Today’s gospel seems a far cry from the one that the apostle Paul taught about when he was writing to the church in Rome. He talked about a gospel that, when applied, transformed the human heart so radically that he used a unique word to describe it: “Metamorphosis.” The idea he is trying to convey is that when Christ comes into your heart and soul you are completely changed from what you were to what God intended. Transformation takes time but it starts when your heart yields to the Lordship of Christ.

With all the craziness going on in the world it’s easy to get distracted. From the COVID virus causing such harm and forcing people to be isolated to the economy suffering, we all are looking for distractions to get our minds off our personal situation.  But what if our desire to find freedom from worry and stress is actually compounding our problems?

I’m going to confess that when I get stressed out I like to watch a Si-Fi movie.  The brief two hours of entertainment help me feel a little better. Sometimes a little distraction is good for the soul but if it becomes a pattern of retreat it’s definitely not good. Let me say up front that having distractions in our lives are not necessarily sinful but they can be if the timing is all wrong or the amount is inappropriate.

For example, you might be driving down the highway stressed out about someone who keeps texting you about a major problem. You know you shouldn’t text them while driving so fast but you want to blow off some steam in this person’s direction and give them a piece of your mind. You start texting them back but the car in front you all of a sudden puts on their breaks hard. Your reflexes are good so you grab the steering wheel and jam on the breaks and miss the person in front of you by inches. Now you’re not only stressed about the problem of the person who was texting you but your heart is now pounding from the near fatal car accident and you start yelling at the car in front of you. Our distractions often hinder our intimacy with God and people.

It’s easy to think that relieving your stress with a so called innocent distraction but maybe you are embracing a lesser solution to your problem. Take the story of two sisters that loved Jesus and opened their home to him. They wanted to bless Jesus with a nice place to relax as he was always on the go and had to be exhausted. Their intentions were great yet they approached their ministry to Jesus in very different ways.

Luke 10:38                                                                                                                                                                                                   Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word.

Now keep in mind, both these sisters wanted to bless Jesus. Both wanted to honor Jesus. Both truly loved him deeply yet by all appearances one seemed to be lazy and the other hard working. One was captivated by Jesus and his words and the other was captivated by a desire to serve him with her service. Many of us have read this bible story and we know how it ends but have we considered the deeper point of the story and thus easily discounted Martha’s reaction to her sister? We all know that initial appearances are often wrong when we can’t see the intent of the heart.

Luke 10:40                                                                                                                                                                                                            But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.”

Keep in mind that Martha loved Jesus. She wanted nothing more than to honor him and bless him …. and yet she got “Distracted” in the ministry to him. Is it possible we get distracted by good things and that takes us away from the great thing? Is it possible a father and husband goes to work to provide for his family and gets so caught up in the work that he neglects the family that he loves? Is it possible that a wife and mother wanting to serve her family gets so involved in making the home beautiful that no one can relax in the house because it might get dirty? There are many good works that we perform that cause us to neglect the most important ones, starting with doing what God wants first and on down the line of priorities.  Reflection often is the last thing we do or try.

Jesus identified how Maratha got off the right road of ministry to the wrong one. He identified it as worry. Worry got her distracted.  Was she worried about her image?  Was she concerned about what the guest that came with Jesus would think if the house was not perfect or the food was not just right? Was she worried about Jesus not thinking she was as spiritual as her younger sister Mary because things weren’t perfect?

Mary was so enamored with the person of Jesus that she would forget doing the chores around the house. Mary was so captivated with Jesus that maybe Martha had become jealous about her spiritual walk and wanted Mary to be brought down a notch by a rebuke from Jesus. Here is a warning for all of us as we pursue our Christian walk. Are we headed for distraction or are we actually in a distraction right now that is taking us away from what God would have us doing?

Luke 10:41.                                                                                                                                                                                                               But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”

“One Thing” – did you get that? If we don’t surrender our will to Jesus we are bound to get distracted.  It is like serving in some ministry area for our feeling and self-esteem instead of being there because that’s the place where the Holy Spirit called us. It’s so easy to lose sight of Jesus while thinking we are serving him. It’s so easy to start doing something for the love of God and then drift into distraction away from him. The only sure way to avoid distraction is to put our daily pursuit of God and his will at the forefront. By focusing truly on him and not just about him we find not only peace but fulfillment as well.

