Staying Focused

By Marilyn Travis

The topic of keeping our focus on Jesus is prevalent these days. Bruce’s sermon this Sunday, several devotionals, our studies in the adult Sunday school class, have all reminded us that Jesus is our focal point. Everything we do needs to begin with Jesus.

What happens if we fail to keep our focus on Jesus? The apostle Peter found out in an encounter on the Sea of Galilee. The complete story can read in Matthew 14:22-32. The following excerpt is from thenivbible.com/blog/keepin.

Keeping Our Eyes on Jesus

The apostle Peter and the other disciples were crossing the Sea of Galilee one night when they were caught in a sudden storm. Wind and waves threatened to capsize their vessel.

As they struggled against the elements, they saw something that really frightened them. In the distance, illuminated by flashes of lightning, was a person walking on top of the water. The disciples were convinced they were seeing a ghost until they looked more closely and saw it was Jesus walking toward them.

While his traveling companions panicked, Peter asked Jesus if he could join him on the water. Keeping his eyes fixed on the Lord, Peter stepped out of the boat and onto the Sea of Galilee.

The Bible doesn’t say what distracted Peter. Perhaps it was an especially large wave or a crash of thunder that made him take his eyes off Jesus—his hope for staying afloat—to look around at the precarious position he found himself in. Immediately Peter started to sink.

“Lord, save me!” he cried. Jesus reached out, grabbed Peter’s arm and helped him back into the boat.

Peter’s experience offers a helpful analogy of the hope found in Scripture. As long as he kept his eyes on Jesus, he was able to stay above the fray, even though he was in the midst of it. When he took his eyes off Jesus, he started to get overwhelmed. Yet he didn’t sink so far that Jesus couldn’t reach him.

God’s Word is like that for believers. We live in a stormy world. Waves of financial despair, emotional upheaval, relationship issues and personal failures threaten to capsize us and pull us under. Yet if we keep our eyes fixed on God’s Word, we can stay above the fray. If we allow its words to resonate above the cacophony of doubt, worry, conflict and uncertainty that nag at us every day, we can enjoy an extraordinary walk with Jesus.

How do we stay focused on Jesus? Ginger Harrington lists how spiritual attention shifts our focus from:

o    Our way of thinking to God’s way of thinking.

o    Our purposes to God’s purposes.

o    Our weakness to God’s strength.

o    Our preferences to God’s priorities.

o    Our lack to God’s provision.

o    Our self-oriented desires to the mind of Christ.

She also lists seven ways to increase your spiritual attention:

o    Identify your distractions

o    Pray – ask God to help you find practical ways to minimize distractions.

o    Ask God to speak through His word and show you one thing to focus on.

o    Open your Bible and read.

o    Ponder and pray about the one thing that stands out to you as you read.

o    Reflect on one way you can apply what you’ve read.

o    Write it down.

Kellie Balarie, a blogger at Purposeful Faith, writes:

When our eyes are on Christ, they are not on the world. And, when our eyes are on the world, they are not on Christ. Let’s fix our eyes on the One who provides all direction, all hope and all purpose by keeping focused eyes:

o    Focused eyes understand He is the One who provides all good things.

o    Focused eyes let the world become blurry.

o    Focused eyes allow God to magnify the right ministry opportunities.

o    Focused eyes spend time connecting with God on a daily basis.

o    Focused eyes see those that need love.

o    Focused eyes are focused on the needs of others before themselves.

o    Focused eyes are not just focused on TV.

o    Focused eyes understand that God has big plans for them.

o    Focused eyes know that God is greater than any circumstance.

o    Focused eyes know that God has not forgotten them.

o    Focused eyes know that God is alive, well and aware of all things.

o    Focused eyes know God will rescue and restore.

Lord, help us to live by Your words in Proverbs 3:5-6:

Help me to trust in the Lord with all my heart and lean not on my own understanding. Help me in all my ways to acknowledge You. Please direct my path.

