Tag: #keepyourgodfocus

GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING EP416 GODLINESS WITH CONTENTMENT

We want to find ourselves in a state of contentment. People often have differing ideas about how to find that peace. The Apostle Paul wrote to a young convert named Timothy to encourage him to follow the right path.

I Tim 6:4-5 He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, 5 Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.

Paul was warning Timothy to not get caught up in the trappings of this life. Many were materialistic and loved to argue with other. He was warning him to not be proud and not to argue with those who only wanted to argue for the sake of argument. They didn’t want to discuss to learn. They do not want to understand what it means to be godly, then walk away from those corrupt people.

I Tim 6:6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. This is the point of this letter to Timothy. He wanted him to be aware of an remember that true contentment comes from a godly life. When we have contentment in Jesus we have gained much. Maybe not in material wealth and things, but in peace.

The word contentment means a state of peaceful happiness. Satisfaction with ones circumstances or life. Having enough peace to know that they do not need great amounts of material things and money. Jesus can give us such a feeling.

I Tim 6:7-9 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. 9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.

If we allow ourselves to become restless and feel less than because we do not have the newest gadget or drive the newest car. Then the lack of contentment will cause us to do all sorts of things to fulfil the desires. As with anything in life, we can allow it to become out of balance. When greed takes us over and we desire money more than anything else, we have lost our focus, contentment and are headed for a fall.

I TIM 6:10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

It is not wrong to have money. It is not wrong to have material things as long as you have the right perspective. It says the love of money. When people love money more than anything else they have lost their faith and their God Focus. Their desire for money will cause them to compromise. By compromising our principles and faith, we have lost something far greater than we could ever gain monetarily.

I Tim 6:11-12 But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. 12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.

Paul warns Timothy to flee the desires of the flesh to want material things. To flee pride and walk in righteousness, faith, love, patience, meekness and godliness. When we choose to walk in these things we will find contentment because of our godliness. We can be a light to many, by simply choosing to walk in contentment and peace.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING –EP414–NOT FROM A PULPIT

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NOT FROM THE PULPIT

My mind wanders today to a song that used to be played back in the eighties. It is truer than ever before, it went, “My house is full, but my fields are empty, who will go and work for me today?” We are compelled to go out and reach those that are lost. He didn’t say if you sit in a church building, they will come to you. This is not the movie field of dreams, if you build it they will come.

Jesus tells us to go out and live for him in a way that the world will know that we are different. People think as long as you attend a church service once a week or a couple of times a week that is all they have to do. We come together and fellowship to gain strength and to be taught the word of God. We are to go out and bring the lost to Jesus.

It is not always the sermons that come from a pulpit that reaches the lost. Many lost will never be close enough to a pulpit to hear the word of God. But they can see us living our faith out loud. Don’t be afraid to ask someone if they want you to pray for them. Many will accept your prayers. Some will ask you to pray later, they don’t want to hear your words they are afraid they will break down. But they have respect enough for God that they will accept prayer.

People didn’t hate Jesus’ disciples because they preached love. They hated them because they preached the truth. It is time to be uncompromising on the truth, but do it in a way that shows love. It is a balancing act, some people say God is love and accept anything. People think these people love them. Then you have those who speak the truth. They are not as well liked. But if you were standing in the path of a moving train and was about to get hit by it, would you want someone to tell you that you are alright or would you want someone to tell you the train is coming?

I pray to be surrounded by truth tellers even if it hurts me at the time. God’s truth is the only thing that will set us free in every way.

John 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

The only true freedom or peace we will ever have is found in Jesus. Remember not all sermons come from a pulpit. Some of the best ones are lived out by God’s people in plain sight.

Go out and shine your light!

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING EP413–NOT A GRASSHOPPER

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

THE TITLE FOR TODAY’S EPISODE: NOT A GRASSHOPPER

We all have a decision to make, are we just going to sit back and shake our heads about the state of the world, or are we going to do something about it. I am always quoting, we walk by faith and not by sight. This is truer today than ever before, we have to trust God and walk by faith.

Joshua and Caleb were two out of twelve that walked by faith. It is easy to walk by sight and allow circumstances to appear larger than they are, like the giants. No doubt they were huge. No doubt there were many of them. The spies sent out by Moses were at least to their waist. But they allowed fear to magnify the issue. When they returned, they told everyone they were like grasshoppers in comparison. If that were true, they would have only been as tall as their feet. This is just like the enemy to make situations appear more dire than reality. Sure, it was bad from a human perspective, but the enemy magnified their perception and amped up their fear.

We need to make sure we are listening to someone who is going to stand on God’s side, someone who walks by faith and not by sight. We cannot be found listening to the majority of people, because they walk by fear and not faith.

