Even If i Walk Alone

Instructing and encouraging you to live your life as a disciple of Jesus

focus

Focusing On Things That Matter

by

I read an awesome prayer recently. It was simply, “Deliver me today from the trifling things and help me to spend every minute of the day on ‘the things that matter.’” I need to pray that every day. My life is often filled with “trifling things”. I am guilty of rejecting the beautiful, matchless gifts of God in lieu of the cheap and fading things of this world.

focusing on things that matter,focus,mission,priorities,purpose.selfishness,comfort,security

image © cmlndm via Fotolia

It’s crazy when you step back and look at how much we’re giving up and how little we are actually getting. Everything we achieve or acquire in this life will pass away. It won’t last. In the end, it will all be useless; wasted time and wasted trinkets to litter the memories of a possibly wasted life.

[Read more…] about Focusing On Things That Matter

Losing Your Marbles

by

I recently heard a story about a man who worried he was wasting his life and not spending enough time with his family. He calculated he had about a thousand Saturday’s left in his life span, so he bought a thousand marbles and put them in a jar. Each Saturday morning he would take a marble out and throw it away.

don't lose your nmarbles,john maxwell,Luke 2:49,missionGod's will,freewill,free will,focus

image © marcofinelli

This served to help him visualize how finite time is and how it was ever dwindling. The story resonated with me as I am always looking for reminders to keep me focused on my purpose and mission in life. It’s too easy to let our days quickly pass without focusing on Jesus and building His Kingdom.
[Read more…] about Losing Your Marbles

Master of Distraction

by

For Christ followers, I am convinced that the source of all our discouragement, frustration, and depression is the result of taking our focus off of Jesus. As soon as we revert to our selfish nature, looking at ourselves instead of Him, everything starts to go a bit haywire. Each of us has been uniquely designed by God. We have all been given talents, skills, and passions to use to further His Kingdom. When we begin to live in ways that are not consistent with whom we were created to be, we slip and wander.

master of distraction,focus,Matthew 11:30,love the Lord your God,my yoke is easy

image © Marc Xavier

Satan does everything he can to cause this to happen. He tempts us with visions of a better, safer, or easier life. He entices us to fill our lives with things other than Christ. He is the master of distraction, and if we give in to his lies, we will find ourselves frustrated, discouraged, and perhaps even sinking into the depths of depression.
[Read more…] about Master of Distraction

Focus on God

by

focus,distraction,serving others,Matthew 26:31-46,James 1:27,Matthew 6:25-33,Mark 12:28-31image © fauk74 – Fotolia.com

We are so easily distracted by the cares and pleasures of this world. Knowing he is defeated, Satan has brilliantly crafted a strategy that is making certain that he doesn’t go down alone. His entire purpose is to thwart the plans of God, delay his own inevitable demise, and keep you and me as far away from God as possible. He accomplishes this through altering our focus. As followers of Jesus, our focus should always be on two things: God Himself and serving others in His name. Everything else in life will make sense if we are keeping our focus solely on these two areas.

[Read more…] about Focus on God

Losing Concentration

by

Solzhenitsyn,concentration,focus,mission of the church,Jesus as Lord,serving Jesus,early church,new testament church Daniel Stagner via Compfight cc

In 1978, Alexander Solzhenitsyn addressed the graduating class at Harvard saying, “Many of you have already found out what others will find out in the course of their lives that truth eludes us as soon as our concentration begins to flag, all the while leaving the illusion that we are continuing to pursue it.” I believe this holds true for the Western Church today.  Much like the Pharisees in Jesus’ day, we have heaped rules and regulations onto the teachings of Christ. In the centuries that have followed His death, Christianity has often looked little like its namesake. Instead of being an all-inclusive people loving and serving others in their desperation, we have become somewhat of a closed society, a secret handshake club that does our best to keep the world at bay. We have lost our concentration on the person of Jesus and have been lulled to sleep, convinced that we are still pursuing His truth.

[Read more…] about Losing Concentration