MY FRIENDS, FOCUS! FOCUS! FOCUS!

July 28, 2013

MY FRIENDS, FOCUS! FOCUS! FOCUS!

Mark 8:22-26 And they came to Bethsaida. And they brought a blind man to Jesus and implored Him to touch him. 23 Taking the blind man by the hand, He brought him out of the village; and after spitting on his eyes and laying His hands on him, He asked him, “Do you see anything?” 24 And he looked up and said, “I see men, for I see them like trees, walking around.” 25 Then again He laid His hands on his eyes; and he looked intently and was restored, and began to see everything clearly. 26 And He sent him to his home, saying, “Do not even enter the village.”

FOCUS! FOCUS! FOCUS!

Have you ever wondered why a pigeon walks so funny? According to an interesting article in the Detroit Free Press, a pigeon walks the way it does so it can see where it’s going. Because it can’t adjust its focus as it moves, the pigeon actually has to bring its head to a complete stop between steps in order to refocus. This is the way it walks: head forward, stop; head back, stop! In our spiritual walk with the Lord we have the same problem as the pigeon. We have a hard time seeing while we’re moving.

We also need to stop between steps to refocus on where we are in relation to the World and the will of God. Our walk with the Lord needs to have built into it a pattern of “stops,” which enable us to see more clearly before moving on. This healing was unique in that it consisted of two stages. After the first healing was performed, the man saw people indistinctly as moving objects, like trees walking. That is, he could distinguish them from trees only by their motion;

before he had totally gone blind it may have been that he saw men as trees. Men had become shadows moving about to him. Now that he is gaining his sight back, as man rising out of deep water, he sees men in the same form. Now going back to Mark 8:25 The Blind man’s reply tells us he knew what trees looked like so we know he has seen before in his life time.

His blindness was not {congenital} or present at birth. After that Christ put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly. Sometimes we, like the blind man, need a second touch by Jesus in order to see things from His perspective. He looked at men and saw trees he looked at our Savior, Jesus Christ, and saw clearly.

And once his eyes was fixed on Christ, his sight and focus was fully restored. “The second stage of healing was preceded by the touching of the eyes. The text does not say that Jesus made him look up, but rather that the man looked intently. And when he did so, he began to see all things clearly.” “When Christ is the center of your focus, everything else will come into proper perspective.”

As we begin to focus upon God, the transforming power of the Holy Spirit will begin to take shape before our eyes. (A. W. Tozer) Wikipedia,describes FOCUS: as selectively concentrating on one aspect of the environment while ignoring other things the Free Dictionary describe FOCUS: As A point at which rays of light or other radiation converge or from which they appear to diverge, as after refraction or reflection in an optical system: the focus of a lens. Also called focal point.

As A Christian what Focal Point should mean to each of us is Jesus Christ and Him Crucified. Nothing else should define This Race or journey that each of us are on to the finish line except JESUS CHRIST AND HIM CRUCIFIED. Yesterday I checked my comments of the day, as I always do , and a good friend of mine left one and all he said was you cannot leave out the Democratic party. He knowing me as He does knew that he would be getting a phone call from me soon, he also knew the first thing I would say would be you republican, and of course he was right.

And like the blind man, as my friend and I talked, my sight  became clearer and clearer, that’s a good thing abut having friends who are moving in the same direction as you Spiritually. At the end of the day we both came to the same conclusion, and that is, nothing else matters in life, except Jesus Christ and Him Crucified. But what I had done was taken my focus off of what this site should be all about, and moved into the area of Politics.

So to get back on focus I must say, It doesn’t matter in politics: if you are a Republican, Democrat, Independent, Libertarian, or the Green party, etc. etc. In Religious Denominations: It doesn’t matter if you are A Catholic, Methodist, Presbyterian, Baptist, Church of Christ, Adventist or Lutheran, etc. etc. Or your Ethnicity: It does not matter if you are Black, White, European, Spanish, Chinese, Korean or German. etc. etc, In the classes: it doesn’t matter If you are rich, poor, or middle class. etc. etc. finally in one’s sexual orientation it does not matter if you are A man, Woman, Gay, hetasexual or Bisexual. etc. etc.

Remember my Friends, when each of us stand’s before God the only thing that will matter will be what was our Relationships with Christ, while we were here on this earth, and did we allow Our Lord and Savior to transform our character to be like His. And as Christians we can never ever loose our focus on where Christ is leading us from day to day, as we Study his Word, and seek His Spirit. And if that remains our focus Eternity, and Gods pure and holy kingdom will soon be ours.

Paul tells us in Colossians 3:2 – Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. also he says in Colossians 2:6 -8 “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.”

When we as Christians remain Focused we then surrender our all to the Master. And once that happens it all becomes about trusting and having faith in a God, that has done it all for our Salvation Paul tells us in Romans 5:7-8 “Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Peter also tell’s us in 2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” So By Surrendering to God, it takes the focal Point off of self, and what we may want, and places it upon the blood of Jesus Christ.

Totally Surrendering and given it all to the Master is not the most outstanding way to live, it is the only way to live, If we want to make heaven our home. Because nothing else matters as a Christians. Because all other pathways lead to resentment, defeat and in the end destruction. Hebrews 12:2 says “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

So if our Goal is the kingdom of God, then we must never loose sight of Christ and what we must do to be like Him, and what He must haved endured on The Via Dolorosa, the road Jesus walked from the place of Pontius Pilate’s sentencing, to Golgotha, The “way of sorrows.” “On a hill far away” to save you and I

On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross, the emblem of suffering and shame;
and I love that old cross where the dearest and best for a world of lost sinners was slain.
So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross, till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross, and exchange it some day for a crown.
O that old rugged cross, so despised by the world,
has a wondrous attraction for me; for the dear Lamb of God left his glory above
to bear it to dark Calvary. In that old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine,
a wondrous beauty I see, for ’twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died,
to pardon and sanctify me. To the old rugged cross I will ever be true;
its shame and reproach gladly bear; then he’ll call me some day to my home far away,
where his glory forever I’ll share.

Hebrews 12:2 Says it all “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 has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” My Friends FOCUS! FOCUS! FOOCUS!

So my friends today. Stay focused, remain faithful, love one another and endure till the end and never forget to STUDY&PRAY