you need to avoid is "distraction."  I used to cultivate the corn when it was about a foot high.  The monster of a tractor had to be guided in between the rows so as to not plow up the tender corn stalks.  You had to creep along and the warm air, the drone of the tractor motor and the gentle rocking of the tractor back and forth would almost put you to sleep.  I dozed only for a moment and plowed up about 30 feet of two rows of corn before I got my attention back on the task at hand.  If you even glanced to one side or another, you would begin running over the corn and plowing up some of it.  You have to watch out for distractions.  I recently heard a sermon from almost 40 years ago via a taped presentation on the subject of distractions.  Acts 1:5-7 says, "For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.  When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power."  

       When you think of what was going on and that this was the time of the last message directly from the Lord Jesus Christ to His disciples you might wonder why they did what they did.  As Jesus was giving the final instruction, the question came up, "Will you restore again the kingdom to Israel?"  It had nothing to do with the present message or set of instructions.  They were missing the point completely and in the next few verses would see Jesus ascending into heaven.  Satan loves to use distractions to keep us from doing that which we are supposed to be doing.  The illustration that the preacher used was one that I have personally heard while sharing the gospel with a person.  You are sharing God's love and His desire for them to be saved and all of a sudden, many come up with, "Well, where did Cain get his wife?"  It is a distraction that has been put into the mind of many people in order to keep them from making a decision for the Lord Jesus Christ.  We seem to get hung up on some question or quest for knowledge that has nothing to do with the decision at hand.  Perhaps you have asked that same question yourself or know of someone who has said that to you.  It is one of those tactics that Satan loves to use in order to keep you from being saved or to even give the message of salvation to others.  When God gives you the direction that He wants you to go, don't get sidetracked with some distraction.  As one radio announcer once said, "Keep on, keeping on."  Praise God for His plan.