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I shared this on our Youth group last month. I hope this can help you to focus on what you are doing now – your life, your study, your career, and your ministry. What is focus? How can we focus? Learn from Jesus and let’s focus on doing His will in our lives!

What is Focus?

This is focus:

Focus: “..the concentration of attention or energy on something”

Just like Stan the dog, focus is concentrating our attention or energy onto something – in his case, the cupcakes! We normally focus on what we do. If we are reading a book, we focus on reading it (and often ignoring our surroundings!).

How to Focus?
Read Mark 1:35-39. Let’s learn from Jesus. How could he stay focused when He was walking on earth many years ago?

How to Focus

1) Focus on God

Verse 35: “And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.”

Okay, this may sound weird. We can focus in what we are doing by focusing on God? How can the two relate to each other? Well you see, by focusing on God, you know exactly what God wants. This keeps you motivated (or should make you) in what you are doing because you know that you are doing it for God. If you are losing focus in your study, you need to realize how great God is that He has given you the chance to study and that you should glorify Him by studying hard. Or when you no longer focus in pleasing God, focusing on God will bring you back to what you should be doing.

Jesus stayed focus in His life because He always spent His time with His father. In lots of events in the scriptures, you could see that He always took His quiet time with God in every situation. It doesn’t matter whether He was tired, busy, or struggling with His life.

Praying and spending time with God helps us to tune our focus in life. Having a good relationship with Him is our daily spiritual bread.

How to stay focus on God?

• Spend time daily with Him
• Go to church every Sunday, worship Him
• Join a cell group and grow together with the cell group members
• Always give thanks in every situation you are in, whatever you have
• Sing praises to God all the time
• Read spiritual books or listen to a sermon when you are travelling (rather than spending your time in train playing with your iPhone)
• Remember God in every “small things” that happen in your daily life

2) Avoid things that made us unfocused (distractions)

a. By understanding our “weaknesses”

Jesus cured the blind and the sick because He was full of compassion. If we are as compassionate as Jesus (and as powerful as Jesus), what do you think we’re going to do? We’re probably going to spend our lives busy healing people here and there. Even when that sounds good and holy, it may not what God wants from you. What you think is good to do may actually become your biggest distractions in life. Imagine if Jesus did this all the time when He was on earth. Wouldn’t that be nice? People would praise Him, would love Him, would follow Him. But He didn’t! He knew that it’s not what His Father sent Him for. He was to die on the cross for our sins, not to heal the sick! He knew He would be despised, insulted, and betrayed. Yet He chose that path because He knew His purpose.

What are your weaknesses? It may be a good characterthat turns into our biggest distrations in life without knowing it! Identify them!

b. By running from it

Verse 38 – “And he said to them, Let us go on to the next towns…”

I’m not saying that Jesus was running away. But surely, we could learn here that He avoided/ignored the masses of people and went out to do what He was called to do. He didn’t even bother to meet them to say sorry and all that. Do you think they would listen? No way! They all would follow Him where ever He went and asked to be cured or exorcised. Jesus focused in what His Father wanted Him to do, no excuses. If He kept feeling compassionate to these people, He might wonder around and never walked the path of the Cross.

Sometimes for us, it’s better to run than facing our weaknesses. Remember Joseph? He ran away at the end. If you can’t focus studying at home because of the distractions, go to the library! If your friends keep on distracting you when you are serving God, think again and avoid them if you must!

Even simple stuffs in life can distract us, little by little.

3) Know our priorities well

Mark 1:38 – “..that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.”

Know what’s important and what’s not!

As you may already know, there are 4 kinds of priorities:

• Important and urgent
• Important, but not urgent
• Not important, but urgent
• Not important and not urgent

We always aim to have priorities that are important but not urgent, of course.

Most of the time, we often get distracted by urgent matters. These urgent matters, although they sound very important, often are not. For example, Jesus’ disciples were trying to find Jesus, disturbing Him because they think that it was urgent for Jesus to serve these people. Well in a way, it might sound true. There had to be dying people in the crowds, trying to get Jesus to heal them. However, Jesus really knew what’s more important – to spread the Gospel, prepare His disciples, and bear the cross for our  sins.

Even when it is urgent, it may not be important. Even when it’s urgent and important, you have to ask yourself – is this more important than my calling? Than what God wants me to do? Always ask God for wisdom, to find out what is more important! Focus on His calling! On His purpose in you!

Focus! Focus! Focus!

