F.O.C.U.S. (S)

Forget your past (Romans 8:1)

Operate in the Spirit (Romans 8:2,5)

Concentrate on the things of God (Colossians 1-3)

Understand the Sovereignty of God (Romans 9:18)

Stand in position (Romans 8:17)

Truly the Lord has been better than good! He has given me and you alike much to think about through His message "F.O.C.U.S.". Initially, it was a bit challenging to write a 5 day series but I realize through this process that it was supposed to be challenging. God is not going to have us minister about something that we have never lived. I believe that He wanted me to literally focus on focusing. I thank and praise God that He gave me the steadfastness to do it. I could have never completed this assignment without Him.

Stand in Position is the last instruction in this assignment. We were called to a vocation not a vacation. Meaning that God has work for us to do. Somewhere along the line we've taken it upon ourselves to slack up. Some of us have not been running this race with as much diligence as we began it with. We aren't praying like we used to pray, fasting like we used to fast and even witnessing like we used to. There are some people that are even trying to run from their assignments and ignore their calling. However, all hope is not lost. There is still time to get back in position.

In the military, when one is absent without leave it is referred to as AWOL. When one goes AWOL, the military will send agents out to get you and bring you back to headquarters for punishment. Once you agree to serve in the army - you are in for the duration. Some of our brothers and sisters have gone AWOL and ran off the battlefield and from the army of the Lord. We need to call them up, visit them, let them know that someone cares and that they need to get back to work. We need to bring them back to "Headquarters" which is lifted up in prayer in the presence of God. It is very easy to get distracted with everything going on in the world today. Sometimes the fight of faith seems unbearable in which case a vacation is not the answer but rather to get more faith. How do we get more faith?

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

If we lack faith, we need to hear more of the Word of God. We can not simply give up on the things that God has promised us because we don't see them coming to pass as we thought we would. Once we get back in tune to what the Spirit of God has to say we must stay there in that fame of mind.

Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. (Ephesians 6:13)

A lot of us get this scripture misconstrued. We often misquote and misunderstand it. The bible does not say "after we've done all we can do - stand" the bible says simply to STAND. This battle is not ours. There is no need for us to fight or try to "make it happen". Vengeance belongs to the Lord. He shall repay. Not us.

We have to stand in position so that we can be blessed. What is our position?

And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. (Romans 8:17)

The earth and everything on it belongs to the Lord. What can a man exchange for his soul? Nothing. There is nothing in this life that is worth sacrificing your rightful standing with God to obtain. Everything that we could ever need and want is already ours. So all we have to do is STAND. Don't give out, give up or give in but stand.

We may have pain in our bodies now but God has prepared another body for us. We may live in the ghetto now but Jesus went away to prepare many mansions for us. We may have to suffer a little now but we have to keep the faith and hold on because soon we will reign with him.

Can you recall a time in your Christan walk where it was hard to stand not moving to the left or the right but hold onto the promises of God? Do you remember how He brought you through? Just as He has in the past He can do it again. We serve a God with proven track record. When the going gets tough and the tough gets going, continue to stand.

Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. (James 1:12)

F.O.C.U.S. (U)

Forget your past (Romans 8:1)

Operate in the Spirit (Romans 8:2,5)

Concentrate on the things of God (Colossians 1-3)

Understand the Sovereignty of God (Romans 9:18)

Stand in position (Romans 8:17)

Anyone who has ever decided to follow Jesus can probably agree with me when I say that the second they made up their mind to take up their cross and follow Christ that the enemy suddenly took a keen interest in their life. While I was in the world living in a backslidden state, I would see the saints of God on their way to church carrying their bibles and braving some of the coldest winter days but they still seemed to have this warmness on the inside that seemed to seep onto the outside. They seemed as if they weren't going to let anything stand between them and getting to their church houses to hear the Word of God -not even cold temperatures or slow public transportation. I couldn't understand it at that time but I wanted that peace.

I somehow believed that once I decided to walk with God that it would be smooth sailing. In fact, part of the reason I decided to truly get saved was because I realized that the world could offer me nothing more than darkness, death and destruction. In the beginning, my life was a breeze. God's presence was always so easy to see and feel. He was performing miracles and making ways out of no way. Both the saved and the unsaved could see that I had favor with God and man. Soon, the visible blessings were fewer and further in between. Things weren't always going my way and there were times that I felt like God was no longer with me.