God uses times of looking at our problems and feeling small, to reinforce the idea that we may be small compared to our problems, but our God is bigger than any giant. He will always be on our side. He will always protect his people. But we have to trust.

I was thinking about how grasshoppers hop away when you get close. Maybe grasshoppers was a good definition for those ten spies. They came back and told their stories, but they didn’t have any proof of the size of the giants. They didn’t bring anything back but fear and lies.

Joshua and Caleb, on the other hand brought fruit back. They had proof that they had been to the other side. They had evidence that God’s word could be trusted. Yet how many wanted to fall back out of fear. Are we so different today? When God tells us things do we follow him, or do we allow a giant to stand in our way?

I want to be found bold and brave. I want to be like Joshua and Caleb, yes things look bad, yes, I understand the bad report, yes experts say it will not get better, the internet says it is going to get worse, but no matter how bad things seem, I want to have the fruit, the fruit of God’s spirit. His fruit will strengthen us to walk by faith and not by sight.

If we can resist the temptation to listen to the enemy, we will not be afraid. We will not jump every time something happens. We will not be grasshoppers, but brave warriors in the army of the Lord. Ready to follow where God leads us.

Thanks for watching,

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING–EP410–DISCERNING THE STORMS

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

THE TITLE FOR TODAY’S EPISODE: DISCERNING THE STORMS

There are many types of storms. Some will send much needed rain, while others have high winds that will level everything in its path. Spiritual storms are no different. Some come from God with just what we need to keep going and growing our faith. Others sent by the enemy will come at us with hurricane force and try to destroy our lives.

When Jonah turned toward Tarshish he knew he was being disobedient. He knew what God told him to do. But out of fear or lack of concern for Ninevah he did it anyway. While on the ship a terrible storm came up. He was still connected to God enough to know that the storm was because of him. He discerned the storm. Jonah told them to throw him overboard and they would be safe. He had time to think about going to Nineveh while in the belly of the fish. He came to his senses and followed God’s plan.

What if the storm is not a sign from God? What if the storm that blows into your life is from the enemy? This is why we need to know how to read the storms. God will give us understanding if we look to him. Storms from our enemy are meant to wreck our lives and our faith. They are meant to sink us or completely destroy our lives.

Storms from our heavenly father are to teach us a lesson and turn us in the right direction. They are to grow our faith. Look at the storms that Jesus used to teach Peter that he could walk with him, but not without him. That is a valuable lesson.

PS 107:29 He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.

We can walk through any storm with Jesus, but we are not strong enough to make it on our own. We have to seek shelter under the shadow of his wings.

Nahum 1:7 The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.

He is a strong hold in the day of trouble. In other words he is the anchor that keeps our ship from being tossed to and fro, he is our strong tower. When the storms of life blows, he is our safe place.

It doesn’t take someone with much intelligence to read the sky and know a storm is brewing. The clouds are starting to roll in and the sky is turning dark. It is inevitable that a storm is coming.

Many times, the spiritual storms of life also has warning signs and we choose to ignore them. It is important for our spiritual health to learn to discern when a storm is coming. It is possible to lessen the damage done by the storms, if we pray and run to the shelter of God’s arms. He is our protector, our comfort and our guide. He is our safe place when all of life’s storms blow.

Pray for God to be your guide and help you to discern when a storm is on the way. He will not leave us to weather the storms alone.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING –EP409– BE STILL

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When the enemy surrounds us, and we feel afraid. When we feel like all hope is gone. We cannot go by what we feel. We have to look to our heavenly father and know that He’s still God. His power to deliver is the same as it was before the enemy closed in, causing us to fear.

His ability to heal is still the same as it was before we get sick. Our circumstances change all the time. But God never changes. When we lose a loved one, God’s ability to help us walk through grief is the same as it was before we needed him to be our grief counselor.

Heb 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.

There is not a single thing we can think of that we need or will ever need that God is not already taken care of.

Mal 3:6 For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.

We can always depend on God to have our back. There is not a storm too big. There is not a demon in hell that can stand in our way. God is our strength, our hope and our joy. When the storms rage, we need to be still and rest in God’s peace. He will be there to speak “Peace Be Still,” to our storms.

There is a verse that says, “Be Still and know that I am God.” That is what we need to make a point of doing. It doesn’t matter what is going on or how our emotions may rage. We need to find a place of peace. We need to find a place of being quiet and be alone with our creator. The place of stillness, where our shepherd leads us. The place in his presence where nothing else exists outside of you and God. That is the secret place that a child of God needs to find.

GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING –EP407 MISSED OPPORTUNITY

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As I was driving past a church the other day, I noticed that the marquee sign out front was blank. I remembered when a message on a marquee sign was used by God to call this prodigal home. Well, that and a billboard earlier that day. But that is a story for another day. As I looked at the blank sign disappointment filled me, I thought, wow what a missed opportunity to turn someone’s life around.

Many times, I have been encouraged by a scripture verse or nugget of wisdom on church signs. As I continued driving, I wondered how many times I have missed opportunities to be the light that I was created to be. How many times have you missed opportunities to let your light shine?

At times has my life been like the blank marquee? Have I been so closed down that my witness was like a blank sign?

There is a Latin phrase that many are familiar with, Carpe Diem. It means to pluck the day, most say seize the day. It means that we make the most of every opportunity that we have been given. We pluck the opportunities out of each moment.

Each day is a blank page and how we fill it is totally up to us. Will we go about our day on autopilot? Will we try to find opportunities to be a light and a witness? I don’t want there to be any missed opportunities in my life. I don’t want to be a blank sign. I want my life to be a witness. We do not know what a day will bring our way. Life is like a vapour, here one moment then it’s gone. Because time is slipping away, we have to take hold of the chances given to us.

James 4:13-14 Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: 14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

I believe God allowed me to see the blank sign and to feel complete disappointment to remind me to go out and do all that I can to reach the lost. They cannot come to God on their own, they don’t know that they can, except someone tells them.

Romans 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Faith in God comes by understanding the word of God. They must hear it with their ears or see it on a billboard. The word of God is powerful to transform lives, but it has to be where it can be seen and heard. So that understanding can lead to salvation.

We would not be saved if someone had not told us about the power of the cross to transform lives. We must seize every opportunity to be a light and hope to the lost.

When I think about missed opportunities in the bible, the parable of the ten virgins comes to mind. Some would say they should not have slept. But all ten slept, while they waited. The difference is that five of them were prepared. They had gathered their supplies and were prepared. The foolish five, were not prepared, they had no oil. They didn’t do all they could ahead of time to assure that they would be ready to meet the bride groom.

Our faith walk boils down to us being prepared and doing all we can to help others prepare to meet Jesus in the air.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING EPISODE 406 WALKING IN THE DARK

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

THE TITLE FOR TODAY’S EPISODE: WALKING IN THE DARK

Imagine you are lost in the woods and it is dark. There is thick dark cloud cover that you cannot see the stars and the moon. It is so dark that you cannot see your hand in front of your face. Every slight sound causes you to fear. A squirrel running through the woods sounds like he’s as big as king Kong. Every step could send you falling over a mountain or could be your last. You find yourself wishing for just a little light.

This is how a large portion of the world lives spiritually. They walk in the dark, with only a hope that they will find light. The thick dark clouds of sin, adversity and the lies of satan blocks the light. Every step they take causes them to fall deeper into darkness. They need the light, but do not know what they need.

Then as you are feeling your way through in the dark. Your eyes catch a glimpse of something, it is someone with a tiny lit match. In the total darkness, you feel a small glimmer of hope. This person has the light that you need to see through the darkness. They share that match with you and light a torch you are carrying.

Soon you realize that the torch lights up the area around you and you can see others in the dark. As you share light with them things look brighter and brighter. Each one, lights the torch of another until the darkness is gone.

Spiritually, we are the one with the match. We have the light to share with others that will spread and give light to many. If each one wins just one think how many that would be in a week, a month or year.

Matt 5:14-16 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. 15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

We cannot hide our light or it will get snuffed out, then no one will benefit from the amazing gift God has given us. We are the light of the world. It is time we acted like it and shared what burns within us.

Thanks for watching,

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

GOD FOCUS THIS MORINING-EP405–LIVING WATER

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

THE TITLE FOR TODAY’S EPISODE: LIVING WATER

Adam lost it, the Egyptians believed it was beneath the Sphinx. The Celts thought it to be deep in the forest of an island of the Atlantic. The Vikings said it was beyond the frozen North Sea; at the top of the world. King Richard claimed it was buried near Jerusalem. Ponce De Leon searched the New World for it.

What is this treasure that has driven men to the four corners of the world. It is the Water Of Life, and though it has been known by many names, people from all over the world have known about its power.

This water can heal any wound, cure all illness, even raise the dead and make them live forever. I HAVE FOUND IT. It was right there waiting for me. Where did I find this miracle water? Jesus had it all along.

He shared the news of it with a woman that people treated like an outcast. She was treated badly by those around her, because of her choices. But Jesus didn’t see the past as much as he could see what she would become, if she had living water.

John 4:10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.

