The Focused Life

Life has many distractions.  There are many things that clutter our mind and keep us from concentrating on achieving our goals.  We can let the smallest of distractions keep us from our focused life;  whether the goal is to read a book or lose ten pounds. 

Is there anything in your life that is distracting you from focusing on accomplishing your goals?

Paul talks about focusing his life goals in Philippians 3:14 when he said, “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”  Paul focused on the future rather than the present.  While his life was wreaked up at times, he saw the bigger picture with clarity. 

Dale Carnegie said, “Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.”  There may be times life gets blurred and you have to re-focus the lens.  But by all means, keep on trying to keep the lens focused! Don’t allow the distractions to cause you to lose out in the end.

John Bradshaw said, “It's okay to make mistakes. Mistakes are our teachers -- they help us to learn.”  There will be many mistakes made in our pursuit of reaching our goals.  Learn from them, but don’t repeat them. 

As you strive to reach your goals in life, no matter if they are physical, spiritual, health, education or athletic, keep your life focused.  Don’t allow distractions to keep you from feeling the victories of reaching your desired goals!  You can do it!  Believe and stay distraction free!

Remember, Be God Controlled!

Brian

Grace

"Timmy had been misbehaving and was sent to his room.  After a while he emerged and informed his mother that he had thought it over and then said a prayer.   "Fine", said the pleased mother. "If you ask God to help you not misbehave, He will help you."   "Oh, I didn't ask Him to help me not misbehave," said Timmy. "I asked Him to help you put up with me."

God puts up with a lot, but he still loves us in spite of all that we do wrong.  Remember, God loves us for who we are, not what we do.  Yes, God wants our faithfulness, commitment, and our spiritual loyalty.  He wants our faith to grow.  He desires for each of us to be in the Word.  God loves for us to talk to Him.  Loving one another deeply from the heart is a God trait.  And, living the Christians life is demonstrating integrity.  However, no one is perfect and in all of our inconsistencies, failures and disappointing moments, God still loves us for who we are and gives grace abundantly. 

What is God’s Grace?  Grace comes from the Latin and Greek origin that means,  favor or kindness shown without merit.

When we use Grace in reference to God, this word defines His heart.  Ephesians 2:8 says "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God."  God’s grace is His kindness towards us in spite of our actions or behavior.  Yes, I understand that Romans 6:1 says that we cannot keep on sinning so that grace may increase.  However, in our daily pursuit of living under grace, we do fall short of the glory of God.  This is the very reason why grace is so important to the believer.

God defines himself in Exodus 34:6 as the merciful and gracious God, who is slow to anger and rich in unfailing love and faithfulness."  God's grace is amazing because He forgives us of our sins!   Romans 3:24 says that we are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus."  To be justified means that we are declared free.

The essence of the Gospel is Grace.  Forgiveness.  Mercy.  Hope.  Never merited, but always given.  I do because I love God, not because I am trying to earn my salvation, eternal home, or for God to love me.  My faith propels me to be obedient not because I am earning extra points in the spiritual life, but because I have a deep and profound love for God. 

God gives grace because He loves us.  I give him my life because I love Him. 

Remember, Be God Controlled!

Brian

The Spiritual Rewards of Meditation

Francis Quarles, a 16th Century poet said, "Meditation is the life of the soul: Action, the soul of meditation, and honor the reward of action."

Diana Robinson said, "Prayer is when you talk to God; meditation is when you listen to God."

Swami Sivananda, an author of yoga, said, "Practice meditation regularly. Meditation leads to eternal bliss. Therefore meditate, meditate."

The spiritual discipline of meditation is design to focus our thoughts on God and to reflect on the Scriptures so that we can place our mind back on God and His purpose for our life.

Spiritual meditation is not about feelings, exercises or some type of breathing technique, but rather, it's an opportunity to empty oneself of the worldly thoughts and set the mind on the spiritual things of life.

Throughout the bible, there are several different meanings used for meditation. In the Old Testament, Meditation is described as: to ponder, imagine, mourn, musing, pray, complaint, reflection, devotion and commune. In the New Testament, meditation is described as: Revolve in the mind or to take care of.

Reasons to meditate:
To praise God: Psalm 63:6, David's meditation was about appreciation toward God for taking care of all his needs. "When I remember you on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches."

To please God: Psalm 19:14, David's meditation was about his words and thoughts. David viewed his life as a sacrifice to God and wanted his words and thoughts to please God. "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you...."

To deal with bad feelings toward God: Psalm 39:3, David's meditation was about dealing with God's discipline for a sin he had committed. David struggled and was complaining. In his meditation, he dealt with his feelings toward God's discipline. "My heart grew hot within me, and as I meditated, the fire burned...."

