The Secret to Keeping Spiritually Focused

Arnold Palmer is one of the greatest golfers of all time.  He won many events and was even nicknamed “The King” for his superior play.  On one particular day though, Palmer recalled an important lesson he learned:

“It was the final hole of the 1961 Masters tournament, and I had a one-stroke lead and had just hit a very satisfying tee shot.  I felt I was in pretty good shape.  As I approached my ball, I saw an old friend standing at the edge of the gallery.  He motioned me over, stuck out his hand and said, "Congratulations."  I took his hand and shook it, but as soon as I did, I knew I had lost my focus.  On my next two shots, I hit the ball into a sand trap, then put it over the edge of the green.  I missed a putt and lost the Masters.  You don't forget a mistake like that; you just learn from it and become determined that you will never do that again.  I haven't in the 30 years since” (Carol Mann, The 19th Hole (Longmeadow), quoted in Reader's Digest).

For Palmer, one word and a handshake was all it took to throw him off.  It’s surprising how little it takes for us to lose our focus mentally and spiritually.  Sadly, our world is jam-packed with spiritual distractions.  Nearly everywhere we turn we can find sin and appealing traps.  How are we supposed to stay focused on God in this life?  What’s the secret?

The secret to keeping spiritually focus is to center our lives on heavenly aspects.  Notice the following Scriptures:

•  Colossians 3:2 – “Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.”
•  Matthew 6:33 – “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
•  Hebrews 12:1-2 – “Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus…”

Do we spend our time in worldliness or godliness?  What can be found in our lives that focus on worldliness, materialism, and sin?  If we are honest, there is probably more there than we want to admit.  We must sacrifice our worldly distractions if we want to be spiritually focused; otherwise what will end up being sacrificed in our lives is, ironically, Christ.  Let’s dedicate ourselves to stay focused on the Lord by filling our lives with heavenly qualities.

APPREHENDED

Neal Pollard

An elusive criminal has been on a spree, burglarizing cars and houses.  Investigators have dogged his trail, scouring for clues, searching for DNA, cross-checking old files and cold cases.  They are looking for patterns or mistakes, anything that can lead a wanton thief to custody and justice.  Finally, despite his skill, he satisfies them by leaving a fingerprint at a victim's house.  They check it against the system and find a match.  Officers get an address, rush over and surprise him as he is leaving.  A short chase ensues and near the fence behind an adjacent abandoned factory, he is handcuffed and then hauled downtown.  Another ne'er-do-well is apprehended.

Apprehended is a word we associate with capturing or bringing into custody, usually with the idea of some sort of pursuit.  A similar concept is found in the New Testament, but it is often used in a positive manner.  A pair of words from the same word family are used a few times in scripture to depict apprehending by the senses.  The original idea is to perceive, primarily with the external senses, but it is used in the Bible to speak of spiritual perception and understanding.  

In Luke nine, after Jesus healed one with an unclean spirit which the disciples were unable to heal, the Lord proclaimed that He was going to be delivered into the hands of men and the disciples didn't understand the statement "and it was concealed from them so that they would not perceive it" (45).  Twice, the same word is found in the Septuagint.  In Job's struggle, he says, "I would learn the words which He would answer, and perceive what He would say to me" (Job 23:5).  He longed to grab a hold of an answer from God for His suffering.  Solomon tells his son to "know" (or perceive) that wisdom is for the soul what honey is for the taste buds (Prov. 24:13-14).  He wanted him to get a grasp of that invaluable truth.

A word from the same family is used in Philippians 1:9, as Paul prays Philippi's love would abound more and more in knowledge and discernment.  He wanted them to pursue it and come to obtain it because it affected their spiritual standing.  It had been eluding up to that point.

How dedicated are we to taking possession of truth, a relationship with God, wisdom, and spiritual discernment?  Are we willing to investigate, hunt, scour, and move heaven and earth?  Jesus taught, "The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it" (Matt. 13:45-46).  These things are there for the taken, if we will stay on the case.  God wants them in our custody.  May we ever stay in hot pursuit!

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

 

Words simply cannot express the extent of the sickness, wickedness, and heartbreak of today’s tragedy.  Early this morning a man entered into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.  He proceeded to unload many rounds on innocent children as they cowered in corners and closets.  There are 27 known dead, 20 of which are children.

Among many other questions, one that inevitably comes up in this kind of situation is, “How could God allow something like this to happen?  Especially to the most innocent of all people on the earth, to children?”  Here are some answers from Scripture.

1. “God causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matthew 5:45).  Whether we like it or not, God has never prevented all evil from happening, nor has He always brought immediate punishment on the wicked.  God has also never promised that life will be without problems and tragedies.  Since these aspects are true, we should never resort to anger and blame towards God.  In fact, Job’s friends were punished for having such attitudes (Job 42:7).  God has always given people the freedom of choice, despite the terrible sins and even the killing of His own Son that came as a result.  God is not to blame, sinful people are.

