I was reading in the book by Matt Redman called "The Unquenchable Worshipper" about the example of Christ's Undivided Heart for His Father. He NEVER EVER got distracted. That is just unbelievable for me to fathom. I'm distracted all the time! Distractions are everywhere.....but distractions were not in Jesus. His heart was pure. He was totally committed to His Father and to do His will. Everything He did was to give God glory and pleasure . The Lord DEFENDED His own heart from all that would try to stray Him off course.
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION:
Define what it is that causes me to stray off course (get distracted) from living a life of praise to my Father in heaven. I can't change what I don't acknowledge.
There's something more here. ....Jesus lived from the inside out...His focus was on ... Something far more permanent than what was happening around him. It was what was happening in Him. It all comes down to uninterrupted times of devotion.
QUESTIONS .... that Mark address in the chapter are:
Do I have any impure practices that distract me from pure woship?
What temptations are there that take away my focus from Jesus?
How will I defend the Father's will from every assault?
Is there anything that consistently weighs me down on my spiritual walk with Him?
What do I need to do to balance my time so that I can have uninterrupted times of devotion more consistantly?
A few points Matt makes are:
It is the lie of the enemy that we can't have simplicity in our worship because we are to busy with too many responsibilites, so therefore our walk with God is not near as close as it was back when we were younger with more spare time on our hands.
Secondly, that sometimes the things that pull us away from the feet of Jesus are in themselves good things.
As undivided worshippers we are called to have untainted hearts...live in defense of distractions & live in attack mode by striking out for the honor of God's name when and where we find the opportunity. Like Jesus did when he turned over the tables in His Father's House because of the traders and money changers greed for financial gain. He lived his devotion outloud. When Peter tried to dissuade Jesus from the suffering that was to come, Jesus defended His Father when he said to Peter "Shall I not drink the cup my Father has given me?"
James 1:27 for an example of these two types of worship-attack and defense working together: "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION:
Define what it is that causes me to stray off course (get distracted) from living a life of praise to my Father in heaven. I can't change what I don't acknowledge.
There's something more here. ....Jesus lived from the inside out...His focus was on ... Something far more permanent than what was happening around him. It was what was happening in Him. It all comes down to uninterrupted times of devotion.
QUESTIONS .... that Mark address in the chapter are:
Do I have any impure practices that distract me from pure woship?
What temptations are there that take away my focus from Jesus?
How will I defend the Father's will from every assault?
Is there anything that consistently weighs me down on my spiritual walk with Him?
What do I need to do to balance my time so that I can have uninterrupted times of devotion more consistantly?
A few points Matt makes are:
It is the lie of the enemy that we can't have simplicity in our worship because we are to busy with too many responsibilites, so therefore our walk with God is not near as close as it was back when we were younger with more spare time on our hands.
Secondly, that sometimes the things that pull us away from the feet of Jesus are in themselves good things.
As undivided worshippers we are called to have untainted hearts...live in defense of distractions & live in attack mode by striking out for the honor of God's name when and where we find the opportunity. Like Jesus did when he turned over the tables in His Father's House because of the traders and money changers greed for financial gain. He lived his devotion outloud. When Peter tried to dissuade Jesus from the suffering that was to come, Jesus defended His Father when he said to Peter "Shall I not drink the cup my Father has given me?"
James 1:27 for an example of these two types of worship-attack and defense working together: "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."
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