To study God's Word: Psalm 119:15, The Psalmist found strength and comfort in meditating on God's Word. Out of the 176 verses, the writer references God's Word in some type of form in all but 5 verses. "I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways." Meditating on God's Word will enable us to deepen our relationship with God, Jesus, and Spirit.

The idea of meditation from the Christian perspective is not to detach, as the Eastern Religions will teach, but rather, to connect with God.


The Meditation found in Scripture isn't based on concentrating on an earthly object, nor is it to create a mantra where we repeat words over and over again, but rather, to focus our attention on God's Word so that our minds will remain spiritually focused on God and on prayer, where we keep the doors of communication open with God

What meditation will do:
#1. It will spiritually cleanse us: Meditation will detox the mind in order to prepare it for the transformation. Richard Foster in his book, Celebration of Discipline says: "In the discipline of meditation we are not so much acting as we are opening ourselves to be acted upon. We invite the Holy Spirit to come and work within us – cleansing [us]."

#2. It will transform our minds: Our mind gets filled with negative and godless clutter that takes our attention away from godly living. The spiritual cleansing will get our minds cleaned up, but the transformed mind will get the mind back into focus. Paul said in Romans 12:2, "Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think."

Meditation will help transform thinking and behavior and enhance the spiritual life.

Remember, Be God Controlled!

Brian

Live to Live Free

We live in tough times. It seems the affordability of everyday needs are a struggle to purchase. Filling up the gas tank takes most of a hundred dollar bill. The coffee shop chatter focuses on the economy. War. Healthcare. And/or politics.

We want solutions!

Solutions? To what?: Gas prices? War? Healthcare?

Gas prices may never get back to the prices of the 70’s, wars may never cease, and healthcare may continue to rise in cost. We may hire and fire Presidents every four years in order to find the one that will BEST serve our needs and wants.

No matter how tough life gets, God wants his children to behave in a way that demonstrates our relationship with Him. God is always working out the details and setting into motion what is best for us. We have the responsibility to trust him through it and allow him to do what he is supposed to do.

Our earthy life is temporary. We must make the best of our situation so that we can stay focused on the next stage of our life, the eternal one. It is hard to stay focused when there is so much turmoil. It is hard to be focused when the bills aren’t getting paid, no gas to get to work, daughter is serving her country in a war zone, or a spouse is battling an illness.

In our tough times, it is important how we keep ourselves focused. Life is not about cheaper gas prices, lower healthcare cost or a warless world, but rather, keeping focused on the most important event in life; Jesus’ return.

Jesus’ return will make way for relief. Burden’s lifted. Health restored. Wars stopped. In our earthly life, we live for the moment to live free.

Jesus said, “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.” (John 8:1&3)

God knows you by name. He hears you loud and clear! He is working on all the details to make a better life for you. When it’s all completed, you will get a comfortable, stress-free, disease-free, war-free, financially-free place to live for all eternity.

Trust!

Remember, Be God Controlled!

Brian

The Heart of a Server

Serving is a spiritual gift that is given to those whom God has chosen. “We have different gift, according to the grace given us…if it is serving, let him serve…”
Romans 12:6-7 A server has the ability to see the needs of others and to act promptly to fulfilling them.

Jesus was the perfect model for serving. He was a servant first before he became the Savior. Greatness in the kingdom is not achieved by who is first, but rather, by being a willing servant of one another. Jesus said to his disciples in Mark 10:43-45,“...Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Richard Foster wrote, "When we choose to be a servant, we give up the right to be in charge." The essence of life is not about being in charge or the leader or the top dog. The essence of life is about modeling the servant life so that the needs of others are met and the attention and glory is given to God!

A server serves with humility. A worldview of service is: Since I helped you, you help me. I scratched your back, now you scratch mine. Jesus modeled a service lifestyle much differently than even his disciples had known. Jesus regarded service as a primary way of demonstrating love for those whom He served and a way to put importance of one person over another in perspective. Jesus told his disciples to follow His example of showing true servant-hood by washing each others feet in
John 13:12-16, "After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, “Do you understand what I was doing? You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am. And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example to follow.”

The point Jesus was making wasn’t that we need to wash each others feet to be true servers, but rather, a true server will use his/her gifts and abilities to demonstrate the value of putting the needs of others over oneself for the betterment of the kingdom and society. Peter said, “God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.” 1 Peter 4:10

Paul sums it up by saying, “Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.” Philippians 2:3-4,7

Remember, Be God Controlled!

Brian

Giving the Gift of Gentleness

Fragile! Handle with CARE! Valuables. Breakables. Do NOT bend!

Gentleness is a demonstration of love and patience. Psalm 103:10 says “God does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities." Matthew 1 sets the stage for how God is going to put gentleness into motion by giving two important names to the baby born to Mary: Jesus: “He saves” and Immanuel: “God with us.”

