Focus
Luke 4:42-43 (New Living Translation)
New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers.
42 Early the next morning Jesus went out into the wilderness. The crowds searched everywhere for him, and when they finally found him, they begged him not to leave them. 43 But he replied, "I must preach the Good News of the Kingdom of God in other places, too, because that is why I was sent."
"Because that is why I was sent." Ah, Lord, what a lesson you have given me this morning in focus.
In Proverbs 4:25-27 are some verses that I've written in the flyleaf of my Bible:
25 Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you. 26 Mark out a straight path for your feet; then stick to the path and stay safe. 27 Don't get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil.
"Evil" can be anything that distracts me from the path that the Lord has laid out for my feet. In these quiet moments he has spread a feast of his Word before me. I want him to send his light and truth to guide me:
Psalm 43: 3 Send out your light and your truth; let them guide me. Let them lead me to your holy mountain, to the place where you live.
In Luke 4 I see Christ's ability to deflect the word traps of the devil by being so deeply rooted in God's Word that truth flowed from him and unmasked the devils' half truths.
I also see, as he stood in the synagogue in Nazareth, his clear awareness of being appointed and sent, and what it was that he was sent to do. From this flowed his authority.
He withdrew habitually to maintain clarity of focus and this alone must have given him the ability to see beyond the crowds that begged him not to leave. He knew what he must do and why he was sent.
Prayer: Dear Father, I am not Jesus, but just as surely, I am a "sent one" of yours. I confess that I have wandered, slipped and stumbled from the path that all along, you have laid out for me. I know that I must daily seek that focus and clarity. This is my prayer.
Hebrews 12:12-13 (New Living Translation)
New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers.
12So take a new grip with your tired hands and stand firm on your shaky legs. 13Mark out a straight path for your feet. Then those who follow you, though they are weak and lame, will not stumble and fall but will become strong.
Above all else that is what I pray - that I may lead others to spiritual strength.
New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers.
42 Early the next morning Jesus went out into the wilderness. The crowds searched everywhere for him, and when they finally found him, they begged him not to leave them. 43 But he replied, "I must preach the Good News of the Kingdom of God in other places, too, because that is why I was sent."
"Because that is why I was sent." Ah, Lord, what a lesson you have given me this morning in focus.
In Proverbs 4:25-27 are some verses that I've written in the flyleaf of my Bible:
25 Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you. 26 Mark out a straight path for your feet; then stick to the path and stay safe. 27 Don't get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil.
"Evil" can be anything that distracts me from the path that the Lord has laid out for my feet. In these quiet moments he has spread a feast of his Word before me. I want him to send his light and truth to guide me:
Psalm 43: 3 Send out your light and your truth; let them guide me. Let them lead me to your holy mountain, to the place where you live.
In Luke 4 I see Christ's ability to deflect the word traps of the devil by being so deeply rooted in God's Word that truth flowed from him and unmasked the devils' half truths.
I also see, as he stood in the synagogue in Nazareth, his clear awareness of being appointed and sent, and what it was that he was sent to do. From this flowed his authority.
He withdrew habitually to maintain clarity of focus and this alone must have given him the ability to see beyond the crowds that begged him not to leave. He knew what he must do and why he was sent.
Prayer: Dear Father, I am not Jesus, but just as surely, I am a "sent one" of yours. I confess that I have wandered, slipped and stumbled from the path that all along, you have laid out for me. I know that I must daily seek that focus and clarity. This is my prayer.
Hebrews 12:12-13 (New Living Translation)
New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers.
12So take a new grip with your tired hands and stand firm on your shaky legs. 13Mark out a straight path for your feet. Then those who follow you, though they are weak and lame, will not stumble and fall but will become strong.
Above all else that is what I pray - that I may lead others to spiritual strength.
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