Image by ToniVC via Flickr

My good friend sent me this to my email. He took it from his friend’s blog post, How I know that he is the one from God. It really is a good read especially for me who’s still single at  his 30s. Waiting for God for His perfect timing can be a bit daunting and distressful, but I know at the end, it’s always the most beautiful moment we’ve ever experienced with Him.

Check this post out, especially if you are waiting for God’s answer to your prayers.

Trusting God’s Timing

When are you going to bring me a mate?  God, when is my business going to take off?  When are my dreams going to come to pass?

You can relax knowing that God is in control, and at the perfect time He is going to make it happen.  The scripture says, The vision is for appointed time.  Though it tarry wait earnestly for it, for it will come to pass.”   “Appointed Time”.

But whenever it is you can rest assured that it will be in God’s perfect timing.

It’s not going to be one second late.  At exactly the right time, God is going to bring the perfect person into your life, and he or she will not be one second late.

Be patient, It’s not the right time.

Simply remain faithful and keep doing the best you can.

Consider the possibility; you may be ready for what God has for you, but somebody else who is going to be involved is not ready yet.

Just stay in an attitude of faith and learn to trust His timing.

Don’t get in a hurry or try to force things.

To live your best life now, you must learn to trust God’s timing.

Learn to trust His timing.  Don’t go in a hurry; don’t grow impatient; don’t try to force doors to open.  Don’t try to make things happen in your own strength.  Let God do it His way.

The sad truth is, if you push hard enough, and if you’re so stubborn that you must have things your way, God will sometimes allow you to undertake a project without His blessing or at the wrong time.  The problem with that,of course, is when you start something in your own strength andin you’re own timing, you’re going to have to finish it and maintain it in your own strength.  When you let God start something, He’ll finish it for you.  He’ll provide everythng you need.

When we try to force open doors and make things happen in our own strength, the end result is a constant strain on us and a drain on our resources.  Life becomes a constant struggle.  Nearly all joy, peace, and victory dwindle from your existence.  That is not a place of contentment and satisfaction.

Be careful! If God isn’t in what you are doing, you need to make a change.  Here is where many people miss God’s favor.  They know God has spoken to them; He has placed a dream within their hearts.  But they then set about trying to fulfill God’s plan on their own.  We must be aware that if we get out of God’s timing, it’s the same as getting out of God’s will.  We need to be patient and let God bring His plan together at the appointed time.

But when it’s God timing, it doesn’t matter what the surrounding circumstances look like.  It doesn’t matter what people are telling you.  If God says it’s time, then He will bring it to pass.

Understand, when you get out of God’s timing, you are stepping out of His favor. When you step out of His favor, you are operating on your own in the dark.  I’m not saying that when we do something for God we’re not going to have adversity.  But fighting the good fight of faith outside God’s timing can leave you constantly struggling, never having anything go your way, never having any joy.  On the other hand when you’re in God’s timing, you can be in the midst of the biggest challenge of your life, and you’ll still be filled with joy.  God will give you all the grace you need.  If you will learn to trust His timing, He’s promised that at the right time, He will bring your dreams to pass and answer your prayers.  The answer will come, and it will be right on time..

I was teaching about the importance of teamwork on the last preparation class in my church before the new congregration members start serving in our church ministries. I taught the importance of having a goal, trust, communication, initiative, humility, and being submissive. These “simple” traits are often overlooked and can become a disaster in your ministry & others.

No matter how skillful you are, no matter how good you think you are, your ministry is never bigger than your character. God always choose a person with a good heart, a good character. He never choose someone because he/she is capable.

