focus

Not Gonna Bow

July 25, 2019 by Tim Sherfy

Years ago, Russ Taff wrote a song called, “Not Gonna Bow”, based on the well-known Bible story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. The theme of the song was how we as Christ-followers should refuse to bow to any idols, regardless of the consequences. There is nothing more important than to keep Jesus first in your life. It is the essence of surrendering our hearts to Christ. If He isn’t first, then we aren’t surrendered.

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Every day we are tempted to bow down to someone or something other than Jesus. When we put anything other than Christ first in our hearts, it is an idol and needs to be thrown out of our lives. Idolatry is subtle and creeps in constantly if we are not diligent to guard against it.

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Laser-Focused

July 15, 2019 by Tim Sherfy

Our lives and attention are fractured by the myriad distractions in our world. Every new technology seems designed to further demand our attention through relentless buzzes, beeps, and flashes. Society moves at an ever-quickening pace inflicting an ever-growing list of demands upon our lives. Between our jobs, families, friends, and careers, it can be hard to maintain focus on anything at all.

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We become overwhelmed and exhausted and end up medicating with drinks, pills, substances, and mind-numbing entertainment. We seek peace in whatever it takes to distract us from all the distractions! There is a better way. There is an answer to the relentless assault on our senses. We need to re-train our minds to be laser-focused. We need to stop the insanity and pursue the only One worth pursuing.

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Timeless

June 27, 2019 by Tim Sherfy

There is so much noise in our world today. It seems everyone has an opinion on everything, and if you happen to disagree with their opinion then you are one of the intolerant or unenlightened ones. Historically, opinions have never been in short supply. This much isn’t new. What is new are the multiple platforms people have available to voice their opinions.

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Traditional and social media never sleep and are never quiet. Much – if not most – of what is being talked about has little value. It certainly has no eternal value. It is just noise, and distracting noise at that. There remain real issues in this world, real problems in need of a solution. Perhaps it is easier to focus on made up crisis than to confront what is really going on.

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The Privilege of Prayer

June 6, 2019 by Tim Sherfy

As I was praying today, I became overwhelmed with a sense of awe. Not for the first time, I was struck by Who it was I was talking to and what an intense and incredible privilege it is to speak to my Creator. When we pray, we are talking directly to the God of the Universe. We are conversing with Jesus. Who are we that we should have such a privilege? I know what my life has been. I know what I deserve, what we all deserve.

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I deserve to be cast out of His holy presence forever and to never have the privilege or right to come before Him. I am an unholy man before an all-holy God. But He looks beyond that. He sees me as His child, and because of the blood of Jesus, I am clean and blameless in His eyes. He invites me to sit at His table and speak with Him. Do you understand the enormity of this?

What Has Your Attention?

May 30, 2019 by Tim Sherfy

It is not uncommon for church services in Haiti to last 4-6 hours. Contrast this with the typical Western church service which is typically tightly scripted to last for an hour or an hour and 15 minutes. Anything beyond this time and people begin to bristle. We have other things to do after all. When Pastor Kyle Idleman visited Haiti, he inquired of a local pastor as to how he was able to keep the attention of his congregation for so long.

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The pastor replied simply the people in Haiti had nothing else to do. While he said this with laughter, I believe he hit on an incredibly simple, but important, truth. Believers in Haiti spend extended time worshipping God because they have nothing else in their lives competing for the attention they give to God.