Thursday, 1st February 2024
Andrews Ampomah
TOPIC: MAINTAIN YOUR FOCUS WITH CHRIST
THEME SCRIPTURE: “And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”– John 9:60
PREPARATORY QUESTIONS:
- Why are you following Christ Jesus?
In recent years, there has been a notable increase in the African continent of individuals aspiring to secure a place in the Guinness Book of Records. While some have successfully attained this distinction, others have opted to discontinue their pursuit. Historically, individuals who have etched their names in the annals of achievement are those who created the enabling environments devoid of distractions to focus on their objectives. Experiencing distractions while pursuing a goal is a ubiquitous reality for anyone.
The fundamental purpose of these distractions is to break our focus and prevent us from achieving our goals.
These distractions show up in various forms of attractions to lure us from our focus. The call to Christianity is a call to fix our gaze steadfastly on Christ Jesus, unwavering in our commitment and to be resilient against internal and external allurements of any kind meant to derail us from this pursuit (Heb 12:2).
In preceding verses to our focus text, three individuals are presented to us, each with intentions—whether genuine or not—to follow our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ. The first individual failed to grasp the full significance of what it truly means to follow Christ when making the request. The second, while perhaps contemplating the call from Jesus, was not prepared to prioritize following Christ as the foremost commitment. The third fickle follower sought to simultaneously embrace both the world and Christ Jesus, attempting to have the best of both worlds.
The import of Jesus’ interactions with these three followers is to emphasize three facts of the Christian walk
When called by God, there is a significant likelihood of relinquishing worldly comforts, as emphasized by Jesus' response: "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head (Luke 9:58)." Jesus underscores the challenges and hardships inherent in following Him, indicating that at times, the journey may be so arduous that finding a place to rest becomes challenging, and the support of others may not be readily available. Secondly, the call by Christ Jesus is one of single-mindedness. He echoes this in His response to the second follower: “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God (Luke 9:60).” The Christian daily encounters things that seek his or her attention with the intent of shifting their focus from Christ Jesus. These are allurements that lead us away from prioritizing Christ Jesus and His kingdom. Jesus emphasizes the necessity to cut all ties and connections with the world and never again to look back: “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God (Luke 9:62).” There is no such thing as a Christian who is worldly or takes pleasure in the things of the world.
Dearly beloved in Christ Jesus, there is a cost to your call to follow Jesus. There are things all around us that seek to take our focus from Jesus.
In emulating Christ Jesus, our foremost example, we are to despise the discomforts, the allurements, and all worldly pleasures to follow Christ Jesus passionately. God bless you.
FURTHER READING – John 6:1-70
Call to Salvation: Today is your day if you have not received salvation by turning over your life to Jesus Christ. Click here to do so.
QUESTION TO HELP YOU MEDITATE ON THE WORD:
- What takes your attention from Jesus and seeks to entice you away from following hard after Him?
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, help me by your Holy Spirit to be like Christ Jesus and to focus on the joy that is set before me so I can unequivocally despise the shame and the costs that come with following Jesus. Amen.
1-Year Bible Reading Plan
Exodus 5; Exodus 6; Psalm 58; Psalm 59; Romans 10; Romans 11
Comments powered by CComment