Amen

 

Worry

By Cathy Ramsey

I have always been a worrier. I’ve often used the excuse that I’m not worrying; I’m “mitigating risk”. (Mitigating risk was a huge factor in my job. It meant looking ahead and trying to calculate what could happen, so you had a work-around plan in case the worst happened.) When I worry, Jim often tells me, “You are buying trouble.” I think he means I am worrying about something that probably won’t happen, so I am damaging my joy for no good reason.

So, I am damaging my joy when I don’t need to. I don’t need to worry because God has my back, if only I take the time to give my concerns to him. As I focus on putting God first in my life and living in God’s unconditional love, I am learning that worry is a very costly habit that not only takes away my joy but pulls me away from God.

I have spent more time succumbing to the paralysis of anxious worry and self-indulgent fretting than I have walking with God through the situations in life that make me fearful. If I would only turn to God and rely on Scripture, I could save myself a lot of time and a lot of “good living” by seeking God’s word to bring me hope and calm and peace.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7, NASB)

When I am anxious, I am not helpful to anyone, especially me. It makes me neglect those I love, those that need me, and those that bring me happiness. I am starting to learn about and believe in the power of prayer more and more every day. Prayer, not merely for personal improvement, but by believing in and seeing how God hears my prayers and makes things happen. God changes lives through prayer, not merely improves them. By walking with God, we can achieve a transformation of will and character.

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what [is] that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God (Romans 12:2, KJV)

My stress and worry are exacerbated by my expectations that there’s a solution for my problems that doesn’t involve God. I can be so stubborn in my desire to solve my problems myself instead of turning to God. It would be so much better if my first inclination would be to turn to God in prayer, asking for his will in my decision, asking for his blessings instead of worrying.

Come unto me, all that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28, KJV)

I am leaving you with a gift – peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So do not be troubled or afraid. (John 14:27, NLT)

Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Never rely on what you think you now. Remember the Lord in everything you do, and he will show you the right way. (Proverbs 3:5-6, GNT)

I think most of us really want to believe that good can happen, but we are afraid to hope for it. We often protect ourselves by preparing for the worst and refusing to believe our situations can improve, our loved ones can change, or that healing can come to those who are suffering. This process creates a level of stress and anxiety, as we are constantly struggling internally with discouragement and mulling over negative thoughts.

To hope in God is to believe in spiritual power. When we hope for the economy to improve or our political system to come through for us, we are putting our faith in human institutions which will inevitably let us down. When we hope that God will deliver on his promises then we can trust that no person or system can interfere with that. Putting our faith in God will never steer us wrong.

Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men struggle and fall; but those that hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles: they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40:30-31, NIV)

In closing, though I personally have to relearn this over and over again, God’s will is:

Jesus taught his disciples, saying, “Listen to me. Never let anxiety enter your hearts. Never worry about any of your needs, such as food or clothing. For your life is infinitely more than just food or the clothing you wear." (Luke 12:22-23, TPT)

Going Deeper September 27, 2020

By Pat Russell

Going Deeper September 27, 2020

Sermon from Pastor Bruce Spear

 

Scriptures for the day:

2 Timothy 2:14-15

Keep reminding God’s people of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen. Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.

2 Timothy 3:14-17

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Today Bruce gave us three important guidelines from Paul’s letter to Timothy for reading and teaching the Scriptures:

1.      All Scripture is God-breathed therefore humbly receive what is written there.

2.      Jesus Christ is the theme of all Scripture therefore hold His story up as the plumbline to all that has been written in Scripture whether before Jesus lived on earth, during or after.

3.      The purpose of Scripture is to enable us to do the work of Jesus therefore seek training in righteousness.

Here is Bruce’s conclusion: “And so, let us never stand in judgment of Scripture but always humbly receive the Word which is able to save our souls. And as we read Scripture let us always remember that the gospels which tell the story of Jesus are the reference point and the plumbline by which we understand the rest of Scripture. Let us never quarrel about words that aren’t even found in Holy Scripture. And let us allow Scripture to train us in the righteousness of Jesus so that we can seek first his kingdom in all we say and do with our lives.”

