FOCUS

Unfortunately, this society suffers from complexity, lack of focus, and laziness. These three factors are deadly for those who truly want to make a difference in this world. Let's look at each of these factors and attempt to correct them in order to be better stewards of God's Kingdom.
Complexity is an absolute killer when it comes to a person believing they can do something and cannot do something. The more complex something is that more irritating it can become. Some people enjoy the complexity, but eventually it can where someone out. Refer to my last post about simplicity to get a better idea of the need to be simple.
Lack of focus is another killer when trying to get things accomplished. Sometimes people are spread so thin on so many different projects that they really don't do anything well. They do a little bit of everything to be average, instead of focusing in order to be successful. Determine those areas in your life that need the most attention and focus on those areas. Obviously, we need to focus on those areas which help us to follow the commands to love God and people. Here are some important areas to focus on:
1. Do you find yourself lacking in the spiritual disciplines such as praying and reading the Bible? Let's focus in on it, so you can improve your intimacy with the Lord. My suggestion is that you make it a priority at the beginning of the day. Take time out during lunch time to focus and then take some moment in the evening. I don't care how long you go, just make it true quality time.
2. Do you sometimes take your family for granted? You need to make priority with them. That doesn't mean you create a whole bunch of activities and make things complex. It means you take a few moments each day to have real quality time. For example: I could watch television with my dad for a couple hours or I could throw the football with him for 15 minutes. Guess which one meant more to me? Think simple!
3. In order to support your family, your job is important, but don't let it consume your life. Therefore, set up natural boundaries between your job and the rest of your life. I understand that people have different jobs with different bosses and different pressures, but find the balance!
4. Cut out television, the constant noise of music, limit time on the computer, and avoid making a particular hobby an obsession.
So in review, place your relationship with God as your primary focus, then focus on family and close friends, then focus on relationships with people you work with, and finally focus on time to recharge yourself. Make sure you do it in this order! As the great Gayle Sears said, "God first, friends and family second, and me third!"
And finally, avoid laziness! You can do this by getting rid of those aspects of your life that you go to when you procrastinate. Do you like to go to the bar and sit and drink for a couple hours? Laziness (and dare I say incredibly stupid)! Do you sit in front of your computer for hours and hours and it is not work related? Laziness! Do you watch hours of television? Laziness! Cut it out! Force yourself to go out and do something, if you are in a lethargic mood, then do what you can, but keep trying!
People have too complicated a life, they lack focus, and they have a tendency to be lazy. All of these things restrict your ability to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit and fulfill God's call on your life!

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Simplicity

It amazes me how complex we allow our lives to become. People have jobs, volunteer activities, hobbies, church activities, family obligations, and vacations to fit into the schedule. So many people are at the end of their ropes and end up having a meltdown. I propose the next two weeks to be weeks of simplicity. Let us lead up to Easter with an attitude to relax a bit. Here are some things I think can be done to help with the simplifying process.

1. Wake up earlier and take a more leisurely pace getting ready in the morning.
2. Take the opportunity to read a short snippet of Scripture and then just have a good heart-to-heart with the Lord. This will help focus you the rest of the day.
3. Do not become overwhelmed with work, rather go at a steady pace with a solid purpose. Many times the boss gets annoyed at you whether you are frantically moving or not, so just take your time and get the job done well.
4. Take a simple brown bag to work with simple foods.
5. Get your kids prepared to leave earlier than you usually would so that your not so worried about showing up late.
6. Take the opportunity to exercise or be active in a simplistic way. For example, go out for a walk or a run, instead of going to the gym.
7. Do something simple for dinner each night that doesn't take long but is satisfying.
8. Don't watch television and only get on the computer to check necessary e-mail. Many times we get so flustered with a lack of time, but much of that time was spent doing nothing but watching television.
9. Flip on some music that is glorifying to God to relax you.
10. Do something fun and spontaneous that you don't normally do.

