God’s will for me in 2019

Instead of the usual devotional guide, I’m starting this year with a book called “Exploring the New Testament” by Walter M. Dunnett. It has twelve chapters and my plan is to read and reread, asking God to speak each day using the prompting of this book and the Bible passages read. The first chapter is background information and seems a good way to begin January and a new year.

Dunnett says the New Testament books were written to instruct local congregations of believers and to inform them of the life and teachings of Christ. This is important. It was for Christians, not those without faith in Jesus Christ. For one thing, without the Holy Spirit, these books cannot be properly understood. However, this does not exclude anyone from reading it because . . . “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17) But it does mean that without that faith, most of the Bible will seem like a jumble of words.

Faith is God’s preparation in the human heart so that we can understand what He is saying to us. He began this preparation at the time humanity fell into sin in Eden. Then, “when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” (Galatians 4:4–5)

Before Jesus came, God selected a people to be His own. They were to hear and obey Him, then take His message to the world. However, they failed and wound up in Babylon as slaves. They were eventually scattered across the ancient world and despite their tendency to rebel against God, they did let it be known that they believed in one God, not idols. They also had the Law of God, distinctly different from the notions of the pagans in the rest of the world.

APPLY: Jesus, I’m thankful for the Bible. Reading the Word of God not only builds my faith but maintains and strengthens it. Besides the responsibility of this discipline, I’m also Your child with a mandate to tell the world about the One God who created and loves them. I’m also to listen to You with an obedient heart that seeks Your will and not my own. There are lots of voices. I need discernment to know if what I think is from You or is from the world’s way of thinking, including the ideas of my own ego. As I plan and live out this day, may You guide me clearly, and may I pay attention to You every moment, not drifting off or being distracted by anything else but the goal of pleasing and glorifying You.

Life Goals

My high school teacher advised me to make a choice. He knew that I had many interests and God-given abilities. He said, “You need to decide if you want to know a lot about one thing and very little about everything else — or to know a little bit about everything and be an expert in nothing.”

Throughout life, I’ve wavered. I wanted to know a lot about everything — an unattainable goal. So also is the goal to know a great deal about one thing, although this is the choice of many. Being interested in much has scattered my attention and left me with that ‘pillar to post’ sense of never being able to focus on anything.

However, God has finally got it through my head that skills, interests, fields of endeavor, careers, and so on will not last. I painted only to find that even artists live in a cut-throat realm. I’ve taken many other routes and found them to be distractions rather than a way that meant something.

Initially the Bible pointed me in the right direction with verses like these, yet it has taken years to get in step with the choice God had for me . . .

“Thus all the days of Enoch were 365 years. Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.” (Genesis 5:23–24)

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.” (Romans 8:28–29)

“I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:14)

Enoch had the goal. He walked with God, not contrary to God, not his own way, not the way others thought he should go. The verses from Genesis indicate that his walk went from earth to eternity without death being a big deal. He was already hand in hand with God.

As a new Christian, God blessed me with the goal from Romans; be like Jesus. Let all things carve and shape me to that end. However, my activities seemed separate from that choice. Did I want to be an artist? A writer? So many routes I could take. Where do I focus? It took a long time to realize that I’d already been given the focus. Occupations, career choices, etc. were incidental.

The third passage, Philippians 3:14, seemed too vague. What does “the prize of the upward call” mean? Will I know when I have it? Yet this is it, something more purposeful than any other decision, choice, occupation. Seek His face. Determine to reflect it. become more like Jesus. make that the primary goal of life and everything else falls into place. First is first. Second, third, fourth are not really the issue. Delight in God and He helps me sort it out. Trying to sort it out without putting Him on the throne of my heart is futile.

^^^^^^^^^^

Jesus, You are the prize. Seeking You is the main thing, the only thing that lasts forever. The rest of it is fluff, temporary, prone to fire, rot and rust or to be stolen. Nothing else matters. Only You are worthy. Only You are eternal.

One thing I do…

Those who struggle with attention deficit disorder find that we are either distracted by everything, or so able to concentrate on one thing that we forget to eat. Sometimes the distractions look like multitasking and sometimes the concentration looks like a flaw. 

However, a recent television program explored and did several experiments concerning multitasking. Their conclusion? No one can multitask. That is, anyone who appears to be doing several things at once actually only thinks about one of them at any given moment. This ability to focus is part of how our brains are made.

As someone who struggles with ADD, I realize the power of being able to focus and how that fits with the way God made my brain. While distractions reflect my interest in many things, they also can keep me from doing the important things. I would never get anything done if I followed the whims that constantly run through my head. Life’s biggest struggle has been the discipline of focus.

Paul was a focused Christian. He set his goal and was not distracted.

Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13–14)

Some say wholehearted concentration is the secret of a successful life, no matter how you measure success. Today’s devotional writer says “One thing I do — not a dozen things, not even two things, but this one thing I do.” He adds that no life can be very great, or very happy, or very useful without this element of concentration. 

This certainly applies in today’s business world of specialization, consolidation and incorporation. A jack-of-all-trades is rare. Almost everyone is a specialist.

Another example is science where energies are concentrated and realms of study and employment are remarkably specific. We know one biologist whose field is fungus in the soil and a doctor who works with children who have kidney disease. 

As a Christian, my focus is to concentrate on obeying Jesus Christ. He said no one can serve two masters. Now I understand why. Not only does a divided heart spell divided loyalties, it is not the way we are wired. Anyone who steps outside of how they are made winds up frustrated by failures. God made us to be able to focus on one thing. 

Jesus says, “If you would be my disciple, I must come before father or mother or the dearest loved one of your life. I must come before your own business or your own property. I must come before your own life.” This is the priority. In trying to ignore the distractions, it helps me to realize that no one can genuinely multitask anyway. God gave us the ability to concentrate on one thing, and concentration is a prime requirement of a victorious life.