One incident in particular that troubled me was when God allowed my grandmother to die. I prayed and prayed that He would heal her. I knew the scriptures. If I asked in Jesus name and believed, I was supposed to get what I prayed for. Right? I couldn't fathom the possibility that God and I may not have the same idea of healing in mind. I never doubted for one moment that God could heal her. I never doubted that God was real and that He heard my prayers. What I began to doubt was if God was still “on my side”. I became a sort of a spoiled brat. I thought that Daddy should give me whatever I wanted just because I wanted it. I was upset because it was not His will to heal her like I wanted Him to. God chose to heal her - just not here on earth. To make a long story short, I didn't speak to God for years. (Yes. Years!!! Thank God for His grace.) It was through this experience that my I learned what exactly it meant when I heard people tell me that God is sovereign.

You see, God can do whatever it pleases Him to do however He chooses to do it. God has called us all to a work to do for Him and His kingdom. Along the way there will be times that things aren't going to go the way that we would like for them to go but we must understand that no matter how things go that as long as we love God, it's all working together for our good.

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)

When my grandmother died, my aunts felt that they had lost the most important person in their life. They decided to take all the hurt and pain they felt from loosing my grandmother to Jesus. They knew that this sort of hurt was not a hurt that they could heal themselves from. They were already saved and "in the church" but they sought refuge from the pain in the Lord.

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)

My aunts prayed for me and told me how much God loved me and wanted to hear from me every chance they got. I didn't decide to forsake my worldly ways based on their testimony alone but they planted a seed in my spirit. Others came along and told me about the love of God. They in turn watered the seed. And God gave the increase when He drew me back to Himself.

I don't know why God chose to take my grandmother when He did. But I do know by her passing, my aunts drew closer to God and led me to Him as well. That which the enemy would have liked to use to permanently separate me from the love of God turned out to be one of the greatest lessons that God has ever taught me. Even though things may not go the way we planned them to in life, love and ministry – we must still continue to do that which we were called to do. We must still love the Lord with all of our heart, mind and soul.

Sometimes it seems as if we the people of God have more turmoil and drama going on with us than those in the world does amongst them. I have often found myself asking God “Why?” I’ve kept His commandments, continued to praise Him in spite of the situation yet I still go through. Why? Why is it that they that are evil prosper and we that are faithful suffer? You know what the Lord told me?

Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.(Romans 9:18)

God can show mercy on whomever He chooses to have mercy on. He's God! I had to learn that it's not up to me to decide who gets blessed, who gets to be healed here on earth but it's up to God. He's sovereign.

I spent many nights wrestling within myself trying to understand "why me". Why did I have to suffer? Why was my blessing being delayed? Why was the enemy seeming to prosper in their way. I was wasting time.

Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Delight thyself also in the LORD: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. (Psalm 37:1-5)

I was worrying about things that didn't concern me. The only thing I needed to do was keep my mind on Jesus. All I had to do was wait on Him and trust Him and I would have the desires of my heart. All the time I was trying to "figure it out" He already worked it out.

I believe that God wants us to F.O.C.U.S. on that which He has called us to do. He wants us to Forget about the past. Anything that is not on our way is in our way. He wants us to Operate in the Spirit of God. We can't do anything in our own strength. We have to Concentrate on the Word of God and bask in His presence. In doing all of this, we cannot become discouraged when times get tough or things don't go our way. We must Understand that God is sovereign and He knows what's best.

Maybe there are some situations in your life right now that you are trying to figure out. Perhaps it's finances or relationship issues that you just don't understand why they are going the way that they are going. You've done the best you could do and your best just wasn't good enough. You gave all you had and failed while others put forth little or no effort and succeeded. Confess that you can't fix "it". Only He can. Understand that God is sovereign.

F.O.C.U.S. (C)

Forget your past (Romans 8:1)

Operate in the Spirit (Romans 8:2,5)

Concentrate on the things of God (Colossians 1-3)

Understand the Sovereignty of God (Romans 9:18)

Stand in position (Romans 8:17)

If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:1-3)

Concentrate. The third letter of the F.O.C.U.S. acronym is "C" which represents the word "Concentrate". In this Christian walk, we need to learn how to put the blinders on to everything that is contrary to the vision that God has given us for our lives. It is the enemy's job to throw distractions and road blocks up along the way. He wants us to loose sight of the things that matter the most and be concerned with the cares of this world. If we leave it up to him, he would have us to believe that we are "missing out" on life and enjoyment by living holy before God but the devil is a liar and the truth is not in him.

