Where's your focus?

The following is an excerpt from "This Day With the Master", a devotional written by Dennis Kinlaw.

"We often tell people that they should receive Christ. Yet we must remember the words of Jesus: "Follow Me." The two appeals have very different connotations. The first appeal implies a certain need in us, an emptiness, a guilt, a lostness. The center of concern is the human self and the fact that Christ can meet each person's need.

The connotation of "Follow me" is quite different. The central focus is on Christ, not on ourselves. It means refocusing our lives, not around ourselves and our lacks, but around him and his call. It speaks of our losing control and yielding to him. Suddenly our whole horizon changes, and it includes the Cross...

...Beware of any presentation of the gospel that stops with receiving and does not talk about following. Salvation is not in an experience. It is in Christ, and we must walk with him if we would experience that saving power. Salvation comes through his presence..."

Where is your central focus? Is Christ your center? It is so easy in life to allow ourselves to become the center and lose sight of the Cross of Christ. The command to "Follow me" is not an easy one, it requires constant refocusing of the center of our lives because of flesh fights to be the center. I want to encourage you today to take time with your Savior. Evaluate where the center of your focus has been and ask God to help you keep him at the center of everything you do.

Abide

So recently I have not made time read. I have done my daily time in the Bible and have really studied it but my supplemental ready has really slacked the past month. In fact I haven't done any. Therefore this past week I made a commitment to pick up some good books. I began reading Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis and What Jesus Demands from the World by John Piper. Let me just say that when you add to your Bible reading some great stuff by some great authors it grows you, strengthens you, and energizes you. If you are not a reader or have slacked recently I encourage you to pick up a good book and dive in. If you need some suggestions I have some on the side tab on my blog or feel free to ask me.

With that being said I wanted to share some thoughts I gleamed from a chapter from the Piper book...

"Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me." John 15:9

Abide: to remain stable or in a fixed state

Did you know that Jesus demands that we abide in him? Did you know that he demands the engagement of our minds and hearts every day of our lives?

"Abiding in Jesus means staying vitally connected to the life-giving, power giving, fruit-producing branch, namely, Jesus." - Piper

Do you ever feel depleted? Spiritually tired? Exhausted?

Do you feel like you are in a desert wandering for water?

If you are feeling this way I hope you evaluate if you are abiding in Christ's love and in God's Word. Jesus Christ is the life giver, he is the source of everything good in us. Actually, apart from Christ we can do nothing of any value. When we try to operate on our own power we eventually dry up. We cannot sustain ourselves, that is why Christ demands that we abide in him. My heart for you today is that you would stay vitally connected to Jesus. That you would remain in his love, his truth, and his word. Take time today to savor the goodness of your savior.

"Believing in Jesus as our living water means drinking the water - savoring it and being satisfied with it." - Piper