Inward Focus

"Then the Jews led Jesus from Caiaphas

to the palace of the Roman governor.

By now it was early morning,

and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness

the Jews did not enter the palace;

they wanted to be able to eat the Passover."

John 18:28

They were so concerned with their own holiness.  They went to great pains to study God's law, interpret it, create rules to help others follow it and supervise the adherence to it.   Their devotion to God's law was astounding.

Many looked up to these Jewish leaders as the epitome of godliness.  Most thought they were the ones to emulate.  It was assumed these men knew God Himself, so holy were they.  Unfortunately, the people of Israel who believed these things about their leaders were wrong.  Jesus said to these same men, "If you knew me, you would know my Father also." (John 8:19)

If they had paid more attention to the One who wrote the laws instead of obsessing over the law itself, God would have opened their eyes to the Messiah.  Instead, they found themselves fighting against God and being used by Him to fulfill scripture regarding Jesus. (Isaiah 6:9-10, John 12:37-41)

In the same way, I can get caught up in religious ritual, timeless tradition, and stubborn beliefs.  When I make these my god, I forsake the One who died a criminal's death on the cross so that I might get to know my Creator.  Instead of walking with Him throughout my day, I spend my time trying to figure out how to please Him, working on my character so that I can look more like Jesus, or doing things that seem like godly activities in which to take part.  When I do follow Him, however, He leads me down paths of righteousness for His namesake. (Psalm 23:3)

From the outside, I may look holy and godly, just like the Jewish leaders, but God holds an inward focus.  How do I stack up inside?

Heart

She tried so hard to worship God.  Looking around her on Sunday morning, she mimicked the behavior of those deemed acceptable and who looked like they had it all figured out.  They told her to just let go and allow God's Spirit to well up inside of her; to free her body to praise God in however He leads.  She tried, but somehow she never felt what they described.  She must be doing something wrong.  She loved God but she felt like a failure.  Why can't I just worship Him?

God is meant to be worshiped with my whole being in the way I live my life. (Romans 12:1) Since God is the lover of my heart, He doesn't care so much about what I do, what I wear, where I go or who I befriend.  His focus is not on the outward appearance, but on what is going on inside my heart.  He wants me to be so attentive to Him that I don't care how it looks on the outside.

To some it may appear I'm falling away from God because I stopped coming to Bible study to make time to hang out with drug addicts, I started bringing questionable characters with me to church on Sundays, and I got a tattoo.  

These believers may judge me, thinking that I'm turning away from God and trying to make it seem like I'm still following Christ.  In reality, God is leading me to reach out to "sinners" by frequenting places unbelievers hang out.

In Matthew 15:9, Jesus quoted the prophet Isaiah in criticizing the wrong focus of the "church people."  He said, "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.  Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men." (Isaiah 29:13)  God desires my heart to be fully devoted to Him.  This doesn't mean I must be perfect, only that wanting to know Him and follow Him would be my greatest longing.

I must be warned, however, that when I start letting God transform my mind and mold my way of thinking, I will look strange to everyone else.  Only those whose hearts are aligned with God will understand; everyone else will try to talk me out of the path I'm taking, telling me that I'm off.  As Peter said to the Sanhedrin, "We must obey God rather than men!" (Acts 5:29)

In order to avoid the trap of shallow worship, I must devote my heart to knowing and being known by Jesus.

Cleanliness

I have noticed lately my country's obsession with cleanliness.  There are constantly new products on the market to kill bacteria, fight fungus and stop the spread of germs.  We are encouraged to clean the old-fashioned way, clean with new-fangled gadgets, or clean the easy way.  Whichever method I choose, I'm getting the message that clean is good.

While they're is nothing wrong with cleaning, I find it interesting that people are so passionate about outward cleanliness but have no problem with all the filth that penetrates the hearts in their homes.  Network television is filled with shows that degrade families, promote pornography, encourage promiscuity and endorse the gay lifestyle.  The Internet is widely accessible in most homes and filled with garbage that is embraced as entertainment.  

