The Beatitudes are a blessing to those who fully understand what Jesus said. When we look at the original text and the translation there is a new and deeper understanding of how we are to live so we can inherit the Kingdom.
O the blessedness of the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven Matthew 5:3
We Are Broken
Are you poor in Spirit? Having awareness that you cannot do things on your own and need help from God then you are. When we empty ourselves of worldly desires we can seek God in humility. You see, when we place our full dependence on God we realize that we are inefficient and powerless without Him. When we are weak, we are strong. In Jesus we are made whole because when we accept Him as Lord and Savior, we give everything over to Him and loose ourselves of our earthly desires, God fills that void with the richness of the Spirit through a fuller knowledge and understanding of His Word. We turn our desires to Him alone through worship and praise.
Exalted or Humble 
To truly understand the Word we must go to the Father in heartfelt humility. We enter into His life through the reading and Keeping of the Scripture. It is not easy when we are in and of the world where so many wish to be exalted. Fame and popularity now means nothing in the Kingdom of Heaven. We should do things for others without the need for accolades. The humble in spirit will be exalted in Heaven and the proud will be humbled.
What Can We Do?  
Who do you live for, yourself or God? The opposite of what Jesus said can be true of the selfish on this earth; O the misery of the proud in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Self (Hebrew4Christians). Keep ourselves from being prideful in the things we do in this world and focus on the Father. Our accolade will come when we enter the Kingdom and He tells us “Well done, good and faithful servant”.

Jesus was preparing the world for the next life through parables. His stories came directly from God since He is the Word of God. He continually spoke of life in the Kingdom verses living in darkness.   
And he began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard and let it out to tenants and went into another country for a long while. When the time came, he sent a servant to the tenants, so that they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. And he sent another servant. But they also beat and treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. And he sent yet a third. This one also they wounded and cast out. Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’ But when the tenants saw him, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours.’ And they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” When they heard this, they said, “Surely not!” But he looked directly at them and said, “What then is this that is written:
“‘The stone that the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone’?
Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”  Luke 20:9-17
 
Not What Some May Think
 
The person that is trying to accomplish replacement theology will tell you that the tenants were the whole people Israel, it is not. Yes it explains their disobedience but it is specifically directed to those in religious leadership positions in the Sanhedrin.
 
The landowner is God and the vineyard is Israel. As I mentioned, the tenants are the religious leaders who are responsible for speaking the truths of God’s Word of which they perverted and polluted with laws of man. This poisoned Israel and caused many to perish without the full truth or a proper repentance.
So the landowner sends servants. These servants are the prophets. These were the obedient ones who were chosen to turn Israel back to God but were killed for speaking out against the status quo set up by man. The people were still not returning properly to God and though they thought they were conducting proper worship, they were not.
God, not happy with His chosen people and those appointed from the tribe of Levi takes the most loving of actions. He sends Jesus, the Word made flesh and the established religious rulers have Him killed.
Now The Rest of the Story
The religious leaders have been condemned through their actions. Some of God’s Chosen People have accepted Christ as the Son of God and continued the original mission set forth by the Father. The Twelve Apostles were sent out to the world (the new other tenants) to bring the rest of the Israelites and the world back to God. Yes our mission was initially to assist in bringing the Israelites back to God then to hand the main priestly job back to them. Jesus said to make disciples of all men, not leave out His Chosen People.  
Now what about those religious leaders?
They were jealous. They were envious of Jesus’ popularity and an encroachment on their authority. Their pride was hurt and they were embarrassed. It actually caused them to fall right into God’s plan. The priests feared an uprising that would displace them and ruin the good relationship with the Roman authorities who controlled the land. The big problem is that they were consumed by fear of losing the joy they had from the earthly riches and did not want to ruin their chances of greater wealth and prestige.

