You'll Find It Where You Focus

My husband and I are reorganizing, redecorating, and reconfiguring our living space to make some major changes. We’d like to do that while spending as little money as possible. One way we do that is to look for second-hand items in thrift stores, antique malls, and junk shops, as well as an occasional retail store.

When we go to the shops, we’re very single-minded.  He starts on one side of the store and I start on the other. We cruise the aisles quickly and meet in the middle, looking for all the possibilities for that one item we are seeking, like a loveseat.  We don’t take time to examine all the other interesting things in the booths because we are on a mission.  If no vendors have a loveseat, then we’re on to the next store.  There’s no time to browse when you have a target in mind.

After one such day of searching, we ended up purchasing a loveseat and getting it home and in place. As the room arrangement progressed, we realized we needed another table lamp. Neither of us could remember seeing lamps at any of the places we had visited, though we knew there were probably some there.  Why didn’t we remember any lamps?  Our focus was on loveseats and that is all our brains would let us process.

I saw this kind of thing happen several times in our weeks of searching for various items, and then the Holy Spirit used that realization to remind me of something. Just as I blocked out all other distractions while seeking that loveseat, I can focus on my pursuit of God with tunnel vision. I don’t have to allow anything the enemy throws in my path to interfere with my fellowship with Him.  

If we focus on the things of God first, we will find them.  Jeremiah 13:10 says, “And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.”

Matthew 6:33 says it this way, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

You will see what you are trying to see if you maintain your focus.  All other things will move into the background of your life. They are still there, but they are not the objective.  Jesus is and always will be the primary focus of the soul that is sold out to Him.

That's Not My Name!

Last month, several packages were delivered to my house that had my exact address but bore the names of other people. An online seller that I ordered from has stolen credit card information from three other people. For some unknown reason, he is charging them for items, but sending them to my address. Law enforcement is investigating, and it’s been an interesting and annoying few weeks.

I realized today that the enemy of our souls does this all the time. He sends things right where we are. They are things we didn’t ask for. They don’t belong to us. I haven’t accepted the merchandise that has overwhelmed the front porch of my house, and I don’t have to accept what he sends my way either.

These physical packages just needed to be returned to the store that shipped them, but these bogus packages the enemy tries to unload on us need to be dealt with in this way:

“Sorry, devil. This package isn’t mine. Oh, I know it has my address on it, but you’ve got the wrong person. My name isn’t Defeated or Unloveable or Broken. My name is Overcomer, Beloved of God, His Masterpiece. I don’t want what you’re sending. Take your fraud and your lies and go somewhere else. I will only accept good and perfect gifts - the ones sent by my Abba Father. He provides everything that pertains to life and godliness - not some counterfeit that leads to heartache and moves me away from Him.”

Then write on that package in permanent marker “RETURN TO SENDER! Addressee unknown!”

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights with whom there is no shadow of turning." James 1:17

"...as His divine power has give to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue," 2 Peter 1:3

There's More!

 

On Christmas morning, I went upstairs to join my son, his wife, and my granddaughter Bella for a few minutes before they left the house to go to a brunch with my daughter-in-law’s family.  The plan was that they would empty their stockings before they left, but would save the opening of gifts under the tree until they returned in the afternoon.

Bella joyfully drew out small gifts, one after another; getting more excited the deeper her arm disappeared down the stocking.  She had candy, and hair accessories, and gift cards to her favorite places to eat.  At one point she squealed, "This is the best morning ever!”  

I’m glad she was so excited and grateful for what she had received, but the day held so much more for her.  There were gifts at her Pappy’s house and gifts right back here at our house that afternoon. Not only that, but there would be another gift or two the next day when she and her parents were going to another family dinner.  She had only scratched the surface of what she would receive this Christmas. She stopped short of realizing all that was about to come to her that day.

She was much like many of us are as Christians.  We are excited and grateful for the amazing gift of salvation that was bought for us by the blood of Jesus, as we should be, but God never meant for us to just stop there.  He has so much more prepared for us once we have joined His family and kingdom through being born again.  We shouldn’t quit when we’re just getting started!

God is showing us gift after gift that is available to us after we take that first step.  There are experiences and levels of understanding and depths of fellowship that we don’t even realize are waiting because we just open the stocking of salvation and declare that this is the best thing ever.  Jesus is the best thing ever, but He’s just getting started.  Look at what God says about this life that He gives us.

Ephesians 3:20-21 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

We are born again, but our transformation is not just a one-time thing.  There’s so much more coming as we continue this walk with Him.

2 Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

Eventually, this season, Bella’s gifts will stop coming. She will have received all that people have chosen to give her and she’ll settle into a life of enjoying the good things she has now, but with God, there is no end to what He is pouring out on the lives of His children. There is no end to His season of giving.  It’s more than we could ever imagine.

1 Corinthians 2:9 But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”

So as the world packs the Christmas decorations, throws away the used wrapping paper, and forsakes the holiday food for the new year’s diets, please remember to keep looking for and expecting the gifts and plans that God has for you.  Be thankful for what He has already done, but don’t get comfortable there.  There is always more!

Connecting When It's Not Easy

 

In a recent church service, we could feel the tangible presence of God.  The sense of peace that swept over the congregation was heavy and sweet. The Holy Spirit moved among us and ministered to all who had a heart that was listening for His words.  I wrote on the church’s Facebook page I wished every day was a Sunday.  That time together with each other and with Jesus was deeply meaningful.

Then I realized how easy it is to praise with the praisers and worship with the worshippers.  Prayer comes more effortlessly when you are praying with others who agree with the word of God.  There’s nothing wrong with the feeling that God is more accessible when we are together, but there is something wrong if that is the only time we connect with Him.

If you search the internet, you’ll find prayer notebooks, Bible study guides, and spiritual journals to help you in your time of personal devotions. There are ideas using colored pencils and illustrating the verses you are reading. There are suggestions for background praise music to set the atmosphere for your meeting with God. The websites that talk about these things paint a lovely picture of you surrounded by your Bible and your spiritual tools, sipping on coffee or tea, looking out the window at a beautiful view of God’s creation while you spend time with the Lord.  There’s nothing wrong with that either, but if they took all those tools away from us, could we still connect with God? 

In some countries today, there are Christians that don’t even have a Bible or have only a few pages they value as the most precious possession they own.  The persecution in those places means they don’t have easy access to worship music or podcasts or sermon videos - all the things that so easily are available to us. If we were in that situation, could we still bring praise to God? Could we get in His presence without all the tools that we enjoy?  Could we connect with Him if they threw us into jail because of our faith?

Because of our freedoms, the worst persecution we’ve ever faced is usually no more traumatic than someone calling us a holy roller or a Jesus freak.  Our pastor has been talking about being disciples; being the “disciplined ones” who follow God wholeheartedly.  Considering all these thoughts, I’ve been examining myself more and more to see if I’m prepared to stay in fellowship with God when it’s not easy anymore.  I pray that kind of persecution never comes, but the setup for it is already in our culture.  I’m asking that you give this topic some thought as well.  In difficult times, we need that connection more than we need our next breath.

Kingdom Work

 

I had a dream of a man who was building a brick structure.  He created a low wall of brick and mortar that barely reached his knees and was not very long.  All the while, behind him, there was another man working on the structure, but the first man never looked back to notice the second.  

It came time for the first man to die.  He looked down at the short wall that he had built and lamented that he wished he could have done so much more.  He thought of all the years he had wasted before he worked diligently on the project.  As he entered heaven’s gates, the man who had been laboring behind him ran ahead of him and was there to greet him. It was Jesus.  As the man looked into that beautiful face, Jesus said, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant!”  

The man protested. “All I did was build this one little short wall.  I wish I could have done so much more for you.”

Jesus put his hand on the man’s shoulder and said, “Turn around, son.”  As the man looked back at the place where he had been working, he saw a magnificent cathedral rising into the heavens.

We aren’t doing the work of the kingdom on our own.  The Holy Spirit Himself is working behind the scenes, adding to everything we do.  Our brothers and sisters are doing their little part- building their little sections of the structure alongside us.  The same Jesus who multiplied five loaves and two fish to feed five thousand people is multiplying our work far beyond what we can see.

We may serve in such anonymous ways behind the scenes that we don’t see the people that received salvation because we prepared the environment where they heard the word of God and responded.  That person’s life may, in turn, touch the lives of hundreds of others, turning them to God, and it’s all because we taught their child in the nursery so they could attend a service, or worked on the media team that brought that live video into their home or did any of a dozen other tasks that created an atmosphere that brought about an encounter with God.

We will be astonished in heaven to see how many people that we never met have been brought into the kingdom because of something we have done that we considered to be of no consequence.

Just because you can’t do everything doesn’t mean you should do nothing.  We all have different callings and gifts that God has given us to use to build His kingdom.  We need every brick. 

1 Peter 2:4-5 says, “Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, 5 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”

We are building and we are being built. Align yourself with the purpose of God to take your place in that spiritual house; it’s where you belong.

Connections

 

I don’t know why some people dream all the time and others never do.  All I know is that my mind is a virtual movie theater every night.  While most of those dreams fly out of my head as soon as the alarm goes off in the morning, I always look for meaning in those dreams that stay with me long after the day is underway.

My most recent dream involved a house on my uncle’s farm.  It’s a little place - just a little over 700 square feet because my grandparents built it as a place to spend their retirement years.  It sits on a little knoll overlooking the family farm, and it’s blessed with a gorgeous view.

In the dream, I was in the house with a couple of other women.  Looking out the window, I could see some men in the front yard and a few others in the backyard.  It was a beautiful sunny day, but the breeze coming off the mountain made it feel comfortable and cool.  Suddenly, from nowhere, there was a stream of water that lifted the little house from its foundation and floated it across the property over to an adjoining piece of land that belongs to my cousin’s widow.  

I felt no fear for my life as the house moved across the grass toward that plot of land.  The day was still calm and pleasant, and the house was smoothly gliding to where it would come to rest. All I could think about was that now we were going to have to get the house towed back to its original site and how much trouble it was going to be to get someone to come in and reconnect the water lines, the electric lines, and the septic tank.  That’s where the dream ended.

I’m not trained in dream interpretation, though I have read about it several times because of the many dreams that flood my brain, but when I meditated on this “movie in my mind” the next day, God showed me what it meant for me and for all of us.

The circumstances that moved the house weren’t big, scary, frightening things - just a gentle movement that somehow still had the power to move it from its connection to the foundation.  If we aren’t careful, even the daily events of our lives that are pleasant, or at least neutral, can move our attention away from God just as easily as a major tragedy that rocks our entire world.  Maybe those day-to-day events are even more likely to distract our attention because we aren’t guarding our hearts in situations that don’t seem threatening on the surface.

The connections that I worried about in the dream were symbols of three things that we lose when we allow distractions from our focus on God.  The first was the water lines.  Just as natural water is vital to our lives, the water of the Word of God is necessary to our spiritual lives so we can be both nourished and cleansed.  The electric lines represent the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives, which guides and teaches us as well as making possible miracles in our lives and the lives of others.  

How am I going to spiritualize a septic tank?  This represents discarding any “stinking thinking” that we have about ourselves and others - all the negative attitudes, lies of the enemy, sin, and worldly “junk” that our minds have picked up in the course of our lives.  Through repentance and renewing our minds, we can discard all that waste in prayer.

1 Corinthians 3:11 says, “For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”

That foundation provides all that we need if we don’t allow the circumstances of our lives to break us away from it.

2 Peter 1:3 puts it this way. “....as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue...”

Why would we build on anything less, and why would we ever want those connections to be severed?

Unclaimed Property

 

I saw an online news article last week about the unclaimed property office in the state treasurer's office in West Virginia, where our family used to live.  It said that there were millions of dollars in abandoned bank accounts, in insurance proceeds, etc. that the office was trying to return to the rightful owners.

So, hoping that there was something there for our family, I went to their database and entered the names of all of my immediate family members.  It turns out that my husband's name was listed as having some unclaimed property.  I called to make sure it really was his and that it didn't belong to someone with the same name. They matched his name with a former address and sent us the forms to claim the property.

Foolishly, I forgot to ask how much was coming to him so it could be $4, or $40, or $400.  Time will tell, but it made me wonder what unclaimed property the body of Christ has stored up in the heavenlies, waiting for us to realize what belongs to us.

I'm not just talking about the material wealth that God gives us to steward and use to build His kingdom.  The riches of God go far beyond money.  

To claim those things, there are steps that must be followed. 

First, you have to be a citizen of the place where the property is stored.  If you are born again, you are a citizen of heaven, even if you aren't living there.

Next, you have to realize that there is a record of what belongs to you.  In our case, it was a database, but your heavenly property is documented in the Word of God.

Then, you must make sure that the listed property is yours by establishing your identity. You must talk to the person in charge of determining that those things belong to you.  In prayer and the Word, you can learn who you are in Christ - your true identity.

The next step is filing a claim.  For us it was filling out a form and again, proving identity by sending a copy of a driver's license and a social security card.  For the Christian, it's claiming the promises of God by reminding Him of His Word and accepting by faith what He has declared is yours.

The last event is receiving what has always been yours - when faith becomes sight.  That's when you enjoy the blessing that God has given you and when you use it to bless others, whether it's a monetary or a spiritual blessing.

While I was on the website, I found the name of another family member who has some kind of property available to them. I took the time to make a phone call so they can claim what is theirs.  In the Kingdom of God, our job is to tell our brothers and sisters where to find what belongs to them and how to obtain it.  

The Bible says, "For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us."  2 Corinthians 1:20

1 Peter 1: 2-4 gives us more detail about these promises. "Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may partakers of the divine nature having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust."

The promises wer given to us to provide everything we need for our physical and spiritual well-being so that we could be partakers of the very nature of God.  Riches like that are worth identifying, claiming, and sharing.