Where are you focusing????

How important is it where our attention lies? I think it's extremely important, even crucial to our very health. What we focus on determines where we go. Our pastor told a story in his sermon which I am going to try to recapture briefly. There is a new sport called tree-skiing. You can ski some of the best powder if you ski between the trees. Sounds scary! The important thing to remember is where to keep your focus. You must focus on the spaces between the trees, because if you focus on a tree, you will crash into it. I find this an appropriate analogy for the Christian life. Where is your focus? Is it on Jesus? Or is it on distractions?
I will admit that for a few years, my focus was on distractions. Were the distractions legitimate? Some of them were, but my focusing on them was never legitimate. I am beginning to see that if we take our eyes off of Jesus, we begin a journey that can threaten our walk with God and even our salvation. The Bible is very clear about where we should be focusing. Hebrews 12:2 says, " Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of God.
That verse says a lot. First, it establishes who is the author and finisher of our faith. It's Jesus, it's not us, or any works that we can do, it is Jesus. And, it's not like Jesus is the author and we are the finisher. I've seen a lot of people with that mentality. They believe that Jesus' death on the cross provided their salvation, but somehow they feel that the baton was passed to them to finish their salvation.
The next thing the verse tells us is that Jesus went to the cross for the joy set before Him, which was relationship with us. Jesus wasn't being punished, or wasn't taken to the cross against His will. He knew that He was the way for all men to come to God. How great is His love for us!!!! I can't find a better description of love.
We must pay attention to what we are focusing on. If we focus on ourselves, like trying to find our purpose, or our place in the body of Christ, we can easily become self-centered, depressed and not useful. If we focus on ourselves, we can magnify things which God does not want magnified. I've seen a whole realm of "inner healing" going on where people focus on the bad things that have happened to them, and search for healing. I had many bad things happen to me, and a lot of them were by a parent. This kind of thing can really skew your perspective. I did the searching for healing thing, but ultimately I found that if you focus on God, He takes care of everything. Do I still find that my perspective is off sometimes? Of course, I'm not perfect, but God has given me good friends who I can talk to and find a sense of balance in talking things out. Do I hurt sometimes because of what I've missed out on because of the dysfunction in my family? Yes, but God is bigger than all that, so I choose to focus on Him and let Him guide me in the right path. Do I sometimes feel inadequate because of the life I've had? Yes, but I don't let those feelings define me. I look to the Way, the Truth and the Life for my meaning.
Another way I see people getting distracted is by focusing on things like spiritual warfare and various areas of the spiritual realm. Again, I have been down this road, to a degree, and I've come back to the place where I focus on God. When I focused on the spiritual realm, I became what some might call superstitious. Everything had a secret meaning, and I needed to know what that meaning was. Since I stopped focusing on the spiritual realm, my life has become more balanced, peaceful, and more productive. I see the armor of God mentioned in Ephesians as the Christian walking out the Christian life -which is to know Christ, and His Word, and to then live out life being an imitator of Him and an ambassador for Him.
I believe that the Word of God is one of the most important tangible things we have been given by God. I have an entire post about God's Word brewing in my heart, and in His timing I will publish it, but for now, I give you Psalm 119. Let's look at a few verses. Psalm 119:9 "Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word." So, God's Word is how we are cleansed. And not just God's Word, but TAKING HEED THERETO. A phrase often left behind. If we read, and obey God's Word, we are being cleansed. Not by some program, or retreat or Bible study. It's a cheap course. Read and obey God's Word.
Let's move on to Psalm 119: 11. "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee." So, God's word keeps us from sin. If you're having trouble with sin, refer to the last two verses. Something along the way is not being done. Either the word, the word being hid in your heart, or the taking heed thereto. If you are not willing to hide God's word in your heart, or take heed to His word, no program on earth will change the circumstance. It may change your actions for a while, but your heart will not be cleansed.

Psalm 119:105, 130 "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." "The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple." Here we find that we can find our way in God's word. Does it say, "Go to the store on this day, and to the bank that day?" No, but if we are in God's word and hiding it in our heart, and taking heed thereto, we won't be searching for our "purpose". We will find it in His word. We will find it in Him. Our path will be lit for us when we are in His Word, AND we don't have to have a degree. It gives understanding to the simple. I see lots of people running around getting degrees for this and that. I see People wanting to be in ministry and going after "training" and degrees so that they can be regarded as "fit for ministry". My Bible says that God's word giveth understanding to the simple. I believe that if all you're looking for is God in the Bible, you won't need a degree or need to have taken a class to figure the Bible out. God says, Seek me and you will find me, when you search for me with all your heart.
Why is there such confidence and freedom in focusing on Jesus? Hebrews 13:8 says, "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today and forever." So, no matter what the fad is in Christianity, no matter what philosophy the world is embracing, no matter what different form of sin or hurt comes upon you, Jesus is the same! He does not change, so you can cling to Him and find that He isn't going anywhere. Though the tide of public opinion may change, and their solutions to the world may change, Jesus is the same. That is why He is the rock we should build our lives on.
So, let us throw off the sin and weights that so easily beset us and fix our eyes on Jesus. When our focus is there, we cannot help but enter the rest that is spoken of in Hebrews 4.