The Power of Focusing on Jesus

“Therefore let us also, seeing we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising its shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews‬ ‭12:1-2‬ ‭WEB‬‬)

Nowadays in the mornings, I set a 5-minute countdown timer on my phone and place it in front of my daughter Mae while she is drinking her milk.

It helps her to focus on the task at hand, challenging herself to drink her milk consistently and finish at within a reasonable timing.

Before doing this, Mae was distracted by her own wandering thoughts, playing with all the items around her, instead of drinking the milk.

Even adults like us can benefit from having an object of focus. Without focus, we are more likely to be driven around by the whims and fancies of our sinful flesh, doing what is unprofitable and death-inducing.

When we lack focus, we fall for the illusion that there is still a lot of time to waste. We end up doing things to ‘kill time’, using this purest currency unprofitably or even self-destructively.

On the other hand, when we look to Jesus, we will be able to focus on being led by His Spirit; receiving the supply of grace needful for everything in life.

The author of the epistle to the Hebrews likened our mortal lifetime to a “race”. In a race, every second counts—time is precious. There are winners and losers, and prizes to be won.

This prize is not talking about earning our salvation, but rather winning eternal rewards. We are already saved, but not everyone will receive the same measure of rewards. Rewards like special positions of honor will be given to us based on the good works that we have done in service to the Lord Jesus, using the grace that He first gave to us.

Jesus set His eyes on the prize (our redemption), ran His race, enduring the pain, and finally sat down at the right hand of God as the winner.

There is an eternity for you to sit down, after you have completed the race that is set before you.

If you get distracted by every rabbit or fallen leaf along the race course, you will never be a winner. The enemy throws many distractions in our path, hoping that we will forfeit the race. He will do anything to make us turn away from Jesus.

If you have been distracted by the enemy, this is a loving reminder for you to keep your eyes on Jesus again.

Something happens when you look at Him—faith rises up in you, enabling you to receive God’s power to continue running, and to overcome every obstacle.

“Peter answered him and said, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the waters.” He said, “Come!” Peter stepped down from the boat, and walked on the waters to come to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was strong, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!”” (Matthew‬ ‭14:28-30‬ ‭WEB‬‬)

The incident of Peter walking on water perfectly demonstrates the power of keeping our eyes on Jesus.

When Peter’s focus was on going over to Jesus, he walked on water just like Jesus. By beholding the Lord, Peter was transformed into the same image, doing the supernatural works of God.

However, when Peter was distracted by the strong wind, his focus shifted and he lost the ability to walk on water. His mind raced with thoughts, probably reasoning how it is impossible to walk on water and how dangerous his current situation was. He became natural again, just like what he newly focused on.

If you want supernatural results, look to Jesus. As long as your eyes are steadfastly fixed on Him, your faith will be active and effective. What is naturally impossible will become possible to you!

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One Family in Christ

“My dear brothers and sisters, I have a serious concern I need to bring up with you, for I have been informed by those of Chloe’s house church that you have been destructively arguing among yourselves. And I need to bring this up because each of you is claiming loyalty to different preachers. Some are saying, “I am a disciple of Paul,” or, “I follow Apollos,” or, “I am a disciple of Peter the Rock,” and some, “I belong only to Christ.” But let me ask you, is Christ divided up into groups? Did I die on the cross for you? At your baptism did you pledge yourselves to follow Paul?” (1 Corinthians‬ ‭1:11-13‬ ‭TPT‬‬)

Denominationalism. We shouldn’t be split into different groups just because we have different opinions in doctrine. At the end of the day, everyone who places their faith in Jesus as Lord is a child of God. We are children of God, belonging to the same royal family.

One of the saddest things is to see family members tearing each other apart because of some disagreements. Some can’t even stand to be in the same room with a sibling because of an argument that happened decades ago.

The unchangeable truth is that we are one body of Christ. We have the same Holy Spirit in us. Same Abba God and same Lord Jesus.

“Be faithful to guard the sweet harmony of the Holy Spirit among you in the bonds of peace, being one body and one spirit, as you were all called into the same glorious hope of divine destiny. For the Lord God is one, and so are we, for we share in one faith, one baptism, and one Father. And He is the perfect Father who leads us all, works through us all, and lives in us all!” (Ephesians‬ ‭4:3-6‬ ‭TPT‬‬)

If there are any grievances, the solution is to forgive just as God has forgiven us in Christ Jesus. We were forgiven of a huge debt we couldn’t pay, so why should we bear grudges against others for comparatively insignificant debts?

“Tolerate the weaknesses of those in the family of faith, forgiving one another in the same way you have been graciously forgiven by Jesus Christ. If you find fault with someone, release this same gift of forgiveness to them.” (Colossians‬ ‭3:13‬ ‭TPT‬‬)

When the body of Christ is bonded and walking by love, we are strong. The devil wants us to be divided up into denominations and hating each other, because we are weakened when separated. It’s like a body being dismembered.

It is understandable that we operate by different local churches. After all, we live in different parts of the world.
The idea of a local church is recognized and accepted by Jesus—He spoke individual messages to each of the seven churches of Asia in the Book of Revelation.

But there shouldn’t be rivalry or hatred between local churches. Instead there should be unity, love and peace, demonstrating by helping each other in areas of need.

“Yahweh said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is what they begin to do. Now nothing will be withheld from them, which they intend to do.” (Genesis‬ ‭11:6‬ ‭WEB‬‬)

There is great power in unity. When the body of Christ operate as one, fueled by Christ-like love, nothing will be withheld from us.
Demonic strongholds will come crashing down and multitudes of souls will be won for God’s kingdom!

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