We Have Failed
 
There are two types of religious leaders in the world, those who stay in the truth of the Word and those have denied the teachings of Christ to make everyone feel good about their life. Many who started out in the Word became consumed by fame and fortune. The Word has been changed to fit society because the ways of man have returned to the likes of Sodom and Gomorrah. The message is now a feel good about your own life rather than obedience and respect for others.
 
Thankfully the truth is still out there and there are those who make an impact. True Believers have begun to resurface fighting for the right truth of the Word and we are slowly getting back to the right way of living. Satan’s power is weakening but he is still holding on. 
 
So Who Are You?

The Father sent His Son to redress the vines so the branches can grow and produce new fruit. Those who became too engrossed by power perverted the Word, poisoning the branches which produced a fruit that would never ripen.
 
Are you like one of the wicked tenants who wish to gain things for your own personal desires while telling God that He is no longer fully relevant? Or are you a new tenant who works the land for the owner and produces fruit by doing your very best to follow His Word and Plan for us.
 
Beloved Brother and Sisters we must continue to fight for the truth of the Word and reopen hearts to let Jesus back in. We need to replace the false man-made teachings of this age with the truth. Are you ready to suffer for righteousness? Time is running out on all sides and we cannot let the devil win. Keep the truth of the Word on your heart and share it daily. Love others with the grace and mercy that the Father has for us.
 
Blessings,
Rob 

Have you ever made a vow or a promise with God and not kept it? You have deceived yourself and angered God. The writer of Ecclesiastes speaks on this in the first part of the fifth chapter saying:
Don’t speak impulsively — don’t be in a hurry
to give voice to your words before God.
For God is in heaven, and you are on earth;
so let your words be few.
For nightmares come from worrying too much;
and a fool, when he speaks, chatters too much.
If you make a vow to God, don’t delay in discharging it. For God takes no pleasure in fools, so discharge your vow! Better not to make a vow than to make a vow and not discharge it. Don’t let your words make you guilty, and don’t tell the temple official that you made the vow by mistake. Why give God reason to be angry at what you say and destroy what you have accomplished? For [this is what happens when there are too] many dreams, aimless activities and words. Instead, just fear God! Ecclesiastes 5:1-6 (CJB)
 
We have been taught that God is slow to anger but this is one of those things He detests, the lying tongue. All too often when people are in a rut, need something repaired or forgiven, they vow to make things right in an “if/then” scenario. Those are tests that God does not need us to start. Instead of making a vow, put your trust in God through your faith that He will get you through the things in life that you bring to Him in prayer. Anyone can promise to try to be a better person but the truth is we will fail unless we have the knowledge and understanding that God’s Love and faith in us is where things really matter. He has a never ending love for us and we return that love by being faithful without promises or self-inflicted tests that we would not really pass even when giving it our best shot.
 
Vows That Humble
 
Think for a moment the vows in Scripture that caused anguish. The warrior, Jephthah, vowed to sacrifice the first thing that came out to meet him after a battle ended up sacrificing his own daughter. Hannah vowed to give her only child to the service of God. She was in anguish but God used that to her eventual benefit. Kings made vows that ended badly. Now some were losses to people while others ended up benefiting the nation.
 
There are times in our lives where we make desperate pleas to God that end up being vows to get us out of messes, I am not innocent on that account. God does make good on things but sometimes at what we would see as a cost because of the testing. Our best bet is to not let the words, “I promise”, or “I vow”, to exit our thoughts and mouths in prayer. Instead, Ask God’s forgiveness and take your troubles to God in prayer with the faith and trust that no matter what the issue is, God will get you through it.
 
A Gentle Reminder
 
 God may make you go through some tough things but do not worry for they are for the benefit of His plan for you and for others in your life. Do not speak in desperation things that may actually cause more strife nor of things you know you cannot keep. Just give all our worries and pains to God for that is the best way to get our minds in the right place so we can be open to His plan and make things right through His guidance. Our lives are not our own but God encourages us to make choices and decisions that will work for the spiritual benefit of humankind.
 
