Focused or Distracted?

One of the first tasks today, as every day, was to talk the dog outside to do her "business". We went out, not for exercise or playtime, but with that sole purpose in mind. But then there was a distraction. With spring in the air, squirrels and chipmunks are on the move. And so off Molly went, chasing the poor squirrel who had the misfortune to be crossing our driveway at that precise moment. Any thought of our original purpose was lost as she ran full throttle after that squirrel. Eventually she gave up the chase and came to the back door, ready to come inside.....never having accomplished the original purpose for going outdoors in the first place.

It occurred to me that this is such an illustration of my life......and perhaps not just me, but most of us, if we were really honest! We get up and begin our day with a purpose, with tasks to be accomplished, with goals for our day, maybe even with a list (6 most important things!!). And then something happens. We are distracted. And maybe the distractions are even worthwhile and/or necessary tasks. Often the distractions are not worthwhile endeavors, just time-wasters. But at the end of the day, the result is the same......the original purpose, the list goes undone.


I think this may be especially true in the spiritual realm. We are committed to staying on track, to living a focused life, a purpose-driven life if you will. We have goals to be accomplished.....a certain time in prayer or Scripture to be studied and/or memorized, as examples. And then "life" happens and we are distracted. Result: at the end of the day, we still have not done what we set out to do.

What's the solution? We certainly can't go through life as automated robots, "performing" only the tasks on "the list". We must be flexible to respond to life as it happens.......to the child who is suddenly running an unexplained fever, to the phone call from a friend or family member with a need, to fatigue, to any number of things as they happen. But how do we maintain our focus, our purpose, in spite of this? How do we avoid the so-called tyranny of the urgent? What does it look like, in real life, to be focused, purposeful, disciplined?

So often my life is more like "For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing." (Romans 7:19)

But what I want it to be is "let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith". (Hebrews 12:1-2)

Prayer

"Prayer pulls the rope down below and the great bell rings above in the ears of God. Some scarcely stir the bell, for they pray so languidly; others give only an occasional jerk at the rope. But he who communicates with heaven is the man who grasps the rope boldly and pulls continuously with all his might." -- Charles H. Spurgeon


"Evening, morning, and at noon will I pray." (Psalm 55:17)

"Pray without ceasing." (1 Thessalonians 5:17)


What powerful words from this great preacher of days gone by, and what powerful exhortation from the pages of Scripture. As the old hymn says, "oh what peace we often forfeit, oh what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer."

What a Day!

It's a foggy, wet, gloomy day here in the mountains. I almost expect to see a headless horseman galloping by! (That's a reference to The Legend of Sleepy Hollow for you non-literary types.)
It doesn't feel much like spring either.....not only wet and foggy, but cold. I'm looking forward to a sunnier day, hopefully very soon........which reminds me of a passage in 1 Corinthians 13......

"We don't yet see things clearly. We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We'll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us. But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love. (1 Corinthians 13:12-13 The Message)

Seeing God clearly and knowing Him fully! That's what I'm looking forward to......the day when the mist clears and we no longer see dimly. What a day that will be!

Pursuit

I've been spending some time in A. W. Tozer's The Pursuit of God lately. So allow me to share a passage that I've been camped out in.

Tozer writes (many years ago) "In this hour of all-but-universal darkness one cheering gleam appears....increasing numbers of persons whose religious lives are marked by a growing hunger after God Himself.....eager for spiritual realities....they are athirst for God, and they will not be satisfied till they have drunk deep at the Fountain of Living Water......It is not mere words that nourish the soul, but God Himself.......the Bible is a means to bring men to an intimate and satisfying knowledge of God, that they may enter into Him, that they may delight in His Presence, may taste and know the inner sweetness of the very God Himself in the core and center of their hearts."

This kind of pursuit is what Tozer describes as "following hard after God." And this kind of pursuit, this following hard is the deepest desire of my heart!

Purpose

"God made us to be worshipers. That was the purpose of God in bringing us into the world." - A. W. Tozer

"God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth." (John 4:24)

Ready for Spring!

Continuing the Conversation

Continuing the worship/service "conversation", I am really bothered by a prevailing attitude I find among many Christians that worship equals music/singing. Note how often we refer to the congregational singing in our church services as the "praise and worship", thereby implying that the other parts of the service are not opportunities for praise and/or worship. Even the term "praise and worship" bothers me to a degree, in that it implies two different things. I suppose that praise is loud and lively, while worship is not??????

I think that all this is an indication that we don't really understand what worship is. Certainly there are many different expressions of worship. Music is one of those expressions. Not just the quiet, contemplative music, but the energetic music as well. Worship music takes many forms.....the classic hymns of the church that have stood the test of centuries, the so-called contemporary music that is being written currently, and all the music in between that was written to honor God. Which is the whole point, isn't it?? Is it not the purpose of "worship" to see God as He is, to honor Him as God, to give Him the glory, the "worth-ship" due Him simply because He is God? To limit this expression to one kind of music, even to limit that expression to music alone, I believe is to misunderstand what worship is.

Let me be clear......I love music. I love all kinds of music. And I often express my love and adoration for God through music, both as a "performer" and as a "listener". But I don't believe that worship is limited to music, whether vocal or instrumental. I often worship God as I walk down the driveway and find myself in awe of the beautiful world He has made......in complete silence as I listen to the sounds of the birds and the wind, of the world around me......as I read His Word......in prayer. I don't believe worship is so much about the structure we give to it, the music we choose for our church service, whether or not we lift our hands or clap our hands or sit or stand. I believe worship is an attitude of the heart as it is directed God-ward.

And another point. If we refer, as is often the case, to the church service as the "worship service", why do we then refer to the singing part of the service as the "worship"? If it is a worship service, then shouldn't everything we do be part of our worship? Otherwise, why are we doing it?