Focus — Faith — Stylin' Granny Mama

Last week I started a short series on the idea of finding peace in the midst of these chaotic times. I looked at words Jesus spoke to His disciples from John 16:33 and pointed out six different important points from the verse: Jesus’ words had a purpose; He wants us to have peace; our peace is directly connected to Him; we will have trouble in this world; we can take courage; and Jesus has overcome the world.

This week I want to focus on why we, so often, don’t have peace even when we are Christ followers. Remember from John 16:33 Jesus said, “…so that in Me you may have peace…” By using the word “may” it is clear we have a choice, otherwise I believe the verse would have been written, “…you will have peace…” Tapping into Jesus’ peace, or into the Prince of Peace is a choice of our will.

I could probably write another whole series on why we don’t have peace, but to keep it to just a few blog posts I want to simply paint a broad brush stroke by focusing on: the mind, the emotions and the body.

The Mind. I think it is obvious to most of us that we have much more information filling our minds today than we did even 20 years ago. It’s not just that we have access to more, but that there are so many other voices to listen to. There are times I feel there is a demonic element to social media and all its tentacles, but I will save that for another post. For the purposes of this post I want to delve into the ideas of alignment and focus.

The question we have to ask ourselves is who or what am I aligning myself with, and is that producing the soil of peace in my life. The Bible, in both the Old and New Testaments has guidelines on association. In the book of Joshua, the people of Israel are told to not associate with the nations in the Promised Land that they were going into.

“6 Be very firm, then, to keep and do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, so that you may not turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left,
7 so that you will not associate with these nations, these which remain among you, or mention the name of their gods, or make anyone swear by them, or serve them, or bow down to them.
8 But you are to cling to the Lord your God, as you have done to this day. ”

— Joshua 23:6-8 (NASB 1995)

Proverbs 20:19 tells us to not associate with gossips. Proverbs 22:24 tells us to not associate with those who are given to anger, or hot tempered. The whole book of Proverbs is a how-to on relationships and how to live in a godly manner.

In the New Testament Paul tells us not to associate with immoral people, but he is not talking about immoral people out in the world: the clerk at the grocery store, your employer, the friend you have had since grade school. Paul is talking about immoral people who are in the church and who are claiming to follow Christ. We can’t live in this world and not associate with people who don’t know Jesus. They are everywhere and some of them are in our own families. As Paul said, “…for then you would have to go out of the world.” (I Corinthians 5:9-13.)

In addition we need to look at what philosophies, schools of thought, teachings, etc. we are aligning ourselves with. There is nothing wrong with reading, listening to, discussing ideas that are not Biblical. We are taught evolution in school from elementary school up. We read fiction books for entertainment and watch movies like Harry Potter. However, this is not to be our main focus.

Focus involves zeroing in on something. When we are focused, our attention is pointed to something specific. As Paul tells us in the verses below we are meant to “fix our eyes on Jesus.”

“1 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

— Hebrews 12:1-2 (NASB 1995)

To put it plainly, we are not to buy into the things the world wants to sell us. For every person we listen too, and every article we read, and every song we hear we have to take its message back to God’s word. We have to have Holy Spirit clarity on each and every message we hear, because as the verses below states, “We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God.”

The world says marriage is optional. The world says same sex love is okay. The world says gender not sex. The world says abortion rights are more important than the children being aborted. The world says Jesus came to preach love. When you take these things to Scripture that is not what we see.

Now, let me take a moment to say, if I decide to spend more time listening to pod casts about these topics, or I focus on what I don’t agree with in Scripture I will, after a while begin to doubt and question truth. I will begin to ask, “Whose truth is it? Who has a right to dictate truth? Isn’t truth what I make of it? I can’t trust your version of truth because it doesn’t line up with my choices and desires.” These ideas become the speculations and lofty things that are raised up against the knowledge of God. Thus the importance of “…taking every thought captive.” Not just captive, like wild horses in a corral, but captive “…to the obedience of Christ.”

“5 We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, ”

— 2 Corinthians 10:5 (NASB 1995)

How does all of this affect our peace? To finish out this post on the mind let’s look at a few verses from the Psalmist.

“I will hear what God the Lord will say;
For He will speak peace to His people, to His godly ones;
But let them not turn back to folly.”

— Psalm 85:8 (NASB 1995)

“165 Those who love Your law have great peace,
And nothing causes them to stumble.”

— Psalm 119:165 (NASB 1995)

When we fill our minds with God’s words we have peace. He says it is so, and His word is truth.

Finally, look at this verse.

“6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace,”

— Romans 8:6 (NASB 1995)

It cannot be any clearer than that. If we set our mind on the Spirit, and all the knowledge the Spirit gives us through God’s word we will have peace.

Next week we will look at our emotions and how they can keep us from experiencing God’s peace. Have a great week!

I decided to take a break from the Traits of a Godly Person series for this week. There are so many things going on in our world, and I often wonder should I talk about some of the more difficult issues. I like my blog to be a place of encouragement, whether it is to dress better or to grow in your walk with Christ. However, there are people out there, some of whom might be following my blog, that need a different kind of encouragement.