The minds of most Americans are constantly bombarded with dirt.  As Angus Jones, actor who plays "Jake" in Two and a Half Men and recently went public with his belief that a true God-fearing person cannot be on a television show like that, said, "Please stop watching it.  Please stop filling your head with filth."

If I want to be truly concerned with my cleanliness, I must be concerned with what goes in, not just what's on the exterior. (Proverbs 4:23)  I can't just look good on the outside.  When David confessed his sin against God in taking Bathsheba, Uriah's wife, as his own, he cried out to God, "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." (Psalm 51:10)  

It's not enough to look good, but a heart devoted to Jesus will be changed and grow sensitive to sin.  When this begins to happen, I'll only desire things that honor God instead of being willing to allow filth into my heart.  My motives will be pure, dropping the ulterior motive of my own comfort, pleasure and entertainment and be completely concerned with pleasing and honoring God.

In order to avoid the trap of focusing only on appearances, I must let Jesus guard my heart as the wellspring of life.  

Holiness

Some people believe it is possible to live a life free from sin.  They think God's Spirit enables me to live a holy and pure life.  Oswald Chambers says of this, "The holiness movements of today have none of the rugged reality of the New Testament about them.  There is nothing about them that needs the death of Jesus Christ.  All that is required is a pious atmosphere, prayer, and devotion. . .Yet the New Testament is about the work of God and nothing else. . . The Spirit of God does in me internally all that Jesus Christ did for me externally."

I am not called to be holy for my own purposes.  I am called to live in obedience to His Spirit who is within me so that I can glorify God.  I resemble His character when I'm dedicated to Him, not to my own sanctification.  Chambers shed some light on the difference when he said, "The New Testament example of the Christian experience is that of a personal, passionate devotion to the Person of Jesus Christ."

When I see someone suffering who has been ostracized by the medical community and other believers as "crazy," Jesus compels me to reach out and comfort.  When I am drawn to a group of cursing, drinking teens, Jesus compels me to share His love.  When my neighbors' children are out of control, Jesus compels me to offer support.

A focus on my own character development would not drive me toward these uncomfortable situations.  Only a devotion to Jesus Himself would give me the desire to do these kinds of acts as I'm more concerned with God's glory than my own reputation or status.

In order to avoid the trap of being driven by a quest for personal holiness, I must be more concerned with the glory of God. 

Religion requires an outward focus and is an empty, bottomless pit filled with traps of all kinds.  Three I must avoid as I follow Jesus are worshiping superficially, cleaning outwardly, and seeking to improve my own reputation.  Instead, I can live with the desire to please God in all things, protect my heart from the filth of this world, and seek glory for God alone.  In so doing, I will discover the joy in walking at peace with Jesus.

As I begin this day it is my prayer that I can keep my focus inward instead of only concerning myself with how things look on the outside.

How do I clean up the outside, but neglect to protect my heart from filth?

When am I more concerned with my own entertainment than in protecting me and my family from things that dishonor God?

Faith as Action

“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying,

‘Whom shall I send?

And who will go for us?’

And I said, ‘Here I am. Send me!’”

Isaiah 6:8

“Therefore, since we are surrounded

by such a great cloud of witnesses,

Let us throw off everything that hinders

And the sin that so easily entangles,

And let us run with perseverance

the race marked out for us.”

Hebrews 12:1

I don’t know what I truly believe until I’ve been tested on it.  All through High School and College, I took a strong stand against abortion.  I wrote convincing papers that supported my view point, discussed the topic with fellow students, and spent a lot of time thinking about the issue. It all was an intellectual exercise, however, until my junior year in College when I became pregnant after meeting the man of my dreams.  I was scared and didn’t know what to do so I went to a phone booth with the intention of looking up abortion clinics in the area, just to check them out.  Maybe it wasn’t so bad after all. 

As my finger slid down the yellow pages in the “A” section, my eyes were drawn to the “Crisis Pregnancy Center.”  I paid them a visit, soon finding out they did not offer abortions but instead existed to save babies.  They counseled me and showed me a film about abortion.  As I watched the graphic images flash across the screen, I knew I couldn’t do that to my baby.  As fearful as I felt about revealing my transgression to my mother, slaughtering the innocent child within me was not the answer. By the grace of God, my belief had withstood the test and that baby is now a beautiful 23-year-old young woman.

