by George | Mar 22, 2021 | Community News, Devotional, Newsletter
A Cure For Distraction
“Let your eyes look directly ahead And let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you.”
Proverbs 4:25
When my kids were young, they liked to play video games on the TV in the living room. Things are not always quiet in the living room, especially with 4 kids and a dog.
When the one playing the game got to a crucial moment, invariably someone would say something or make a noise. “Uhhhh! You made me lose!” They had become… distracted.
God had given instructions to the children of Israel as they were going into the promised land.
“It shall come to pass, when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, that all the people shall shout with a great shout; then the wall of the city will fall down flat. And the people shall go up every man straight before him.”
Joshua 6:5
They were also commanded to not to take the”accursed things.”
“And you, by all means abstain from the accursed things, lest you become accursed when you take of the accursed things, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it.”
Joshua 6:18
The children of Israel did well going into Jericho. They obeyed. God gave them the victory.
Then came Ai. Small city.
Piece of cake, right?
Nope. They were defeated. Why? A Man named Achan got distracted. Lots were cast and they figured out it was him. He confessed:
“When I saw among the spoils a beautiful Babylonian garment, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. And there they are, hidden in the earth in the midst of my tent, with the silver under it.”
Joshua 7:21
Instead of looking straight ahead, keeping his eyes on the goal, he looked down, or to the side, and saw “a beautiful Babylonian garment.” It may have been shinier and nicer than anything he had. Then he saw gold!
The wheels were turning in his mind. “No one will ever know!” So, he takes the items and hides them.
I won’t go into details here, but it doesn’t end well for him.
So, how do we keep from getting distracted? Solomon gives advice:
“Let your eyes look directly ahead And let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you.”
Proverbs 4:25
Also, Jesus showed us how to keep focused and not be distracted.
“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.”
Hebrews 12:2
Let’s try to be like Jesus!
Stay focused on the goal!
by George | Mar 18, 2021 | Community News
Looking Back With Gratefulness
“I will love You, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”
Psalms 18:1-2
The title of this Psalm gives us a vivid picture of what was on David’s mind as he composed this Psalm:
“For the director of music. Of David the servant of the Lord. He sang to the Lord the words of this song when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.”
David reflects on what God has done for him. It’s interesting that it says God delivered him “from the hand of all his enemies and Saul.” Saul is listed separately from “his enemies.”
Saul treated David like an enemy, but David treated Saul with respect, knowing that it was not up to him to remove Saul from the throne. God took care of that in His own time.
So it’s with a grateful heart that David says:
“I will love You, O LORD…”
Then, David outlines what God means to him. It’s quite an impressive list!
- My strength.
- My rock and my fortress.
- My deliverer
- My God
- My strength
- In whom I will trust
- My shield
- The horn of my salvation
- My stronghold
What has God done for you? What does God mean to you? It helps to put your thoughts on paper. You can use your thoughts as a prayer of thanksgiving, or a song to the LORD.
You can also use David’s words in your prayer.
Then, your heart will overflow with thankfulness and you can say with David:
“The LORD lives! Blessed be my Rock! Let the God of my salvation be exalted.”
Psalms 18:46
by George | Mar 15, 2021 | Community News
Doing It All Yourself
“Moreover you shall select from all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.”
Exodus 18:21
Moses’ father-in-law Jethro brought Moses’ wife and 2 sons to him in the wilderness.
It was a joyous reunion. It had probably been a long time since Moses saw his family.
A lot had happened since Moses and the Israelites came out of Egypt! Moses testified to Jethro about all that God had done.
“And Moses told his father-in-law all that the LORD had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardship that had come upon them on the way, and how the LORD had delivered them.”
Exodus 18:8
Jethro rejoiced when he heard these things. He brought sacrifices and burnt offerings to God. Then, they broke bread together.
The next morning, Moses went to work, from morning until night, judging the people.
Jethro witnessed this, and had some advice for Moses.
“So Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “The thing that you do is not good. Both you and these people who are with you will surely wear yourselves out. For this thing is too much for you; you are not able to perform it by yourself. Listen now to my voice; I will give you counsel, and God will be with you: Stand before God for the people, so that you may bring the difficulties to God. And you shall teach them the statutes and the laws, and show them the way in which they must walk and the work they must do. Moreover you shall select from all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. And let them judge the people at all times. Then it will be that every great matter they shall bring to you, but every small matter they themselves shall judge. So it will be easier for you, for they will bear the burden with you.”
Exodus 18:17-22
In other words, don’t try to do it all yourself!
I don’t know about you, but I struggle with this sometimes, reasoning that it would be easier to do it all myself.
But, if you don’t ask for help, it could lead to burnout! Jethro told Moses that if he continued like this, it would wear him out, and all the people who had to wait in line all day!
Moses listened to Jethro’s advice. This freed him up to spend more time with God.
So, don’t try to do it all yourself. Ask God to give you wisdom to ask others to help carry the burden.
