"I was just distracted."
There are things that will pull us away from our focus and what's important. I get distracted easily. When I clean the house I start in a room and if I find something from another room I take it to the other room. While in the other room I see the need to clean that room and start cleaning there. The cycle continues and I end up getting a little cleaned in each room but never get anything done.
In our technologically connected society the distractions are overtaking us. We have distractions and time wasters sounding bells and alerts from our pocket or purse. If you're not careful your e-mail box will get overwhelmed with notifications.
Jesus told us that if our right hand causes us to stumble we should cut it off. I have shut off notifications and distraction causing apps, alerts and even people. As sad as that may be to some I have to guard my time. If I get distracted from my purpose as a man of God, a husband and father or as a pastor the result could be devastating. I have even fasted social media and my phone for a while to reset my mind.
In the time you have read this blog you either had some of those distractions come up or have thought of those distractions. Take inventory and see if you can reduce or remove those distractions. You may have to take drastic measures or make small adjustments. Either way you will be glad you did. Your focus and attention will be undivided. Productivity and connection will be better too!
What distracts you? How can you reduce or remove those distractions?
Showing posts with label focus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label focus. Show all posts
Saturday, November 7, 2015
Wednesday, October 7, 2015
Day 281 - Don't Miss Out
"It was reported that we had 260 salvations this past week."
I read over this sentence and it didn't register. I couldn't tell you what we were doing other than normal church activity. In the midst of our labors God was moving and people's lives were being changed for eternity.
I don't care who you are or how large your church is when one person or 260 people get saved it is a miracle. The problem is that we miss out. We miss the miraculous. Why? Lots of reasons.
It becomes common. If you are consistently having responses to calls for salvation or healing or prayers answered it can lose the wonder and become commonplace if we allow it. Stop and be thankful. Stop and wonder. Stop and praise God.
We also miss it because we get busy. Our lives can be so distracted. Too many times I am focused on peripheral things and miss the central focus of what God is doing. It takes discipline and focus to remove the things that distract and get back to what God is doing.
Finally we miss it because our aim shifts. Many times people will see someone else doing something they like and get off of purpose. They set aside what they are called to do in order to aim at something they shouldn't be. We have to know our purpose and stick with it. Methods may change but if we know our calling and central purpose the aim is the same.
Is there something God is doing and you recognize you might be missing it? Is there another way we can miss it and, if so, how do we guard against it?
I read over this sentence and it didn't register. I couldn't tell you what we were doing other than normal church activity. In the midst of our labors God was moving and people's lives were being changed for eternity.
I don't care who you are or how large your church is when one person or 260 people get saved it is a miracle. The problem is that we miss out. We miss the miraculous. Why? Lots of reasons.
It becomes common. If you are consistently having responses to calls for salvation or healing or prayers answered it can lose the wonder and become commonplace if we allow it. Stop and be thankful. Stop and wonder. Stop and praise God.
We also miss it because we get busy. Our lives can be so distracted. Too many times I am focused on peripheral things and miss the central focus of what God is doing. It takes discipline and focus to remove the things that distract and get back to what God is doing.
Finally we miss it because our aim shifts. Many times people will see someone else doing something they like and get off of purpose. They set aside what they are called to do in order to aim at something they shouldn't be. We have to know our purpose and stick with it. Methods may change but if we know our calling and central purpose the aim is the same.
Is there something God is doing and you recognize you might be missing it? Is there another way we can miss it and, if so, how do we guard against it?
Sunday, September 6, 2015
Day 250 - No Other Way
"Faithful, faith filled and faith focused."
These are three points from a sermon my brother in law preached last year. They are life long lessons. We are constantly adjusting and correcting our course to stay with these three areas.
There is no other way to please God than by faith. There is also no other way to do life than by faith. You have to have faith to be a Christian, have friends, make marriage work, raise kids, build a business etc.
We are faithful when we show up consistently for our duties. We are faithful when we are loyal and won't get off track with something or someone. Our commitment is no commitment at all if it isn't consistent. That is where faithfulness comes in. We must be able to be counted on and trusted. Are we faithful to our families, to our marriages, on the job, to our friends, and most of all to our God?
If we are going to be faithful we need to be faith filled. We need to get as much of God's word inside of us because that is where faith comes from. Otherwise without the Word of God we will believe anything. God has ways and thoughts that He wants us to hear and be a part of. We will only get there and be filled with faith when we get into the Word.
All this happens with a faith focus. What we give our attention to is what matters and what is produced in our lives. With the same measure of attention and interest we give it will be given back to us. It is very important to keep our eyes focused on Jesus and look to Him for what we are in faith for. Seek the Giver and you will have no lack of gifts. Seek the Lover and you will be loved. Seek the Healer and you will be healed.
What are you believing God for? Which of these areas do you need to grow in?
These are three points from a sermon my brother in law preached last year. They are life long lessons. We are constantly adjusting and correcting our course to stay with these three areas.
There is no other way to please God than by faith. There is also no other way to do life than by faith. You have to have faith to be a Christian, have friends, make marriage work, raise kids, build a business etc.