May today be the day that you begin to no longer vow or promise things to God but put your entire faith and trust in Him alone that He will guide you to make the right decisions and cause your actions to be for the Glory of His Kingdom not our own. Brothers and Sisters, have a great and blessed day today and every day. Speak of God’s grace and mercy in your life and keep His Word on your heart and lips so that others may know the joy that He brings. Our suffering will not last long but take joy in sorrow and live for Him because He Lives in you.
 
God’s Love and Grace to you,
 Rob

How we live our life now will determine what our next existence will be (eternal life or damned). Our lives are split into seasons. Unlike the weather system on this earth having four main and a few storm seasons, mankind has many seasons that flow within our physical and emotional states. How we handle the circumstances given to us in these seasons teach us lessons for how to better handle what this life brings. The key is to live each day for God and not ourselves because our actions effect the lives of those around us.
 The Book of Ecclesiastes discusses living on this earth and the senselessness of some things that we do that will have spiritual ramifications in heaven. The choices made while dealing with circumstances given us help shape us from birth to death and prepare us for our eternal existence whether exalted or damned. The writer calls all activities vanity and basically worthless expenditures or our time under the sun. In chapter three, the writer informs us of the human seasons. 
For everything there is a season, a right time for every intention under heaven --
2 a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3 a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build,
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5 a time to throw stones and a time to gather stones, a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
6 a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to discard,
7 a time to tear and a time to sew, a time to keep silent and a time to speak,
8 a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.  Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
Scripture tells us that God really desires all of His children to come home but He knows that will not happen. We are given choices and God guides us using the Holy Spirit and others to help put us on the road that leads home. The Devil puts potholes and bumps along the way to deter us from our eternal home.
Looking at the choices from Ecclesiastes 3, some things are unavoidable such as our birth and death. The other choices made are ways that our life is guided towards God. Some are emotional and others are physical, some are both. Think about it, planting and uprooting have many meanings from gardening to moving or staying still. Each one is relational. How we handle our relationship with others is a true test of living.
How many bridges get torn down just to get built elsewhere? How often do we feel anger and are hard pressed to pick up the pieces? How about our choice in friends and acquaintances? When do we raise our voice or stay silent letting others chose their path? How long we let ourselves stay in one negative season such as bitterness will dictate if we can ever make it to a season of happiness. We have to know when and how to let go. Our actions and reactions towards each other determine the status of our relationships here on earth. With God in our lives we really cannot stay in the negative seasons for very long.  How glorious the relationship we have with the Father in Heaven.
We can learn a lot from a wise king even though he had many troubles and made some very unwise choices in his own life which had disastrous effects on the whole nation. His teaching is wise and I bet that if he had actually stayed true to God’s Law the nation would not have suffered as it did.
This time we live in is very testing. It is hard to keep in line and on the narrow path when we are in a society that accepts immoral behavior as normal. If we are not careful, the devil’s snare will have taken everything. What can we do? Pray, stay in the Word, worship with others, keep His Word on our lips do not waver, share with everyone no matter what. Maintain a best positive attitude whenever possible and if we do have to react negatively, get out of that season quickly.
 We will suffer a persecution of many kinds. Stay positive through persecution just as the Disciples did. Some will call it defiance but we should understand that we meet pain and suffering with joy and gladness. Weep for loss but celebrate what has been gained. Do not fear because if have faith, God will not leave us forsake us and we will be comforted. Brothers and Sisters in Christ, be blessed with the knowledge that Jesus died and rose for us, for you. May God shine upon you and guide you. AMEN  

I’m going to tackle a very touchy subject that needs to be discussed. Before I begin, I am not perfect and have seen the devastating effect that sin has on my own family and those around me. Sin can cause much grief, a loss of trust, bitterness, anxiety, displacement, and many other things. The point being, sin will cause an emotional upheaval that has physical ramifications in this world and very possible spiritual ramifications in the next. The story of Achan in the Book of Joshua shows the worst of what can happen to sinners when it causes many to suffer.