Hebrews 12:1-2                                                                                                                                                                                  Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us

Fixing Our Eye – on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith who, for the joy set before Him endured the cross and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Finally, consider the warning of not loving the world. For a true believer we can get distracted into allowing the things of this world to hold our attention more the Jesus himself.

1 John 2:15                                                                                                                                                                                                       Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them.

Questions:

1) Are you aware that anyone can get distracted away from the person of Jesus, even the ones that truly love him? Stay close and you won’t drift.

2) Are you now aware that you can be distracted and worried about lesser things?

Matthew 6:31-34                                                                                                                                                                                             So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’  For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.  Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Striving to keep my focus,

Pastor Dale

As the world gets more complex it also gets more stressful. You would think we would figure out that we need others in our lives to help navigate such difficult times, yet the world motivates us to separate and isolate ourselves as tech consumes our every move. For the most part, gone are the days of sitting in a field to just think and contemplate what’s going on in our lives. Instead we all are over-busy and so dominated by the news that our thinking is filled with stress and anxiety. If we don’t wake up and change things we will struggle to have faith in God’s power.

This is the fourth and final installment about the church being called to be prophetic. My desire is to get people to think seriously as to whether the church is functioning as Jesus intended, or merely being a weak representation of Jesus himself. The church has needed to go through pruning many times since Jesus rose from the dead because, like so many things, we tend to drift from God’s word and from his purpose. Each period in church history when the church has gone off course men and women were raised up to challenge the statius quo, not to hurt the church but to make it healthy. May people say they long for revival. “True Revival” is often painful, but it is necessary. If you haven’t read the first three articles please do so to get the big picture on this most important topic on the prophetic.

This is the third installment in a discussion exploring whether we are building a prophetic church.  Previously, I wrote about coming to Christ in 1969 due, in part, to people walking in the prophetic.  I discovered that Jesus was speaking to me and countless others like me.  I learned that simple, obedient Christians who took the scripture at face value could learn how to hear God’s voice and give away the messages they heard.  Simple, obedient Christians helped others realize that Jesus is still alive and transforming people today.  If you have not already, please read the first two installments of this series to better understand the overall message about being a prophetic church.

I started the first article with this same title on how I came to Christ because of people living out a prophetic lifestyle. The truth is I came to Christ on the west coast of the United States when there were two kingdoms coming into conflict. One was the Hippie movement and the other was the Jesus movement. The Hippie Movement was a reaction to young people’s disdain towards their parents’ materialism. The Jesus movement was the counter-balance of God raising up a generation that acknowledged the danger of materialism but finding the answer in a surrendered relationship to God. One was inspired by Satan to destroy people and one was inspired by the love of God to redeem people. If you haven’t read the first article please do so before proceeding in this continued discussion on being a prophetic church.

Living as a Christian is far more than just feeling good about others. The early church impacted the world by their love for each other. They shared their lives and resources. If our Christianity is only about our feelings it’s not real Christian faith. Our lives should reflect the life of Christ. Examine your walk and seek the Holy Spirit for the power to be an authentic follower of Jesus.

Romans 12:10
Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor;

One of the main reasons I came to Christ was because different people reflected in word or deed the character and nature of Jesus. From the old woman that taught bible class once a month at my public school to the young girl who spoke to me a prophetic word of knowledge about three things no other human being knew. These experiences reflected the nature of Jesus…. who reflects the nature of Father God.

We have been exploring the idea of how easy it is to get stuck in “Yesterday” and fail to move forward in today and tomorrow. Our memories are a wonderful thing that God gave us but some memories can be a hindrance toward gaining the inheritance that God’s Word promises us. Those memories can be good or bad.  Sometimes good experiences cause us to reject new ones and cause us to get stuck. Bad experiences are generally used by the enemy to trap us in the past.  If you haven’t read the first part of this series,please read that one first.

All of us have a past, and from my experience we all have at least one major event that has the potential to keep us stuck in pain and disappointment. If you find yourself heading there, or are currently stuck, read on and learn from one of the greatest men of the Old Testament.