So, there you go, some tips to be simple and help focus on the Lord during this Easter season.

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Theological Thursdays

The movie "Rudy" (based on the true story) is about an undersized football player that dreams of playing for the Notre Dame Fightin' Irish. He has had this dream as a kid, was a decent player in high school, but lacked the grades and the God-given size to exceed at football. After his best friend is killed in an accident, he decides to take his changes and pursue this dream. First, he must prove himself at a local community college, then if his grades are good he can officially get accepted to the university. His grades are good, but unfortunately he is denied admission twice in a row. He knows that this semester will be his last shot to attend the University and try out for the football team. As he sits in a church praying, a priest who has befriended him goes and talks. Rudy wonders aloud if he has prayed enough. The priest responds with something like this: "In my study of theology, there are two undeniable facts: There is a God, and I'm not Him." Rudy eventually has his prayers answered and attends his dream school.
I have lived by these words during times when I don't understand and what to take control of a situation I have no business taking control of. Maybe you should stand by it too during difficult times.

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God's Will

I consider myself to be a very rational person and in some ways wiser than others my own age. I have always been an observing person. Even when I am doing the talking, I attempt to observe their reaction. I sit and I analyze things until I have that "ah-ha" moment to know exactly what to do. It's a process that I go through that has worked well for me. However, I have a situation that has presented itself that has stumped me.
There is a man in his 50s that has slowly been withering away these last few years from cancer. He is a pastor who definitely believes and has seen many get healed from cancer. The majority of his family around him is saved and they have been praying diligently for him. According to the doctors, he is getting down to the last few months of his life. The last few years have been hard on this family and I think everyone is to the point where it is probably difficult to take much more suffering.
As I analyze this situation, to me there is only one legitimate option. Jesus must heal him completely of cancer so that this family can get back to living and I know that all involved would give so much glory to God if he were healed. I have seen situations like this before, and I have a tough time with them, because I see no value in the man dying. The only value is that he no longer has to suffer. But God is completely able to bring him out of the suffering without taking his life. I have attempted to analyze this from every possible angle and I see no benefit in allowing him to continue to suffer and eventually die. He needs to be healed and it needs to be now.
When presented with situations like this before with other people and they begin to ask questions, I can never answer, because I don't want some lame, non-spirit led answer to flow out of my mouth. So, I can't even say to myself, how can I answer the question adequately. I have no choice but to follow Jesus no matter what. He is the truth and my faith will not waiver in that. I want the man healed so I can brag on the power of Christ and prove to others his deep love. I am ashamed to think of my reaction if Christ chooses to allow the "natural" course of things to progress. It just seems so ungodly to let him die like this.

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Theological Thursdays

Today, I would like to discuss the concept of being proactive. James 4:8 says, "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." I realize that different theologies will draw different conclusions on this matter, but all must admit that there is some mysterious and divine partnership between a human being and the Lord Jesus Christ. Based on my own background, God's Spirit draws me to Him, but I also have to take steps of obedience to grow in relationship with Him.
Many people have experienced God drawing nearer to them. It is a precious moment that surpasses so many life experiences. Imagine two points on a line that move closer and closer to each other. The ultimate goal is to become one point. Imagine one point representing the LORD and the other point representing you. Both sides should tenaciously move towards the other, yet God seems to always be more tenacious on His side. We have a tendency to sit back and say: "God will do what He will do." What if we increased our tenacity for drawing closer to the LORD? What if we fought for God's attention and desire much like we fought when that special guy or girl caught our fancy? God woos us, so why can't we work on our end of the romance too. Have you wooed those LORD today?
Choose this day to fight to improve your relationship with God. Take the time to do what is necessary to make it work. If we fight as hard as we can to be as close to Him as possible, then in those moments when we still fall short God in his perfect love keeps drawing near regardless.