Every since the beginning of time, he has tried to cause the people of God to believe that God's way is not the best way. He hasn't gotten any new tricks. He's still doing using the same old tricks he used back in the Garden of Eden. He deceived Eve into believing that she was missing something by not eating the forbidden fruit. God had supplied more than she or Adam could ever eat. She didn't need to eat the forbidden fruit. Had Eve thought to concentrate on what God had told her and blocked everything else out, she wouldn't have been susceptible to falling into the snares the enemy had planned for her.

Unfortunately, we still fall for the same tricks today if we aren't careful. The enemy knows that we won't fall for the "big" deceptions so he throws "lesser evils" our way. He tries to have us tell little white lies when we know that God told us not to bear false witness or he makes it seem as if it's okay to do something as simple as leaving work a little early if no one sees us even though God said "Thou shalt not steal". If we truly meditate on the law of the Lord day and night, we would be more conscious of our actions and less apt to fall for these deceptions.We have to learn to concentrate on the things of God.

This world, heaven and earth are going to pass away. We cannot build our treasures on this earth where thieves can steal our goods and moths can corrupt them. We have to keep in mind that we are to live this life so that we can live again. I'm not saying that we have to be eating, sleeping, breathing and thinking scripture to the point where we move from the spiritual realm to the religious realm. God forbid! What I am saying is that we must recognize that the enemy desires to sift us as wheat. He desires to have our thoughts preoccupied with everything but what God said. He wants to destroy our marriages, kill our dreams, attack our bodies and trouble our finances all so that we can focus on the problems and not the Ultimate Problem Solver.

My prayer for you today is that you walk worthy in the vocation to which you have been called. I pray that you will set your affections on eternal heavenly things and not be moved by the cares of this world. I pray that you will be like a tree planted of the rivers of water that you shall not be moved. That you shall serve and trust the Lord with all your heart, mind and soul in Jesus' name.

Now as you leave this blog, I pray that you will honestly examine yourself in the presence of the Lord. What are you concentrating on today? Remember, this battle is not yours. It belongs to the Lord. Jesus said to cast your cares on Him for He cares for you. There is nothing too hard for Him. There is no pain that He cannot feel. Won't you trust Him today with every area of your life? He already knows all about it. He's just waiting for you to invite Him in. Concentrate on Him.

F.O.C.U.S.

Forget your past (Romans 8:1)

Operate in the Spirit (Romans 8:2,5)

Concentrate on the things of God (Colossians 1-3)

Understand the Sovereignty of God (Romans 9:18)

Stand in position (Romans 8:17)

Yesterday, we discussed the "F" in the F.O.C.U.S. acronym which represented the need for us to forget our past in order to stay on track in this vocation we have been called to. Today we will explore the letter "O" and it's representation of the word "Operate".

We need to Operate in the spirit of Christ. We can not do anything in our own strength. The bible tells us that we don't even know how to pray as we should so we even need the Spirit of God to pray for us. We need the Spirit of God active in every area of our lives. No matter how minute the detail may seem to us - we need Him.

If we proceed without the power of God backing us, we are sure to fail. The first biblical example to come to mind is the story of the Seven Sons of Sceva. They saw the Apostle Paul laying hands on folk and casting devils out in the name of Jesus. They thought that they could do it too. The problem was, they didn't have the Spirit of God. They were operating in their own strength. As a result of them operating in their own limited strength, the demons sent them away crying and wounded. (Story)

Some folks may believe they are "getting away" with operating in their own strength perpetrating as if it were the Spirit of God but sooner or later, God will expose you just like He did the Seven Sons of Sceva. Just because their father was a Jewish Priest did not make them priests. We cannot get the Spirit of God simply by association.

For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. (Romans 8:2-5)

In this life, our flesh is our biggest enemy. It isn't the devil. The devil has no power over us only that which we give him when we chose to yield to our flesh. Jesus has bore the curse on our behalf and made us free from the law of sin and death. There is no need for us to operate in the flesh or in our own power. We don't have to anymore. We now have access to supernatural Holy Ghost Power.

Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

(Luke 10:19)

The power of God is much stronger than any of our own goals and ambitions. If you are weak, He can make you strong.His strength is perfected in our weaknesses anyhow. If you are strong, He can make you stronger. As you go about the course of the rest of your day, I challenge you to operate in the Spirit of God and see how much better things go for you. As you are walking out this vocation God has called you to be sure that the power you are operating in is of the Lord. Our strength and wisdom is nothing compared to the Lord's.

Have you ever moved before God told you to move? How much trouble did it cause you?

F.O.C.U.S.

Forget your past (Romans 8:1)

Operate in the Spirit (Romans 8:2,5)

Concentrate on the things of God (Colossians 1-3)

Understand the Sovereignty of God (Romans 9:18)

Stand in position (Romans 8:17)


Last week the Lord gave me a powerful exhortation to "get back to work" through the message, God Called Us To A Vocation - Not A Vacation Part I, II, and III. Today, I believe the Spirit of the Lord wants us to F.O.C.U.S on the task at hand.

With so much going on in the world around us, it's very easy to loose sight of the things that matters the most. We have the stock market being bailed out, the automobile companies needing to be bailed out and people loosing their homes left and right. These are very serious matters. However, they are matters to pray about and not to become engrossed in. We have to stay focused on the task at hand. Even if we loose sight for only a minute, the effects can be detrimental to both our spiritual and our natural lives. We have to Forget everything that's going on around us and remember what this assignment called life is all about. We are living this life so that we may live again. The "F" in F.O.C.U.S. represents the need to forget some things in order to move on.

In addition to forgetting the things around us, there comes a time when we have to Forget our pasts. The enemy would love to have us be slaves to shame, sin and our past lives. Whenever the enemy uses people to bring to your remembrance what you used to be or how you used to live - you have to replay the Word of God in your mind which tells us that there is NO condemnation to those in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). Once we repent, God forgives us and casts our sins into the sea of forgetfulness. If God who died for our sins can forgive us, who are we to hold a grudge against ourselves?

If the enemy isn't trying to haunt us with our pasts, he will try to make us feel unworthy or question our calling. When God chose David to be the King of Israel, he was but a young, scrawny shepard. His father didn't even consider the possibility that David might be anointed king so he didn't even have him in the line up (story). But what man sees as an inadequacy, God sees as an opportunity. Had David looked to be a capable man or had he had experience in leadership, people may have given David the glory for his kingship as opposed to God. God saw David as an opportunity to get the glory out of Israel. The hand of the Lord was with David as he was a man after God's own heart. So we have to forget about what makes sense to us. God's reasoning and rationale is so much greater than ours. David's father couldn't understand why David would be king. But it was God's will and it was so. If God brings us to "it", there's work for us to do there. We can't be concerned with our past or whether or not we are fit for the challenge. God does not make mistakes.

Lastly, I want to say that we need to forget our flesh. Our ungodly behaviors, thoughts, dispositions all need to be crucified daily so that we are vessels able to be used by God. In this vocation that we have been called to, there is no room for the flesh. It will only weigh us down and prevent us from doing that which we have been called to do.

Can you recall a time when your holding on to the past has prevented you from doing what God called you to do as a child of God? Can you recall a time when you allowed your circumstances to distract you? How did God get the glory out of the situation?

Free At Last!!

"Free at Last. Free at Last. Thank God Almighty, I'm free At Last."

What do you think of when you hear or read that quote? Do you think of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who made this quote famous? Do you think of freedom from this life? Do you think of freedom from incarceration, bondage or oppression?

When I hear this quote, I think of the freedom I found in Jesus Christ. I'll be the first to admit that I've spend a great deal of my life thinking that I was free but in all actuality I was a slave. I believed I was free to come and go as I pleased, sleep around as I pleased, talk as I pleased and even be addicted to various substances and gambling as I pleased. But at the end of the day you know what I found out? I was still a slave. I was a slave to my own fleshy desires.

One day during worship service I felt "out of place" when the worship leader instructed the congregation to lift up "holy hands" to God. I didn't think I was worthy to lift up my hands to the Lord because in my mind they were far from holy. I realized that I truly wasn't free. By the time I came to this realization it was already too late because I had now been bound by something else - something even stronger than my past sins. I was bound by a defeated, shameful spirit. I was bound by condemnation. It wasn't the condemnation of my peers, relatives, or even church members. I was bound by the worse form of condemnation: self-condemnation. The enemy whispered some lies in my ear and I believed them. He told me once a ______ always a _____ you fill in the blank how it pertains to your life.

I believed that I had gone too far, crossed the line and was outright unforgivable. I began to hold my head down in shame and think there was no use in praying because I couldn't understand what God would want to hear from a sinner like me. My mind couldn't even conceive the notion that my thoughts were so far from the truth.

But then I read Romans 8:1-4 and I came to learn that I couldn't be good because "I" couldn't be good - not without the help of the Holy Spirit, that is.

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature,God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering.And so he condemned sin in sinful man,in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit. (Romans 8:1-4)

Why was I walking around with my head hung low when the Word of God clearly told me that there was NO condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus? I was in Christ Jesus yet I was still feeling condemned. The holy men of times of old couldn't live holy (without the Spirit of the Lord). Why did I think I was any different. Whenever preachers declared that I needed the anointing because it was the "anointing" that destroys the yokes of bondage, I thought they wanted me to jump around or speak in some strange tongue. I mastered going for sprints around the church and falling out but I didn't understand that the anointing was the power of God working in me and through me.

At this point in my life I thought that I no longer had to follow every letter of the bible to a "T" (we do) but I also thought that I had to "act" like I had the anointing instead of allowing God to deliver me and endow me with His Spirit. I was a slave to self-condemnation and a slave to the Law. But the apostle Paul explains to us that God's law was powerless because of the flesh - the very demon that I was battling. So God in His infinite wisdom, had to come down to earth Himself in the flesh (Jesus) to live holy and become the perfect sacrifice so that I could be reconciled back to Him.

I don't know about you, but to me that sounds like a whole lot of trouble to go through for someone that doesn't even appreciate the sacrifice. God sacrificed Himself for me. I confessed with my mouth and believed in my heart that Jesus Christ was God manifested in the flesh, died on the cross, rose the third day and now sits at the right hand of God. I could handle that He was conceived immaculately and born of a virgin. I believed that He healed the sick, raised the dead, and turned water into wine but I struggled with the fact that He could forgive me. I struggled with the fact that I was worthy enough to lift up "holy hands" and worship a holy God being so void of holiness myself.

Thanks be to God that since then I have come to understand the significance of what Jesus did for ME on Calvary. He set me free. I can lift up Holy hands at my desk, in the car, in my house and in the sanctuary and not feel guilty. Now I feel guilty when I don't worship Him. No one has to prompt me to worship Him and no one can tell me that I am unworthy to worship Him - not even myself.

Free At Last. Free at last. Thank God Almighty, I'm free at Last.

God Called us to vOcation not vAcation- Pt. III

Now once we understand that we are called to a vocation and not a vacation we must be ever so careful to walk worthy. Jesus did not hang up on Calvary’s cross so that we could continue to be slaves to Sin. He did not die so that we could continue to be bound by the enemy but that we could have life and have it more abundantly (John 10:10).

And as we work at our vocation there will be times when we get discouraged, feel unappreciated and even be sabotaged but we aren’t doing this for man, accolades of man or even for ourselves. We have to do everything we do as to as unto the Lord because only what we do for Christ will last. Man will celebrate us and be in our "amen" corner today and then turn around tomorrow call us everything but a child of God. If we are doing ministry to please man, we will be defeated when we are no longer popular and receiving attention. And if we are being persecuted now as we walk worthy of our vocation, we must continue to do good because our time is coming when we shall reap our reward for holding on and remaining steadfast (Galatians 6:9).

We have to keep in mind that we are in this race for the long haul. We have to preach this here gospel both when the people want to hear and when they don't want to hear it (2 Timothy 4:2). This goes for the people with the offices and titles but also for all of us. We all have a duty to spread the gospel. We can't change our message because we know we're going to step on a few toes. The Word of God is supposed to cut us when we need to be cut (Hebrews 4:12). Every message can't be about prosperity and new mates. As good as all that may sound, we still need to be corrected when we are out of order so that when HE comes back for us we are ready. God called us to a vocation - not a vacation.

We don’t have time to regress or throw in the towel and when we see one another appearing to be having a difficult time we have to lift one another up in prayer even more and offer one another support and encouragement. That’s part of the vocation as well. We are many members but one body all fitly joined together. There are no “small jobs” only small minded people when they begin to lift themselves up and become high minded. So as I close, I remind you that quitting is not an option. Playtime is over.
God called us to a vocation – not a vacation.

God bless you! I pray that God give you strength for this vocation that you may continue to stand. I pray that He will give you grace that you are able to stand the test of time and most of all I pray that He grants you patience so when you begin to grow tired, you will be able to hang on just a little while longer. Don't faint - pray.

God Called us to a vocation - not a vacation.