Important traits that you must have in the team

1. Goal
   When you are in a team, you must have a goal. Although a general goal is to serve God with all your heart, a team normally has a specific goal. For example if you are in a Christmas celebration team, then your goal is to make sure that everything is running smoothly and the church can have a great Christmas celebration (how to outreach the newcomers, organizing the events, practice sessions, prayer sessions before the celebration, etc). You’ve got the idea. Each member in the team has to share the same goal, the same vision.
2. Trust
   Trust each other. Everyone has strength and has weaknesses. It’s important to trust others to complement your weakness, and vice versa. Don’t feel that you are the better member who knows much more than the others. Let the others work with you together, don’t be a “Rambo”.
3. Communication
   Miscommunication even occurs in a team. A miscommunication can be devastating both as a team and as an individual. When miscommunication occurs, the effectiveness and productivity of the team suffer. At times, it can also create conflicts because of a simple misunderstanding.
4. Initiative
   As a team member, often we play the “waiting game”. We wait for our leader or coordinator to give us tasks, to be “ordered around”. At times, your leader can be very busy that he/she may forget certain things that he/she overlooks. We wait anxiously and at times we then complain to the other members in the team. We are a team! We need to encourage one another and help each other. Take the initiative and remind your leader or help each other out. Don’t just sit there and wait for something to happen.
5. Humility
   Be humble and don’t judge other people. Don’t look down at others especially if you know more in a certain area than the others. Don’t discredit other people as if you are better or can do better. Remember, we are all sinners and we are nothing without God!
6. Submissive
   Submit to your leader. Your leader is already appointed to be responsible for the whole team. When we disagree with our leader or coordinator, as long as it doesn’t go against the Word of God, submit to him/her (assuming you’ve expressed your concern or opinion on a matter). What you think is right doesn’t mean that it’s always right. Sometimes, your leader sees far ahead than what you see at a given time. Being submissive doesn’t mean that you become a “Yes man”. Being submissive doesn’t mean to say “Yes” and complains to other people afterwards.

This is probably the coolest Bible software that I’ve ever seen (well, based on the trailer though). It’s the Bible plus other great information you’ll ever need in studying the history and the facts on the Bible events/history. The Glo Bible software includes tons of High Definition Videos, pictures, real maps, and other factual information about things that happened during the early church and when the events in the Bible took place.

Worth checking the video trailer below:

The only problem is the software currently available only in the United States :( It’s unclear too how accurate the information is at this stage (since I haven’t got a copy of the software yet).

The price will retail at $89.99

I went to a friend’s wedding party on Sunday night a couple of days ago and a couple of our friends were singing a song “When God Made You” originally sang by Newsong and Natalie Grant. I couldn’t really hear the lyrics at the party but when I looked at a YouTube video and the lyrics… wow, it moved me.

If you haven’t heard the song before, have a look at this embedded video with the lyrics + song. Whether you already have someone by your side or not, it doesn’t really matter as this song has blessed me who is still waiting for His perfect time. I hope the song can be a blessing to you too.

I was watching a movie titled Fireproof last weekend on a Youth service at our church. I really recommend you to watch this movie too if you haven’t!

It’s the same maker (Sherwood Baptist Church) of the movie “Facing the Giants” which I saw on our Easter camp last year. If you like “Facing the Giants”, you’ll love Fireproof (I think Fireproof is even better than Facing the Giants). It has a great storyline, great actors/actresses, and also great biblical values (much better than Facing the Giants).

The story is about a ruined marriage between Caleb and Catherine who just can’t understand one another (although I thought that the guy was more like the jerk lol). Caleb’s father asked his son to hold off the divorce for 40 days while he gave a ‘Love dare’ book for his son to try to fix the relationship. Caleb agreed and followed the book that his dad gave him.

Not going to spoil the story too much but I agree that love is not about a feeling. It’s about a long term commitment that you make and it depends on how much effort you put into the relationship to nourish the love. But most importantly, it’s through Jesus that you can truly give pure love to others. If you haven’t experienced the love of God in you, you can never love others wholeheartedly.

I love this part the most when Caleb was talking to his dad near a lake (movie quotes taken from imdb):

Caleb: “No! And you’d think after I washed the car, I’ve changed the oil, do the dishes, cleaned the house, that she would try to show me a little bit of gratitude. But she doesn’t! In fact, when I come home, she makes me like I’m – like I’m an enemy! I’m not even welcome in my own home, Dad. That is what really ticks me off! Dad, for the last three weeks, I have bent over backwards for her. I have tried to demonstrate that I still care about this relationship. I bought her flowers, which she threw away. I have taken her insults and her sarcasm, but last night was it. I made dinner for her. I did everything I could to demonstrate that I care about her, to show value for her, and she spat in my face! She does not deserve this, Dad. I’m not doing it anymore! How am I supposed to show love to somebody over and over and over who constantly rejects me?“

His dad was actually standing near a big cross near the lake and he touched the cross after his son said those. It was a wonderful & perfect moment that explained what Jesus had been through on the cross, yet He still loves us so much.

You can view the trailer here:

Amazon has quite a good deal on the Fireproof  DVD so feel free to purchase one. Note: I put my Amazon affiliate link so I’ll get a few dollars out if you buy through the link. For every income that I get from the link, I’ll use it to buy another Fireproof DVD to be given freely to those who will be blessed by the movie as it has blessed me. I hope you don’t mind.

Have a look at the interview video.

Interview video of Carrie Prejean, a christian who stands firm to her faith: