Focus

PSALM 17; MATHEW 6

Psalm 17 speaks of how only God can truly satisfy. There is no satisfaction other than from Him. Matthew 6 is a continuation of the Sermon on the Mount. It contains instruction on how to live the Christian life and focuses on what the motivation behind any action is supposed to be.

There is a great deal of attention given to the fact that we as Christians are supposed to do everything that we do for the sake of glorifying God and not for the sake of drawing attention to ourselves. Jesus speaks about giving to the needy in a quiet and discreet way so that the only gratitude can go to God. He speaks of praying in such a manner that nobody else knows we are praying. Instead we are to treat prayer as a private and intimate time of direct communication with God. There is nothing that we are supposed to do that will draw any attention whatsoever to ourselves. If we do anything for show then that is not fulfilling our Christian duty. We should not be Christians so that people can see us being Christians. God wants us to be Christians for the sake of loving and glorifying him. Once we are Christians we should no longer do anything for our own sake but rather because God wants us to do it. This is a very challenging requirement. But it is what God asks of us. It means sometimes we have to do things that we do not want to do for the sake of glorifying God and because he wants us to. It also means that sometimes we will have to miss out on doing things that we want to do because God is asking us to do something different. As Christians we have to not only be OK with that but also want to live that way. It should be our absolute goal to have our desires and God's will run exactly in line with each other. It is not God's will that is going to have to change because he is perfect. We must come to him. We must be willing to make that sacrifice.

An example of this is in Matthew 6:14,15

"For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."

Holy crap that is a loaded statement by Jesus. This is saying that if someone has wronged us, no matter how much we think they deserve to be treated poorly, we must forgive them. This means no grudges. That is very very tough to do but it is what God says. And it makes sense when we begin to stop and think about it. Because really who are we to say that someone has done something unforgivable? Are we sitting on our high horse completely sinless? I doubt it. If we think we deserve to be forgiven by God then clearly our fellow human being deserves to be forgiven by us. This is what Jesus says and if we are going to be calling ourselves Christians we have a responsibility to live the way that Jesus teaches us to live!

It is time that I draw my focus as a Christian towards developing a very private and very intimate relationship with my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. I know that I cannot continue to live the Christian life for show but rather I must let my private relationship with God direct my actions, thoughts,words, emotions, everything so that in all I do others will see God and desire to worship him for his greatness!!! I must forgive those who have wronged me. No matter what. My main focus must be God for the sole purpose of focusing on God.

Dear God,

You ask so much of me. Sometimes I wonder if I can truly handle living the life you have called me to. But then when I realize that you ask so much of me because you love me so much and because you see so much in me, I know I must give you my all. So Lord, I want to give all of me. I gladly accept the instruction you give me and I am devoted to depending on you to cause me to live my life the way you command. Others may scoff at me. Even other believers may question what I am doing. But I want nothing more than to develop my relationship with you. I am willing to stand out and I am willing to take heat for living in a way that is contrary to this world. God you are my rock you are my foundation and you are my leader! I am here to live the way you command me to. The task is difficult but your love is worth it and I desire to not just say that I love you but to truly live that love in obedience of your Word. May I be ever closer to you with each passing day!!

Amen