Here is how you might Go Deeper with this sermon:

1.      Write or speak a prayer for yourself using the words of each of the three points. For instance, “Lord, it is beyond my understanding how You work in humans to accomplish your will through Scripture. Remind me that whenever I pick up my Bible to read, or think about a word of Scripture, or listen to a song

The Kingdom of God, Part 5 (Shalom)

By Phil Wood

Love and Loyalty now meet,

Righteousness and Peace now embrace;

Loyalty reaches up from earth

and Righteousness leans down from heaven.

Yahweh himself bestows happiness

as our soil gives its harvest,

Righteousness always preceding him

and Peace following his footsteps.

                        Psalm 85:10-13 – The Jerusalem Bible

Thoughts from The Reservoir, a Spiritual Formation Devotional, from Renovaré:

Shalom is not just the absence of conflict. It is the profound presence of wholeness, health, and vitality that characterize a world that is in harmony with God and God's design for his creation. Shalom is the realization of all the glorious potential God built into the world at creation; it is the state of serene concord and orderly creativity that allows the full, unhindered flourishing of all things – individually and collectively.

As I read these words from Psalm 85, and these thoughts from The Reservoir, I was overwhelmed with a sense of God's peace, and I thought, this is it. This is what we all want, is it not? Shalom. This is what God has always wanted for us. And this is the deep longing he placed into each of our hearts. This is the kingdom Jesus came to bring. Shalom.

But the sense of peace was short-lived, and lament soon took its place as I realized what an immense gulf lies between this perfect state and the way things are in our country and the world today. And I prayed to God to show me the way from here to there. Short of dying and going to heaven, what is the path to shalom and real social justice? What can I do? What steps can I take that could possibly make a difference?

Then I came across these words by Ruth Haley Barton in her newsletter, Beyond Words. It's from Part 1 of a series entitled A Spirituality of Racial Justice and Healing. I strongly recommend reading the whole article at the link below, but the following words, in particular, struck me.

https://transformingcenter.org/2020/09/a-spirituality-of-racial-justice-and-healing-part-1-from-passive-lament-to-prophetic-lament/ 

Psalm 44 concludes with this faith-filled request to God: "Rise up, come to our help. Redeem us for the sake of your love." Such faith-filled prayer comes from recalling past experiences of God's love, faithfulness, and redemptive work even in the midst of all that seems so unfixable. A spirituality of racial justice means we turn our hearts towards hope in God rather than merely trusting in what we ourselves can come up with. We acknowledge the rich partnership that exists between God and humankind, going all the way back to God's mandate to the first man and the first woman to do good and fruitful things with all of God's creation.

For some reason that's hard to fathom right now, God chooses to partner – and even at times be limited – by us, his human creation. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. speaks to this reality in a complex statement containing this soaring truth: "Neither God nor man will individually bring the world's salvation. Rather, both man and God – made one in a marvelous unity of purpose through an overflowing love as the free gift of himself on the part of God, and by perfect obedience and receptivity on the part of man – can transform the old into the new and drive out the cancer of sin."

To me, this statement by MLK is the perfect expression of how God intends his kingdom to operate in the world. And I'm feeling a strong sense of urgency to do whatever I can to be a part of this kingdom work.

Our culture has lost sight of God. Great worldly philosophers have tried to show us other routes to social justice, peace and harmony, but without God I believe there is little hope. If our land is to be healed, turning our hearts towards hope in God is the only path I can see.

That's why I think our church's upcoming workshop is so important and so timely. It's called Living in the Kingdom of God on a Daily Basis and it's happening on October 17. How can I help manifest the lovingkindness of a good God in this world? What can I do to bind myself with God in this "marvelous unity of purpose"? How can I be more obedient, and more receptive to God's direction in my life? How can I be more tenderhearted and mindful of another's pain?

As Ruth Haley Barton said, "Let us be good partners with God in his transforming work in this moment of our human history."

And as the Renovaré writers said in The Reservoir, "God is constantly, actively, zealously in pursuit of loving communion and shalom with his beloved image-bearers. In turn, God's redeemed image-bearers are called to be hands and feet of shalom in the world."

Lord, help me to see what you are up to in the world today, and to join in your work. Amen.