Covenant Blessing
Covenant Blessing
...manifest God's Glory in your life.
Quotes
| Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our greatest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. -- Marianne Williamson |
| Focus: The Secret to Perseverance |
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So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, "Why don't your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with 'unclean' hands?" - Mark 7:5 I was looking over some of my notes from a few months ago, and I came across a message that Minister Aaron Wood preached called "Running the Race". It was an excellent message about perseverance. Staying focused and not letting anything pull you off course. Have you ever noticed that successful people generally don't have time for chit-chat? Why do you think that is? I submit to you that there is a larger purpose they have within that is driving their decisions. It's easy to say "NO" to something when there is a bigger "YES" burning inside. Will You Give Up Control? Do you know what people who distract you want? They want to control your life. Take the example from Mark 7:5, what were the Pharisees doing here? They were criticizing Jesus and His disciples. Why were they criticizing them? Ah, now here is the heart of the matter. The Pharisees at that time controlled the church. They made the rules, and people were forced to follow them. So, when Jesus and His disciples chose to follow God's rules instead of the Pharisees rule, the Pharisees lost control. "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former." - Matthew 23:23 You see, the Pharisees had abandoned the Word of God and replaced it with their own traditions. Their focus was on themselves not on God. Their traditions had made them blind to the reality that Jesus is the Son of God, and made them deaf to God's Word. So What? The distractions that the Pharisees had allowed into their hearts choked out God and His Word. If we allow distractions to pull us off our focus, then we also will stop hearing God's voice and seeing His works in our lives. God is there for us, if we will only remove the distractions and get quiet before Him. Psalm 46:10 "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."
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