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Teaching Tuesdays

The first seven verses of the book of Proverbs summarizes what the entire book is about:
"To know wisdom and instuction, to perceive the words of understanding, to receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, judgment, and equity; to give prudence to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion- A wise man will hear and increase learning, and a man of understanding will attain wise counsel, to understand a proverb and an enigma, the words of the wise and their riddles. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction."
When someone informs me that they desire to be used by God in a mighty way, I look very closely at two main things. First, does the person act as a servant. Secondly, I look to see if they have a teachable spirit. Without these two attributes, it will be extremely difficult for God to use them fully. (I will note however, that God uses whomever, whenever to accomplish His will).
I will talk about being a servant another time, rather let us focus on the "teachable spirit". The beginning of Proverbs lays out several important areas one must work on to achieve his/her full potential. He talks about knowing, which in the Hebrew specifically talks about experiential wisdom. Thus, the person will have a hands on approach, not just theoretical. He talks about the willingness to take in wise counsel. Thus, we cannot rely only on ourselves, and why would we want to anyways? He speaks as though gaining wisdom and growing in the Lord requires hard work. You bet it does! Not wasted hard work, but the ability to sieze those moments to learn. At the very last, the text states that the "fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge." Thus, the journey of gaining one's full potential stems from the LORD being at the center of that knowledge base.
I know lots of people who have great hearts and try really hard, but they are stubborn and refuse to learn. We should choose to learn every single day, but many times laziness, procrastination, and arrogance get in the way of this. If you desire to reach your full potential, then choose this day to have a teachable spirit.

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Freedom Friday

Freedom is a word that encompasses so much. Even more so does this word bring so much to the Believer's life. A spiritual thirst for freedom starts to become satisfied when we hand our lives over to Jesus Christ. Many are spiritually thirsty, but not all choose to taste of the freedom offered through Jesus. As we mature in the faith, so should our freedom from the bondage of sin. I will use a picture to help describe what we should all strive for...
I awaken to find myself in a large body bag. I am having difficulty to breathe and the bag doesn't quite fit my body very well. I am cramped and scared. Eventually, the zipper on the bag is found and I open it with great delight as I can now breathe more fully. I am delighted to be out of the bag, but I find myself in a car trunk. Thus, I can't stretch my legs out and the air feels so stale. Eventually, the lock on the trunk is released and I can get out to stretch my legs and have a full range of motion. Finally, a little light poors in from a single florescent bulb on the ceiling. Even though I can move freely and begin to see better, I am locked in a small garage with hardly enough room for the care containing it. It is wonderful to breathe better, move around, and see, but it doesn't seem quite right yet. Eventually, the garage door opens and I find myself in a medium sized junk yard. The sun is shining so brightly and the air feels so good. Unfortunately, there is a large concrete wall around the whole junk yard with barb wires around the top. I can't see out at all, but I have the sun and the wind, even if the air is a little foul from the processing of the metal. Eventually, the doors to the junk yard open and I realize I am on a small island in the middle of a lake. The island is about 2 square miles, but it is wonderful to see the water and the land across the water and have the freedom to move about. Still, after several years, I yearn to get off the island. Finally, I discover a boat and I hop aboard and head towards the mainland. Once I get to the mainland I am so excited to finally have room to move, after walking around quite a bit, I realize that I was actually on an even larger island in the middle of the ocean...
If you concentrate on the different pictures, then you can begin to imagine the wonderfulness of the new freedom. Of course, this freedom is only made possible as we continue to become more intimate with our Heavenly Father. As we continually become more transformed we will continue to experience new levels of freedom. Some Christians are content to be alive and in the body bag, others experience the trunk, some enjoy the garage, some like the junkyard, some enjoy the island in the lake, and others enjoy the island in the ocean. God accepts us wherever we are at, but he so very desperately desires for us to walk in freedom.
Have you experienced a new level of freedom lately or have you become content? Hunger and thirst after the Lord and enjoy the expanse of freedom.

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