Faith is not simply an intellectual exercise. It is more than a belief that is never translated into action.  Faith is defined in Hebrews 11:1 as, “being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”   I can say I trust God with my life, knowing that He has a plan for me and that all things work together for the good, but until I am tested on that belief, these are only so many words on a page.

The Call

Oswald Chambers wrote in “My Utmost for His Highest*” that, “The call of God is not for a special few, it is for everyone.”  In order to hear the call of God, I must be paying attention.  Isaiah did not perceive a personal plea from God to go and tell the people His message.  No.  Instead, he was seeing a vision of God and overheard the Lord asking who He would send.  Anyone could have responded to this call, but it was Isaiah who took the step of faith, coming forward in response.

What am I hearing God say?  Do I respond with, “I’ll go!” or do I mutter, “Someone should do something about that!”  It is easy to fall into the pattern of assuming that someone else is more qualified than I to heed God’s call.  But all He requires is a willing heart; he supplies all the strength, know-how, understanding, words, etc.  He is a God who is in the habit of generating something out of nothing.

If I hear God's call, it is up to me to either ignore it, or respond.

Shake off Sin

Now that I’ve stepped up to the plate, what do I do?  There are so many obstacles in my way, and the major one is sin.  It’s like in those horrible dreams where I am trying to run as fast as I can, but I’m being weighed down my some unseen burden and I can’t get my footing in the sand.  I put all my effort into it, but barely get anywhere.

My sinful self tells me that I can’t answer this call because I am ill-equipped and am thoroughly unqualified.  There are so many others who could do a better job than I.  Maybe I’m being foolish and rash in my decision-making.  It seemed like a good idea at the time, but now I’m having second thoughts.

Faith is believing that God is bigger than all my weaknesses and that He can accomplish His will through me despite my sinful nature.  Or as Pastor Grant Fishbook recently said in a sermon about giving, “God’s 10% is bigger than your 90% because He is bigger than you!”  It is the same with obeying.  The only way I can confidently heed His call is in believing that He is bigger than my weaknesses.  He is God and He can use even me, a sinful woman, to bring about His will.

I can either let my sin hold me back, or I can shake it off and run freely in the direction God has pointed me.

Persevere

Running long distances can become monotonous and exhausting.  It takes a sense of purpose and a desire to reach the finish line in order to keep going. 

In the race of life, there are many things to drag us down, giving us reason to quit.

“No one really cares, I don’t know why I continue working so hard when I never receive one ‘thank you’.  I don’t think my effort is truly appreciated.” 

“I am just not getting anywhere.  I am the same today as I was yesterday.  I don’t think I’ve moved one inch forward despite all my effort.  I might as well stop trying.”

“I don’t think these kids are ever going to get it.  No matter how many times I teach this lesson, they continue in the same behavior.  I think my words are falling on deaf ears.  Maybe I should quit.”

“I work so hard but I haven’t received a promotion in years.  Doesn’t anyone see my efforts?  Doesn’t anyone care?  Why do I bust my behind, always striving for the best when it gets me nowhere?”

It is easy to get discouraged when my focus is on the outcome or the impact my actions are having on those around me.  But, if I instead keep my eyes fixed on Jesus and care only what my Father in heaven thinks about my efforts then I will have the strength to carry on.

Once I am running my race, my strength will come from focusing on God’s purpose for the battles I face , and achieving His approval at the finish line .

It’s easy to say I believe in Jesus and trust Him for salvation.  The hard part comes when I hear His calling to act on that faith.  Then I must take action, not letting my sinful self hinder my forward motion, and then stick with it for the glory of God.

As I begin this day, it is my prayer that I will not just say I follow Jesus, but back it up with action.

How have a failed a test of faith by ignoring a call to do something to demonstrate God’s love to those around me?

When do I make excuses, expecting others to take up the call instead of me?

*January 14^th entry