The baby Jesus grew up and became a man. The values that he learned as a child would be put to the test. One of the most important attributes of Jesus’ ministry that would be tested to the very core was his gentleness. However, gentleness is one of the least talked about or even noticed abilities of his ministry.

There are three stories in the Gospels that give us a glimpse of how effective Jesus was in dealing with sinners and those who proclaimed self-righteousness.

The Well Water Woman - John 4: Through Jesus' unbiased and non-prejudiced attitude, He demonstrated the power of gentleness by treating her like a real person and not being judgmental even though he knew about her five marriages and living arrangements with the live-in boyfriend.

The goal was salvation, not condemnation!

Jesus, Lawyers, Pharisees, adultery - John 8: Gentleness? Yes! To a woman who had an affair? Yes! Sinner? Yes! Stoning rights? Yes! Were the law keepers and Pharisees sinners? Yes!

This scene of sinners is a teachable moment for those of us who are hard-nosed, judgementalist who think they have a market on rightness, holiness, and their own parking spot reserved for them when they get to heaven. Sounds harsh and with no evidence of gentleness, right? This is why it is so important to watch how we talk and treat others the way we want to be treated

Matthew 7 and 25 makes it clear that all judgment is reserved for Jesus, not us. Next time someone falls into sin, use it as a teaching moment, not a condemning episode.

The taxman and Jesus - Luke 19: No one likes a thief! The mentioning of the IRS will send chills down our spines. For Zacchaeus, he was the kind of man that took more than his share. He was disliked and avoided by everyone; well not everyone. Almost everyone. It is the Jesus factor. Jesus invites himself over to Zach's house.
That's right, the Messiah himself is now going to audit the taxman

This was no ordinary audit with calculators and spreadsheets, it was a soul-to-soul, heart to heart conversation about right living, not taking more than your share, and being fair and honest.

It had to be gentleness that broke through the barriers of Zacchaeus' obsession for money. He made a promise to Jesus that he would give money to the poor and repay those whom he cheated out four times the amount.

No recording of bad-mouthing the taxman. No condemning the thief. A simple conversation that resulted in Jesus saying to Zacchaeus, "Today salvation has come to this house."

gentleness was the means that opened up the opportunity for conversations, which led to restoration.

Remember, Be God Controlled!

Brian

Stepping Stones for Spiritual Growth

Our spiritual lives grow deeper when we our focused and taking steps to mature. If you are like me, it hard to be consistent in using the tools that equip us to battle sin, get along with others, and/or be faithful to the vows made to God. Most people do not wake up in the morning and say, “I wonder what sin I can do today.” When we were born again, we did not set out to live a mediocre spiritual life. But, in the busyness of our days, focus gets blurred and the steps to maturing gets steep and hard to climb.

There are four things that are key to spiritual growth that will enable each person to be a spiritual Christian each day.

Daily Worship – Worship is a 24/7 lifestyle: Revelation 4:8 "Day after day and night after night they keep on saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty—the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.” When God becomes the center-piece of our lives and we see Him as the glorious and majestic God of heaven, it is then we worship with a heartfelt attitude toward Him. Worship is focusing on God: Psalm 95:6 "Come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord our maker." Being God focused means that we see clearly the richness of God, the power of God, and the gentleness of God. Our view of God will inspire us to worship Him with humility and reverence.

Daily Prayer – Prayer is an opportunity to Adore God: Psalm 8:1-2, "O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth! Your glory is higher than the heavens. You have taught children and infants to tell of your strength,...." God has given us everything to sustain us in life. Prayer is an opportunity to Admit our sins: 1 John 1:9,"But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness." Prayer is an opportunity to Appeal to God: 1 Samuel 1 is a powerful prayer chapter of a woman who makes an appeal to God for a child. Hannah is a story that demonstrates persistence, faith, and integrity.

Daily Bible Study – God's Word is not just words, but food: Matthew 4:1-11, "...not live by bread alone, but on every Word...." Regular bible intake feeds us spiritually. God's Word helps us grow-up: 1 Peter 2:1-5, "...may grow up in your salvation...." God's Word will help us mature as Christians. God's Word equips us: 2 Timothy 3:10-17, "...be thoroughly equipped for every good work" The Scriptures teaches us how to live.

Be Spirit-Led – Galatians 5:16 says that if we live by the Spirit, we will not want to be involved in things that take us to places that isn’t God honoring. Spirit-led people keep right focus, right living, and right relationships.

When our days are filled with worship, prayer, God’s Word, and the Spirit leading the way, a change will come about in our lives that no power of evil can over come us. And, No amount of distraction can detour us from our purposed life.

Remember, Be God Controlled!

Brian