How can you find the well of life? There is a map, it is called the Holy Bible. What’s more Jesus is waiting for you. He wants to share the water of life with you, so you can live forever.

John 7:37-38 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. 38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

The living water inside of us has to be able to freely flow from our lives to others. They need to see the power of God’s living water in our lives.

2 Jer. 2:13 For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.

Israel and Judah kept doing good and then turning their back on God. He would deliver them and they would turn to God. Then over time they would grow complacent and turn their back on God, the fountain of living waters.

We can learn from their mistakes and not forsake God, the fountain of living water. We must not become complacent but allow God to flow in our lives.

Thanks for watching,

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING–EP403–UPHELD BY THE LORD

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

THE TITLE FOR TODAY’S EPISODE: UPHELD BY THE LORD

Isaiah 41:10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

The word uphold means to sustain, confirm or support. If God upholds us with his hands take a moment and think about it. He will support us with his hand. There is no better support system in the universe than God’s hand.

The word sustain means to support or keep from falling. Like helping someone elderly to walk. It wouldn’t be good for someone who is weak to lean on someone who doesn’t have strength to hold them up.

God confirms who we are; by telling us we are his children. Support can come in all sorts of forms spiritually, physically, financially and emotionally. He has promised to strengthen us and be our support.

Spiritually He has given us His Spirit to be our guide. We should never have fear as long as God is leading. We do not need to see where we are going, we just need to trust that he is leading. He will not steer us wrong. He wants what is best for us.

Eph 3:16-19 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; 17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; 19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

Physically, he has promised to be our healer. He wants us to walk in health and enjoy the life he has given to us. When the enemy tries to attack us with sickness and disease, we need to look to Jesus, who is our healer.

Jeremiah 17:14 Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise.

Financially, he is Jehovah Jireh our provider. He has promised in his word to be our source. Phil 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Whatever we have need of he will provide. We must learn to trust him.

He has promised to uphold us or prop us up. It is a good thing to know we can lean on him. There is no safer place to be than to lean on Jesus.

Jer 17:7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.

Without God on our side, we are without hope, we are merely existing. Sleepwalking through life without joy or any real peace. When we trust in the Lord, we turn the responsibility for our lives over to him. We have peace in knowing he will work things our for our good. We don’t have to worry or second guess what is going on because we can trust in God’s hands to protect, strengthen and guide us ever step of the way.

He will uphold us and give us the support we need.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING — EP402–A PLACE OF SAFETY

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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

THE TITLE FOR TODAY’S EPISODE: A PLACE OF SAFETY

In ancient times, cities were fortified with walls. These walls would have high towers or places that overlooked the land around the city.

This would give them a good view to see the enemy coming. These towers were for protection, when the enemy would attack. They were heavily fortified to withstand weapons of the time.

For example: The walls of Jerico were so thick that they held chariot races on the top of the wall. No army, with the weapons of the time could penetrate the walls of safety. It took God to cause them to fall.

Just as these fortified towers were protection from physical attacks, God is our strong tower or place of safety that will give us protection from the enemy.

In order to be safe, people had to be humble enough to seek shelter. Just as one lone man could not defeat a huge army alone, we cannot defeat our enemy in our own strength. We have to seek God’s strength and protection. We must seek shelter in the shadow of his wings.

We are assured in Prov 18:10 if we seek refuge in Him, we will be safe.

Proverbs 18:10-The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.

One of the Hebrew names for God, Migdal-Oz translates to tower of strength. He is our tower of strength. A place we are safe and the enemy will not be able to touch us.

As we face uncertain times, we need to reinforce to ourselves that God is our strength, our safe place and our refuge. Getting this concept in our minds will give us comfort and strength when the enemy is trying to attack. We know that we have a safe place to run to when we need shelter. I googled a definition for refuge it said, refuge is a condition of being safe, sheltered from pursuit, danger or trouble.

The phrase sheltered from pursuit stuck out to me. God does this with the enemy. He shelters us from the enemy launching an all-out assault against us. We are safe because he will not allow us to be overtaken. We are sheltered from the pursuit of the enemy.

Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Let’s break this down. God is our refuge our safe place. The strength God gives will empower us with the ability to stand in the face of adversity. He is always available to give us immediate help.

Psalm 91:9-11 Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; 10 There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. 11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.

Psalm 91 is a chapter full of encouragement. Because we trust in the Lord and make him our safe place or the place we dwell. He has said no evil will befall or no evil will happen to us. We will not be overtaken by a plague. Because he has given his angels the responsibility to watch over us and protect us.

As uncertainty in our world is on the rise. Many people are worried about the things going on around us. As children of God, we can be assured that none of it matters, because we are sheltered safe in God’s presence.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS