Focus on Jesus

I couldn't have said it any better, and so let me share exactly what Corrie Ten Boom (a holocaust survivor) said:

"If you look at the world, you'll be distressed. If you look within, you'll be depressed. If you look at God you'll be at rest."

That alone is a sermon on its own. I often share that I try to think of life in buckets: faith, fitness, family, focus, finance, and friends. Faith is my relationship with God The Father, The Son, and the Holy Spirit. The fitness bucket is my relationship with myself (mental and physical health). The family bucket is my relationship with my spouse and children. Focus is my relationship with what God has for me in service (ministry, some may call it). The finance bucket is my relationship with resources, including money and other assets, while the friend's bucket is my relationship with others in my circle of influence.

Anyway, the focus bucket is somewhat the focus (all pun intended) of this post. Some think of their focus as what they are created for. If you're a student of Rick Warren's teaching, you'll connect with that prior sentence. One might say Rick Warren's focus is teaching the word of God; others might say Barrack Obama's focus was administration and governance. Both analogies might be valid, but what I'll like us to think about is the idea that our ministry is Jesus Christ himself. Jesus is our Focus. We are to know him, love him, live like him, and share/teach him to others. Here are some thoughts specifically on this:

1. Know Him- Paul reminds us in Philippians 3:10 "that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death."

2. Love Him- Jesus himself talks about us loving Him in John 14:21 "Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him."

3. Live like Him- To live like Him is to be replaced by Him. Paul again says to us in Galatians 2:20 that "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."

4. Teach Him to others- To share him with others is to follow the great commission. Jesus tells us this in Matthew 28: 19-20 "And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.

In knowing him, loving him, living like him, and sharing him with others, you will find your purpose, and your focus (ministry) will be whole. By focusing on Jesus, you exercise the giftings upon your life, in music, writing, speaking, etc. We are nothing without Him. Therefore, Jesus should be the primary focus.

Best wishes,

L.B.