But the people of Israel broke faith in regard to the devoted things, for Achan the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of the devoted things. And the anger of the Lord burned against the people of Israel.
2 Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-aven, east of Bethel, and said to them, “Go up and spy out the land.” And the men went up and spied out Ai. 3 And they returned to Joshua and said to him, “Do not have all the people go up, but let about two or three thousand men go up and attack Ai. Do not make the whole people toil up there, for they are few.” 4 So about three thousand men went up there from the people. And they fled before the men of Ai, 5 and the men of Ai killed about thirty-six of their men and chased them before the gate as far as Shebarim and struck them at the descent. And the hearts of the people melted and became as water.
6 Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the Lord until the evening, he and the elders of Israel. And they put dust on their heads. 7 And Joshua said, “Alas, O Lord God, why have you brought this people over the Jordan at all, to give us into the hands of the Amorites, to destroy us? Would that we had been content to dwell beyond the Jordan! 8 O Lord, what can I say, when Israel has turned their backs before their enemies! 9 For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it and will surround us and cut off our name from the earth. And what will you do for your great name?”
10 The Lord said to Joshua, “Get up! Why have you fallen on your face? 11 Israel has sinned; they have transgressed my covenant that I commanded them; they have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen and lied and put them among their own belongings. 12 Therefore the people of Israel cannot stand before their enemies. They turn their backs before their enemies, because they have become devoted for destruction. I will be with you no more, unless you destroy the devoted things from among you. 13 Get up! Consecrate the people and say, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow; for thus says the Lord, God of Israel, “There are devoted things in your midst, O Israel. You cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the devoted things from among you.” 14 In the morning therefore you shall be brought nearby your tribes. And the tribe that the Lord takes by lot shall come nearby clans. And the clan that the Lord takes shall come nearby households. And the household that the Lord takes shall come near man by man. 15 And he who is taken with the devoted things shall be burned with fire, he and all that he has, because he has transgressed the covenant of the Lord, and because he has done an outrageous thing in Israel.’”
16 So Joshua rose early in the morning and brought Israel near tribe by tribe, and the tribe of Judah was taken. 17 And he brought near the clans of Judah, and the clan of the Zerahites was taken. And he brought near the clan of the Zerahites man by man, and Zabdi was taken. 18 And he brought near his household man by man, and Achan the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken. 19 Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the Lord God of Israel and give praise to him. And tell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me.” 20 And Achan answered Joshua, “Truly I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and this is what I did: 21 when I saw among the spoil a beautiful cloak from Shinar, and 200 shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing 50 shekels, then I coveted them and took them. And see, they are hidden in the earth inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”
22 So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent; and behold, it was hidden in his tent with the silver underneath. 23 And they took them out of the tent and brought them to Joshua and to all the people of Israel. And they laid them down before the Lord. 24 And Joshua and all Israel with him took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver and the cloak and the bar of gold, and his sons and daughters and his oxen and donkeys and sheep and his tent and all that he had. And they brought them up to the Valley of Achor. 25 And Joshua said, “Why did you bring trouble on us? The Lord brings trouble on you today.” And all Israel stoned him with stones. They burned them with fire and stoned them with stones. 26 And they raised over him a great heap of stones that remains to this day. Then the Lord turned from his burning anger. Therefore, to this day the name of that place is called the Valley of Achor (trouble). Joshua 7

What Can We Learn From This?

Sin Committed (v.20-21) The Course of Sin
And Achan answered Joshua, “Truly I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and this is what I did: when I saw among the spoil a beautiful cloak from Shinar, and 200 shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing 50 shekels, then I coveted them and took them. ..
Achan was enticed by the riches in the plundering from a battle and took a portion which was not allowed. His desire for material things outweighed his obedience to the commands of God. 
Sins come in many forms. A sin literally is disobedience of God’s Word. It is a choice of being disobedient from Adam and Eve that caused sin to enter the world. Disobedience leads to disappointment especially from those whom the sin is against.  
Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. James 1:15 (ESV)
Temptation (action or emotion not from God) is a hard thing to walk away from because of the many forms it comes in. We all have experienced temptation in one form or another more than once in our lives. Some temptations seem innocent until enticement increases then it becomes something that you can no longer remove yourself from. It becomes sin.