Life really can be stinking hard! Relationships are complex and often the source of our deepest and darkest pain. More often than not, people who are going through great difficulty do not feel at liberty to talk about the situations they are facing, which means, they are not getting any support or encouragement. People who are going through great loss, also, don’t always feel free to talk about their grief and pain. I’m not really sure, how we got to this point. Why is it that we are afraid to let people know that we are not okay? Why do we hide our pain behind a smile and tell everyone who asks that we are doing fine? Maybe it has to do with not being able to express the deep pain and sadness we feel. Perhaps we are afraid that others will think less of us, if we show them our reality. Maybe we are just too dang tired from trying to cope, that we’d rather not put in the effort to explain all that is going on.

I think there is something much deeper and darker going on when we are struggling. Obviously, I believe in a real God and a real devil. I believe that Satan is our enemy and he is out to kill and destroy.

“Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”

— 1 Peter 5:8 (NASB)

Our enemy is compared to a roaring lion. Why do you suppose Peter used the idea of a roaring lion, rather than that of a snake or some other creature? Obviously, lions are creatures to be respected. A lion can easily kill a man along with a host of wild creatures. Peter didn’t just make the comparison of the devil to a lion, but to a roaring lion. There is significance in the roar. Roaring commonly means, “This is my territory. Don’t get anywhere near.” Isn’t that interesting? Our enemy isn’t just trying to trip us up, he is trying to make us his own. He wants to claim us as his territory.

There are two problems that come up when we are going through difficulty that really affect our next step and our way of thinking. The first is our own focus. It is incredibly easy to focus on our pain. It is, our pain. The struggle is our struggle. Why wouldn’t we focus on it? This is made even harder when there is pain, illness, anxiety and broken relationships. Job loss is hard, but add to that a divorce and a persistent gall bladder problem and you are probably going to be feeling pretty overwhelmed.

“Let your eyes look directly ahead
And let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you.”

— Proverbs 4:25 (NASB)

Why is our focus so important? When you are walking you need to watch where you are going. This is especially important if you are walking on a narrow road, a path along a steep gorge or across a Lego filled living room. in those situations, it might be important to not be looking at your cell phone, reading a book or closing your eyes. This is also true when we are driving. The need for this straight forward, pay attention routine is even more important when things are getting chaotic, such as heavy traffic or passing pedestrians or bikers.

When we are going through the hard bits of life, or even through the longer pits of life, we need to keep our eyes on our Savior. In fact it is even more important to focus on Him when we are faced with difficulty. I have been reading, Abide in Christ, by Andrew Murray. I started this book a while back, got about half way through and got busy, so put it aside. When I picked it up a week ago, I decided to start again at the beginning. There is so much good stuff in this book. Read these two quotes:

“It is not the yoke, but the resistance to the yoke, that makes the difficulty; the whole hearted surrender to Jesus, as at once our Master and Keeper, finds and secures the rest.”

— Abide in Christ - Andrew Murray - Chapter 2

Remember how Christ tells us if we are weary and heavy laden we should come to Him.

“28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

— Matthew 11:28-29 (NASB)

Murray was referring to these verses when he was talking about the rest that is secured in Christ. Now look at this next piece from the same chapter in Murray’s book.

“With this grace secured, we have strength for every duty, courage for every struggle, a blessing in every cross and the joy of life eternal in death itself.”

— Abide in Christ - Andrew Murray - Chapter 2

Christ is to be our focus. Come hell or high water, this Warrior Prince named Jesus, has our back for every duty, every struggle and every cross we have to bear in this life. All you have to do is come to Him and believe He will do it.

The other problem that arises when people are going through hard times is the ignorance of those around them. How many of you have been struggling with a situation, only to have a friend give you advice on how to solve your problem? How did that make you feel? If you are like me, when I was going through a very difficult time in my life, the last thing I wanted was advice. What I really wanted was an arm around my shoulders, a friend who would pray with me, not tell me they would pray for me, a sincere hug and two listening ears.

My dear friends, I can not emphasize enough how important it is to keep your mouth shut and refrain from giving advice when someone close to you is going through a hard time. Give hugs, give time, bring food, pray with them, listen to them. If they ask you for advice, then and only then, open your mouth and be sure you are speaking from the Lord, not from your own large vat of worldly knowledge. In addition to that, sincerely, truly and intensely pray for that person. You will not know all the details and that is okay. God’s bigger than you and will work it out. Just pray.

“He who despises his neighbor lacks sense, But a man of understanding keeps silent.”

— Proverbs 11:12 (NASB)

“Even a fool, when he keeps silent, is considered wise; When he closes his lips, he is considered prudent.”

— Proverbs 17:28 (NASB)

Life is difficult. Some of you are going through things that you never thought you would have to go through. Don’t give up. Keep you eyes fixed on the author and perfecter or our faith. And for those of you who are watching a friend or loved one suffer, don’t give up on them either. Pray, for and with. Love, help and even just sit in silence with them. For all of us, let’s remember this:

“Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him For the help of His presence.”

— Psalm 42:5 (NASB)

Peace in the Chaos - Part 2a - If I am Following Christ, Why Don't I Have Peace? - The Mind

On Focus, and Ignorance, During Hard Times