Focus




2 Timothy 4: 3-4

3For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.

                                                                                   
Lent is a time of deep reflection.  A time for us to ‘re-center” ourselves on God.  The world can easily draw us in the direction of “It’s all about me”.   In this scripture, Paul is providing a caution that we live in a world that subscribes to “Tell me what I want to hear”.  As you reflect this Lenten Season ask God to move you from a “Tell me what I want to hear” to “Tell me what I need to know” so that you can live a life pleasing to Him and not like the person described by Linda Winchell below:

 

TELL ME WHAT I WANT TO HEAR

Just tell me what I want to hear,
not what I really need to know,
Just stroke my ego for me please,
not to fast now take it real slow!


I don't want to hear the truth from you,
even though you say I ought to know,
But I can't handle what the truth has to bring,
So I'd really rather just not know.

Fill me up with all mindless matter of things
that's about all I seem these days to comprehend,
I don't want to hear the truth your words might bring,
On that platform from which you stand!

I have my own set of rules,
I made them up all by myself!
And when I need one to fit the bill,
I go and take one down off my egotistic shelf!

So please tell me what I want to hear,
keep that other stuff to yourself,
But be there when I need you please,
that I might just talk a little more about myself.

By: Linda Winchell


Father God help us to focus on you.  When shiny and comfortable things take our eyes off you, give us focus.  Let us hear what we need to hear to fill that Christ shaped hole in our hearts.  Amen.

Bryan Holmes

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Don't Fall Asleep

Image
Be quiet!  No I'm not mad at you.  I'm actually looking out for you, trying to help.  Lord knows I need to be quiet more.  This isn't about being more ears than mouth - although that is a good idea too!   It is really hard for us to quiet our minds.  We are so used to the stimulation all around us and nowadays the powerful computers we all carry around, occasionally to make phone calls, makes it even more difficult to stop... and.... just... listen...  I wonder if that moment of silence in church is treasured by some and is torture for others?  I treasure it and wish it was longer.  Probably because I have trouble doing it by myself. I just read an article that a friend of ours wrote about going through radiation treatment.   Her nurse told her to "lay heavy" in the machine that rotated her around and applied the radiation.  Each of the 30 days she did this became special to her in a strange way.  She was finally able to lay down, forget her to-do list, and be
Read more

The Cry of Our Souls

Image
Psalm 42:1-2,5-8,11   As the deer pants for flowing streams,      so my soul longs for you, O God.   We know what thirst for water feels like. It is an unmistakable sensation. When we experience thirst, it may be because we missed earlier cues to hydrate. Now our body, already becoming dehydrated, has sent us a more obvious signal, an uncomfortable cue, one we will certainly recognize and act on.   But do we recognize when our soul thirsts for God?   My soul thirsts for God,      for the living God. Parenting manuals will tell us that when a baby cries it is important to consider the sound of the cry. They tell us that careful observation will help us to distinguish between a cry of hunger and a cry of pain, between the cry of a sleepy baby and the cry of a baby who is merely bored and in need of stimulation. For if we offer our infants milk every time they fuss, we are in danger of training them to seek food every time they feel discomfort; we risk confusing them, comp
Read more

Dinner Conversations

Image
Every night at the dinner table, our family takes turns telling each other what we’re thankful for from the day. It never fails that one of our kids shares that they’re thankful for a good dinner, even if they struggled to get all of it down. While the practice can seem mundane and routine, our hope is that one day, the practice of gratitude that we’ve engrained in them (and ourselves) will help us on the days where it seems the world has nothing in it for which to be grateful. Maybe we can consider it practice for those coming moments of despair-that there is still some blessing that deserves our gratitude. Isn’t that what Jesus calls us to do? We are called in so many ways to reflect on the abundant blessings of God. Consider this passage from 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18:     Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances,  for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.   This directive is strong-no matter what is happening-be joyful, pray, give thanks. I think we
Read more