Sin Concealed (v.21) Covering of sin
And see, they are hidden in the earth inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”
Achan had no choice but to hide what he had stolen so that no one else would know but as we read above. God knew Achan’s sin and had already affected the lives of many in fact he caused the death of 36 men. He caused pain suffering and mourning because the loss trickled down to the most innocent; all because of one man’s disobedience.
Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy Proverbs 28:13 (ESV)
Concealing sin is detrimental to one’s health. Not just the person but all those around whom the sin is against. In fact, concealed sin causes a person to act in ways that change the person outlook and some that notice will start asking questions. One thing is for sure, it is better to confess than to be found out. 

Sin Unearthed (v.22) Confrontation
So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent; and behold, it was hidden in his tent with the silver underneath.
When uncovering sinfulness, it is best for the sinner to confess the sin before it is discovered. If another person had found the stuff that Achan hid, the resulting retribution may have been even more disastrous than it was. The effects of sin that are discovered before confession makes the resulting adverse actions worse for all involved both emotionally and physically.
But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the Lord, and be sure your sin will find you out. Numbers 32:23 (ESV)
Sins will be discovered. Sins against others, especially in marriages cannot stay hidden long and will be discovered or revealed in one way or another. When that happens it takes a long time for trust between partners to be regained, sometimes years, if ever.

Sin’s Retribution (v.25) Condemnation
And Joshua said, “Why did you bring trouble on us? The Lord brings trouble on you today.” And all Israel stoned him with stones. They burned them with fire and stoned them with stones.
God’s retribution required Achan’s family to suffer along with him. This is an extreme example but I believe it gets the point across on the ramifications of sin. However, there is relief. Because of Jesus, our punishments have lessened in this life but some for cultures, the severity of the sin still requires physical death without chance for repentance. 
For it is because of these things that God’s anger is coming on those who disobey him. Colossians 3:6 (ESV)
We are living in a time where good is evil and evil is good. The earth is trembling due to our disobedience. Every soul, whether faithful or not, will suffer during this time because the faithful have not truly stood up. Society calls it progress. How can it be progress when certain things go against nature?
If we do not follow the Great Commission and live a right life the best we can, God’s wrath is going to be devastating. We will see good friends who we did not open the floor of discussing God, suffer and die because they know Him not. What about all those who are openly sinning because the moral majority are actually the immoral foolish ones. Are we not just as guilty if we do not try to save even one. 

There is a big dinner that many have been invited to. The pre-invitations have been sent and soon the reminder and a date will be sent. Are You Ready or has the world made you misplace the invite.

God has sent out an open invitation through His Grace and Mercy but few want to attend. Why is this? We are God’s creation but we became separated due to sin. The Israelites discovered that since they continued to be disobedient, their invitations suddenly got lost in the mail as most were made spiritually blind. They did not see that Messiah was sitting with them. God has made us qualified through repenting, believing, following His rules and regulations, and finally through the blood of His Son. Still people refuse to accept the invitation through making excuses on why they do not need Him or they are not ready for Him. Jesus was still at the dinner from last week’s text when He spoke again.   
The Parable of the Great Banquet
12 He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. 13 But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”
15 When one of those who reclined at table with him heard these things, he said to him, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” 16 But he said to him, “A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. 17 And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ 18 But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.’ 19 And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.’ 20 And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ 21 So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ 22 And the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ 23 And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. 24 For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.’” Luke 14: 12-24
You Have Been Invited, What is Your Excuse
Will you be ready when the final invitation arrives? What do we hear from Jesus? Are we too busy with our mundane human existence that we would not see the Golden Invitation if it was put right in our close eyesight? When we became Believers we accepted the invitation but then most let the world get in the way. We try to mix our religious life with our external material needs, our desires, our worries, and not once did we give them over to God to handle. We are so busy that we will not see Jesus coming on the clouds.
This was directly related to the religious leaders and the blind Israelites of the time. Jesus used the cultural idea of the pre-invitation that was used as a notification of a future event. The excuses that Jesus spoke of were insincere in nature and poor excuses of laziness. They were so deeply engaged in the man-made traditions and life in general that they were not fully devoting themselves. Jesus was warning them and trying to get their attention to who was right in front of them. Basically, Jesus was telling them why He was spending time with the sinners, the poor, the weary, etc. The faithful had become the blind.
What Was The Invitation To?
God told His People to, “Be Holy because I am Holy”. Our problem however, is sin. We cannot be holy because of that. The Invitation was to see the Messiah and follow (not worship) His example on how to live for God. Jesus was sent to rectify the problem of man, as He is the solution. First, He came to show what it meant to live according to God’s Word (because He is the Word that is how He is). Second, He came to stop all the sacrifices because they became too ritualistic and lost the true reason. He did this with the sacrifice of His own Son who defeated death. Plus God had said that those sacrifices were actually meaningless without the true intention being followed through so He made the sacrifice no one else could.  
Why Wait for the Next Invitation?
The pre-invitation was sealed in the Blood of Jesus. Jesus said that no one, not even Him knows the hour of the return. What do we do while we wait for His expected return? We need to do our part in the mission given of spreading the Word to the world so that others may follow. It does not matter who we speak to so do not be afraid to talk. God already knows who will come to Him. We are the servant in the Parable who seek those who will accept Him. All are invited to come. What is your excuse, are you still too busy?  

People these days are obsessed with many different things. Some obsessions are so bad that they become a way of life and people then replace things of the Spirit with things of the world. 
Do not love the world or 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 desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. 1 John 2:15-17 ESV
Webster’s Dictionary defines obsessions as: A persistent disturbing preoccupation with an often unreasonable idea or feeling; broadly:  compelling motivation.
What are obsessions that keep us in the world? Media and celebrity personalities, electronic games, social media, sports, fantasy related media, sexual desires, basically anything that keeps our focus away from God. 
 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” Matthew 6:24 ESV
And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” Mark 7:20-23 ESV
The Adversary is Involved
Satan will do anything to keep us away from the Father and His Word. We may think some things we do are innocent distractions, which they may start out as that but the distraction becomes an obsession if it begins to take up your time so it becomes your life as you start ignoring responsibilities, family, but mostly your worship time with God. Once you start down that path, it becomes very hard to get out and the devil has won.
You see, sinful behavior can start out as something innocent that takes up your time and removes God from the heart replacing it with worldly things. What we need to do is a complete overhaul on how we use things of the world. There are some necessary evils which we cannot ignore because many cannot function without them. Things such as the internet to pay bills online for the ease of access, doing research, playing a game to exercise the mind, and reading some news  is okay, just do not dwell on there for a long time. 
There are many Bible apps and programs that are useful but the best Bible app is found on paper and bound as a book. All we have to do is faithfully obey the Word within.
“And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God. Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out. Deuteronomy 28:1-6 ESV
Now I understand that some will still say, that was Old Testament and we are under Jesus. Well I have some news for you, Jesus was and is under the Old Testament. He took away the sacrifices but did not take away the moral and ethical laws. He did not abolish anything but fulfilled things of old that were meant for the covering and salvation of sins before His coming. We still must follow the Ten Commandments and the Statutes that are contained in the Law.
Now do not become obsessed in the Christian thinking either. It is a way of living a right life but some take it so far that they are completely fearful of worldly matters and cannot function in society. They used to be called zealots. We should be zealous but remain functional in society so far that we can survive and thrive through living a right life. Plus understanding the world without living of the world makes it easier to talk to others about our faith life so that we can do our part in the Great Commission.    
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Philippians 4:8 ESV