Focused on God?

 ^23-24Jesus said, "You're tied down to the mundane; I'm in touch with what is beyond your horizons. You live in terms of what you see and touch. I'm living on other terms. I told you that you were missing God in all this. You're at a dead end. If you won't believe I am who I say I am, you're at the dead end of sins. You're missing God in your lives."
-John 8:23-24 (MSG)


Do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, the promised Messiah? Do you believe that, through Jesus, your sins can be forgiven? Or, are you so focused on your own view of what "religion" should be that you've completely missed the work of God? Essentially, that is what Jesus challenged the Pharisees with. Let me explain.


In John 8, we see Jesus being challenged by the Pharisees. They were the religious leaders of Jesus' day. They are the ones whom the common people looked to as the representatives of God. They would be like our preachers and pastor's today. Yet, they had completely missed Jesus as the Messiah. Why? Verse 23 says, "Jesus said, 'You're tied down to the mundane; I'm in touch with what is beyond your horizons. You live in terms of what you see and touch. I'm living on other terms.'" Jesus is telling the Pharisees that they are focused on what really doesn't matter, that their lives are focused on what is around them. Instead, they should have been focused on Jesus. If we look at our lives today, I find that I focus more on what is around me, instead of being focused on Jesus. If you're honest about it, you probably are too. We don't need to be "tied down to the mundane." We need to be focused on Jesus. Verse 24 says, "I told you that you were missing God in all this. You're at a dead end. If you won't believe I am who I say I am, you're at the dead end of sins. You're missing God in your lives." Jesus is providing a picture. If you don't believe the message of Jesus, if you don't believe that He is the Messiah, and instead focused on you own life and your own beliefs, then you are missing God and you're dead in sins. You're at a dead end. What is your focus today? Are you so focused on your your beliefs and your spiritual rules and regulations that you miss Jesus?


Most of you probably know how much I like Southern Gospel music. There is a popular song, sung by The Perry's called "I Wish I Could Have Been There." The song basically says that they wish they could have seen the miracles Jesus did. I often think about that song and those miracles. The Pharisees didn't see God through the miracles that Jesus did. They looked at Jesus as nothing more than a false teacher. They saw the miracles, they heard Jesus speak, yet they couldn't see past their rules and their regulations. My question is this: How many miracles are done today that we fail to see God in? How many miracles do we discount and call the person a false teacher or a liar? It's all in our focus. If we are focused on God and on Jesus, we'll see the works, we'll see the miracles as a working of God. But, if we focus on our rules, our beliefs and the way we think things should be, we'll miss God, we'll miss His working in the world today. What's your focus? Focus on God, focus on Jesus, focus on the Spirit, and praise Him for the works He's still doing in our world today. Think About It.