Weekend Words

From Amish Peace...

Focused on God, Not on the World

"Don't love the world's ways.  Don't love the worlds goods.  Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father." - 1 John 2:15 (The Message)

Do you consider yourself worldly?  If you drive a car, have a phone, and enjoy modern conveniences you are - at least according to the Amish.  They believe that worldly things take our time and attention away from godly things.  When we're driving in our cars, we're not spending time at home.  When we're talking on the phone, we're not talking to the people who are with us.  When we're focused on gadgets, we can miss the opportunity to connect with others in our community.

How can we live in the world without loving the world?  It all comes down to focus.  Everyone has focus.  But the question is,  Are you focused on getting more "things" or are you focused on using all you have to glorify God?  Are you making Him the main focus of your life and your days?

"Life works better when we know how to glance at things but gaze at God," writes Welsh minister and author Selwyn Hughes.  "Seeing Him clearly will enable us to see all other things clearly."

The first Anabaptists chose to change their lifestyles in order to draw closer to God.  Even though they faced persecution, what they chose to focus on continued for generations.  And that's really the point, isn't it?  The world is always changing, but God never changes.  There will be new cars, new phones, and new gadgets every year, but as Hebrews 13:8 says, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever."

Here's something you may want to consider: are you worldly focused, or are you heavenly focused?  As you focus on the second part of the question, the first part will begin to take care of itself. 

From Beside the Still Waters...

Of Faith and Understanding - Read Colossians 1

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding." - Proverbs 3:5

A friend once told me, "Your trouble is that you have to figure out everything."  There is a certain satisfaction in getting things figured out.  But when it comes to matters of faith, we need to believe even if we don't fully understand.  To the man whose child had an unclean spirit, Jesus said, "If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth."  He cried out with tears, "Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief" (Mark 9:23-24).  Thus we see that often our problem is not a lack of understanding, but rather that we stumble because of unbelief.

People who sought Jesus after He had miraculously fed a multitude asked, "What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?"  Jesus answered, "This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent" (John 6:28-28).  Faith may not be easy to attain.  There is a certain amount of difficulty in believing.  Just as a miracle can't be figured out, so faith is not readily understood.  Nevertheless, exercising faith has its rewards.

We need to "continue in the faith" in order to be "grounded and settled" in the Lord.  It's not that we fully understand, but that we have the assurance of receiving the understanding we need to do God's will.

Today's key verse has an important clue.  If we trust in the Lord, things will work out much better than if we lean on our own understanding.  Trusting Him to guide us will make a difference in our lives.  If we willingly give up our own understanding by faith, He will give us true understanding.  Then we can experience His blessing: "In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths" (Proverbs 3:6).

Noah Yoder - Summertown, TN