Tag: focus

Entrée

Expectations

The Manna Chef

Sisters, who is measuring your success?  Many times, we are so focused on achievement and our perceived status that we lose sight of the real prize:  Jesus Christ and His limitless grace, mercy, and favor!  Our focus should be on living a life that is pleasing to God, not on how many material things we can acquire so we can appear successful to other people. 

And let me clear here, I certainly am not saying that you should not live well; I want you to live full:  full from the life that God promised you as you do what He put you here to do.  Jesus promised to give us life and life more abundantly.  We just need to focus on abundance in the Spirit, and He will do the rest.  Remember Matthew 6:33 (NKJV) reminds us to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”   

I recently spoke to someone who shared that she was disappointed because she wasn’t where she “was supposed to be at this point in her life.”  How many of you have ever felt like that?  I wondered, “Who’s measurement was she trying to live up to?”  She was looking at where her friends were in their lives and referring to a list that she made when she was younger.

Pages: 1 2
Entrée

Our Daily Bread

The Manna Chef

Sisters, you have the power to choose every day where you will focus your attention.  Will you focus all of your time and energy on social media?  The constant stories about government corruption?  Stories about nonstop tragedies?  The rising price of milk, eggs, and gas?  Is your television on the news channel twenty-four hours a day?  It’s hard to even focus when you are constantly being bombarded with bad news all day long.  Or maybe you are focused on that special someone, your family, or even your place of employment. 

We can often become distracted by the circumstances around us, especially when the news is distressing.  That’s why we need to be sustained daily.  In spite of everything going on, God promised to keep us in perfect peace when we keep our minds on Him.  (Isaiah 26:3) 

Take a moment to answer these few questions:

  • Who sustains you?
  • What do you seek from God every single day?
  • What have you been focusing on today?
Pages: 1 2 3
Entrée

Lord, Help Me Find Balance

The Manna Chef

In ministry, and life in general, one of the most important but often neglected matters is maintaining balance.  We are not spiritual super heroes walking around rescuing people.  We have been chosen by God to fulfill a function in the body of Christ, but don’t get it twisted, we are still human.  You are a spirit, possessing a soul, living in a fleshly body—and that body has real limitations. Mark 14:38 reminds us that although our spirit may be willing, our flesh is weak.  We need balance to help us to be effective in the work God has called us to do. 

It’s possible to lose your balance simply because you are overextended.  You can be so busy doing the Lord’s work that you wear yourself out.  God doesn’t get the glory out of you wearing yourself down.  He wants relationship with you more than seeing your name on the roster of 20 different church ministries.  Learn to say no.  If God hasn’t instructed you to do something, you’d be wise not to pursue it.

Think about things that throw us off balance:

Traffic, running late, putting out fires at work, the kids acting up, the spouse acting up, illness interrupts life, the car breaks down, the bills are piling up, and things just are not going as planned.

We get off balance when things move out of our control.  I have learned that there are some things I can control, and it is my responsibility to do so.  But there are other things, many other things, that are beyond my control.  Why wear myself out over something I can’t control?  Those things simply need to be turned over to God.  I can’t do anything about it anyway.

Maybe getting caught in traffic made you take time to breathe and talk to God?  He could be slowing you down to prevent you from a tragedy.  Have you ever made it through traffic to find that there was a horrific accident?  (God protects us every day from dangers seen and unseen.)  Maybe that issue with the kids or the spouse is your wake-up call that there are a few things that need to be addressed in your home.  Your home life should take priority in your life.  Children shouldn’t have to compete with the church for their parents’ attention. Maybe the craziness at work is stretching you to grow, preparing you for your next job.  Are you allowing your light to shine in the midst of the chaos?   

Pages: 1 2
Entrée

What Do You See?

The Manna Chef

The Bible is full of the promises of God.  It’s a love story; the evidence of just how much God loves us.  Think about the many times God has delivered you, made a way, healed your body, provided for you—He has manifested His greatness on your behalf time and time again.  So, what happens when you’ve prayed to God, but there is a delay in the manifestation of the answer, the promise?  Think about the promises that God has made to you.  Actually write a few down on paper.  (I really do want you to write them down.)  I have two questions for you.

  1. Can you see them, spiritually? 
  2. Have you really claimed them?

We’ve heard many times the account of the children of Israel as God delivered them from the hand of the Egyptians.  If not, we’ve at least seen “The Ten Commandments” or the “Prince of Egypt.”  God chose Moses to lead His people out of Egypt.  And God moved in dramatic fashion on behalf of His people.  Can you imagine crossing the Red Sea on dry ground? 

But here’s the thing; God wasn’t just taking them from Egypt.  He was leading them to Canaan.  Sometimes we’re so happy to get out of a situation that we stop before we even reach the purpose of being delivered.  God hasn’t delivered you so that you can stop moving forward in your spiritual walk with Him.  God promised the Israelites that they would enter the Promised Land, a land of milk and honey.  You have a Promised Land too.  Think about that for a moment.  Your Promised Land is the destiny for which you were created to fulfill.  There is a place of manifestation of the promises of God for your life.  Can you see it?

Pages: 1 2 3 4