Focus!

My wife and I walk a path across the street from our house. The path is partly on a deserted road, partly on a dirt road and partly on a dirt walking path. The dirt road and the dirt walking path are both in areas that snakes are known to inhabit. When we are on those parts of the walk I am focused on looking out for snakes. I might be very unfocused while we are on the paved road, but I am very focused on the dirt part of our walk.

In several places in Scriptures we are told to focus on various things that will keep us connected to God.

We are to focus on what is ahead, not what is behind.

Philippians 3:13

No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead…

We are to look at the here and now, the present, with a focus on what is ahead of us. We are not to look back at the past.

The past cannot be changed. The past can be learned from. We can learn from both the good and bad of the past for the betterment of the present and future.   

God wants to heal us from past things.

God wants to give us power for the present.

God wants to give us hope for the future.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is allowing God to impower us for the present and be our hope for the future.

1 Timothy 4:13

Until I get there, focus on reading the Scriptures to the church, encouraging the believers, and teach them.

We are to focus on God’s Word, encouraging others and teaching others.

God’s Word is the foundation of our walk with God. The spiritual truths that are to guide our lives are found in the Bible.

We are to live them, use them to encourage others, and teach them.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is knowing, believing, and living the truth of God’s Word.

We are to focus on God’s ways.

Psalm 119:15

I will mediate on Your percepts and fix my eyes of Your ways.

God’s Word reveals God’s person, God’s purposes, and God’s ways.

God reminds us in Isaiah 55:8 that His thoughts and ways are not like ours.

God’s ways will not always look like man’s ways.

God’s ways will not always follow man’s ways.

God’s ways will many times be the opposite of man’s ways.

We as followers of Jesus are to see God’s ways and follow them.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is knowing and following God’s ways, not man’s ways.

We are to focus on Jesus.

Hebrews 12:1-2

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. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame and sat down at the right hand of God.

The number one thing we have to do is focus our lives completely on Jesus.

Jesus is the author or pioneer of our faith. It is Jesus who is the object of our faith.

Jesus is the perfecter of our faith. It is Jesus who makes it possible for us to be God’s children and who grows us in that faith.

Jesus is our savior. Jesus is the one who was our sin sacrifice. He gave His life to pay for our sin.

Jesus is our intercessor.

Jesus sat down at the right hand of the Father. In 1 John 2:1 John tells us that Jesus is our advocate with the Father. He intercedes with the Father on our behalf.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is having great confidence because our Savior Jesus is interceding with the Father for us.

The world gives us many, many things to focus our minds on and thus our lives. Some of those things are good and some are bad. When we focus on anything, whether good or bad, other than Jesus, we are not focused on what can guide us through life and enable us to deal with the difficult times of life.   

Don’t let the enemy establish spiritual strongholds in your life. Focus on Jesus.

Focusing on Jesus Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls,

                                             Joe