We are faithful when we show up consistently for our duties. We are faithful when we are loyal and won't get off track with something or someone. Our commitment is no commitment at all if it isn't consistent. That is where faithfulness comes in. We must be able to be counted on and trusted. Are we faithful to our families, to our marriages, on the job, to our friends, and most of all to our God?
If we are going to be faithful we need to be faith filled. We need to get as much of God's word inside of us because that is where faith comes from. Otherwise without the Word of God we will believe anything. God has ways and thoughts that He wants us to hear and be a part of. We will only get there and be filled with faith when we get into the Word.
All this happens with a faith focus. What we give our attention to is what matters and what is produced in our lives. With the same measure of attention and interest we give it will be given back to us. It is very important to keep our eyes focused on Jesus and look to Him for what we are in faith for. Seek the Giver and you will have no lack of gifts. Seek the Lover and you will be loved. Seek the Healer and you will be healed.
What are you believing God for? Which of these areas do you need to grow in?
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Day 22 - Saying No
"It seems to me that there are people who will tell you what they did and then want you to finish the job."
Maybe it is my position or my personality but it seems this happens to me a lot. Someone tells me how they started some noble work and how needed it is and then they expect me to finish the job. I am not sure what that is other than the fact that I am one of those guys who has a hard time saying no.
Don't get me wrong, saying yes has opened doors for me and taken me places I have never thought possible. There is power in the right 'yes' at the right time. But on the other hand 'no' is a perfectly good response as well to certain things.
The world would be a better place if we learned the value of a good 'no'. In the book of Titus (Whom my son is named after, it means 'strength') it says that the grace of God has appeared to us and it teaches us to say no to ungodliness and to deny the lusts of the flesh. We would be better of if we shouted 'no!' at anything that doesn't please God. Additionally we also would be less stressed, more focused and better off if we said yes to our call and assignment and no to non-essentials and peripheral things that would distract us.
Do you have a hard time saying yes or no? What was the best no you ever said?
Maybe it is my position or my personality but it seems this happens to me a lot. Someone tells me how they started some noble work and how needed it is and then they expect me to finish the job. I am not sure what that is other than the fact that I am one of those guys who has a hard time saying no.
Don't get me wrong, saying yes has opened doors for me and taken me places I have never thought possible. There is power in the right 'yes' at the right time. But on the other hand 'no' is a perfectly good response as well to certain things.
The world would be a better place if we learned the value of a good 'no'. In the book of Titus (Whom my son is named after, it means 'strength') it says that the grace of God has appeared to us and it teaches us to say no to ungodliness and to deny the lusts of the flesh. We would be better of if we shouted 'no!' at anything that doesn't please God. Additionally we also would be less stressed, more focused and better off if we said yes to our call and assignment and no to non-essentials and peripheral things that would distract us.
Do you have a hard time saying yes or no? What was the best no you ever said?
Thursday, January 15, 2015
Day 16- What really matters
"I am busy but I am determined to be busy with what is important; people."
Today's thought from last year reminds me that I have to connect everything I do to people. My work is a service to the people. My home life is a service to my family and friends. My witness is to people who are lost in the world. I exist for God and others.
Many times when I interact with people at church, even sometimes when they have made an appointment and meet me in the office, they say "I know you're busy so I'll be quick". My response is always the same, "I am here for you, this I what I do". Really without people there is no church. The building is just a building. People are the church.
It is easy to get distracted from this simple concept. Self can easily step in and say the people are here for you. In reality it is the other way around. The devil would love us to buy the lie that what we do won't hurt anyone but ourselves. Not true! Sin hurts people beyond ourselves. Society would tell us to live our lives and that the times are such that business and finance, marketing and branding are more important than real connections and genuine interaction. Wrong again, loving God and loving people is the command. Loving one another as Jesus loved us is the new command. That is a sacrificial love for others who don't even deserve it.
There is the motivation for the determination. There is the example of how. Now let's do it!
How high are people on your priority scale? How can we do better at serving, loving, and investing in others?
Today's thought from last year reminds me that I have to connect everything I do to people. My work is a service to the people. My home life is a service to my family and friends. My witness is to people who are lost in the world. I exist for God and others.
Many times when I interact with people at church, even sometimes when they have made an appointment and meet me in the office, they say "I know you're busy so I'll be quick". My response is always the same, "I am here for you, this I what I do". Really without people there is no church. The building is just a building. People are the church.
It is easy to get distracted from this simple concept. Self can easily step in and say the people are here for you. In reality it is the other way around. The devil would love us to buy the lie that what we do won't hurt anyone but ourselves. Not true! Sin hurts people beyond ourselves. Society would tell us to live our lives and that the times are such that business and finance, marketing and branding are more important than real connections and genuine interaction. Wrong again, loving God and loving people is the command. Loving one another as Jesus loved us is the new command. That is a sacrificial love for others who don't even deserve it.
There is the motivation for the determination. There is the example of how. Now let's do it!
How high are people on your priority scale? How can we do better at serving, loving, and investing in others?
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