2.  “‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord” (Romans 12:19).  Let’s make no mistake, justice will be carried out.  If not in this life, God will most definitely bring punishment on these heinous actions in eternity.  Even though horrible things like this happen, God will not allow such wickedness to go without consequence.  Throughout Scripture God has promised that all sins will have consequences.  Some of these punishments came swift (Acts 5:1-11), others were delayed until after death (Luke 16:19-31).  No matter when people’s wicked actions are punished, all will eventually be dealt with by God.

We can’t know for sure why God allowed this event to happen, but we can know for sure that God will bring these acts to justice.  Those who decide to blame or become angry with God have missed God’s clear feelings towards sin throughout Scripture.  Ecclesiastes 12:14 states, “God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.”  In these times of tears and broken hearts, let’s take comfort in the fact that justice will be served by God.

Blood Red Water

At Sydney’s Bondi Beach, an eerie scene unfolded.  The water began to turn from its normal color to a horrifying blood red.  Swimmers and spectators became alarmed and fled from the water.  Strangely, the red water came as a result of a sudden increase in red algae.  The algae turned out to be mostly harmless, but swimmers were still discouraged from going into the water.

Similar to how a rainbow reminds us of God’s promise to never flood the earth again, this rare phenomenon brings to mind the time when the waters actually turned to blood.  Exodus 7:20-21 says, “So Moses and Aaron did even as the Lord had commanded.  And he lifted up the staff and struck the water that was in the Nile, in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, and all the water that was in the Nile was turned to blood.  The fish that were in the Nile died, and the Nile became foul, so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile.  And the blood was through all the land of Egypt.”

During this time in Egypt, some of the most awe-inspiring miracles were about to take place.  Besides having the water turn to blood, the Egyptian people were going to suffer through plagues of frogs, gnats, flies, death of cattle, boils, hail, locust, darkness, and the death of the first born (Exodus 7-12).  Soon after this, God was going to deliver His people from Egypt by parting the Red Sea, allowing them to escape, and destroying Pharaoh’s army (Exodus 14).

What was God’s purpose in all of this?  According to Exodus 7:17, it was to show that He is the Lord.  God most definitely accomplished His goal.  In fact, He accomplished this purpose so strongly that just seeing Sydney’s red water invokes strong reminders of the great power God displayed in Exodus thousands of years ago.

Though the red algae in Sydney may be a strange and unconventional reminder, let’s always remember the power God displayed so long ago.  We serve an awesomely powerful God who alone is worthy of our worship, honor, and praise.

Saige Hatch's Modesty Club

Neal Pollard

A courageous high school freshman, Saige Hatch, has started a "Modesty Club" at her South Pasadena, California, school.  Her move has landed her a national TV interview on Fox News and "prompted city officials to declare December 3-7 Modesty Week in South Pasadena" (via latimesblogs.latimes.com).  Her older brother, McKay, started a "No Cussing Club" at the high school in 2008. It has drawn some negative feedback and even prompted someone to graffiti and egg their father's van and send "nasty messages" on the website (www.modestyclub.com).  However, 17 students have joined the club and signed the club's pledge.  For girls, the pledge asks, "wear shorts and skirts at knee length,” “shirts and dresses that cover my stomach, lower back, breasts and shoulders” and “not ask, persuade, or allow a boy to do anything with me that will jeopardize the code of chastity” (ibid.).  Boys are asked to be neat and clean and respect and honor girls' virtue.  The Fox interview revealed that the Hatch family is religious and the conviction behind the club is that modest dress pleases God and that the inverse is also true: immodest dress displeases God.

Saige did not invent the concept of modest clothing.  God calls for women to so adorn themselves (1 Tim. 2:9-10; 1 Pet. 3:3).  Jesus also warns men against lusting after women (Mat. 5:28-32), and as men are more easily visually stimulated women can greatly aid their battle against such lust by clothing themselves in ways that do not accentuate or reveal their bodies.  Mary Quant, the inventor of the mini-skirt, popularizer of hot pants, and London fashion designer, said her goal in design was "to dress women so men would feel like tearing the wrapping off" (Dougherty, People Weekly, 4/4/88, 108). In Newsweek, she said, "Am I the only woman who has ever wanted to go to bed with a man in the afternoon? Any law-abiding female, it used to be thought, waits until dark. Well, there are lots of girls who do not want to wait. Mini-clothes are symbolic of them" ("Anything Goes: Taboos in Twilight," 11/13/67, 76)(both Quant quotes via Samuel Bacchiocchi, Ph. D., Andrews University, Christian Dress and Adornment, Ch. 3,  via www.biblicalperspectives.com).

Men must also guard against being immodest, dressing in a way that highlights the body at the expense of the inner man.  However, casual observation of advertising, Hollywood offerings, fashion, and retail show a decided slant toward immodest clothing for women more than men.  Surely Christian men and women want all those in the home to promote and protect sexual purity in clothing choices!  Undoubtedly, it is what God wants!