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FOCUSING ON THE DIVINE NATURE
Meditating on the Word of God will help us stay focused on the “divine nature.” As we daily seek after the righteousness of Christ, we will find ourselves drinking from the Wells of Salvation. Christ imparts His wisdom, understanding, and peace to those who keep their hearts and minds focused on Him and His words. Whatever we keep our focus on during our journey here on Earth will empower us to reach our final conclusions and destinations whether right or wrong. If we keep our hearts and minds stayed on Christ, we will receive the promise of the fullness of His “divine nature.”
God’s Word is truth. If our focus remains on the Truth (Christ), we will find that the TRUTH (Christ) will always remain faithful to us. If we fail to keep our focus on Christ, we will have a hard time convincing others of the legitimacy and validity of the gospel, thus the truth will be compromised.
Many people today are searching for the truth, but they do not know where to find the truth. That is one reason why cults are able to entice many people into believing THEY have all the answers to life’s problems. It is easy to lead those astray who are searching for the truth but lack spiritual understanding. Many fall into “spiritual traps” with cultic messages which “mimic truth,” but are in reality satanically engendered.
Most people seeking the truth are sincere about wanting to do the right thing. However, they are unsure what the “right thing” is and where it can be found. Unfortunately, there are many deceiving spirits in this world who are anxiously waiting to deceive people into believing their damnable heresies. Substitutes may look appealing, but they will never satisfy the thirsty soul. The devil walks about seeking to devour those who are spiritually weak and feeble minded by offering them a substitute gospel.
Many cannot endure and will fail to understand sound doctrine because their hearts are not set on “seeking holiness.” They will end up having a “form of godliness” which is the same as a “form of godlessness.” They will deny the power of the true God because the god they serve is the god which promotes avarice, selfishness, and pride. They have itching ears which seek to hear doctrines that will help them fill their pockets with money and their hearts with pride, vain glory and selfish ambitions.
When Christians fail to keep their focus on Christ, they are in danger of falling prey to doctrines of devils. They were obviously seeking for truth when they found Christ or they would not have found Him. Unfortunately, there are many Christians who find Christ but look for shortcuts in their walk with Him along the pathway of life. Many will easily accept substitutes when and if they take their focus off Christ; subsequently, they will fall by the wayside on their journey through life.
Some Christians find that the pathway of righteousness is too hard for them to follow. Because their spiritual roots are shallow, they do not and will never have the spiritual strength to carry their cross. Many will fall by the wayside and stop following Christ because they think the journey is too hard for them to complete. Many do not know any “true believers” who can or will help them carry the “burden of their cross” so they can find victory at Calvary through the sacrifice of Christ.
From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. Then Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go away?” Then Simon Peter answered Him, Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” John, ch. 6, vs. 66-67.
At one time Jesus had many disciples following Him, including the original twelve which He had chosen. Some of them were following Him because of the miracles they saw Him perform. Many of them followed Christ out of curiosity. Others followed Him because they were looking for the truth. Unfortunately, many found that His sayings were too hard for them to understand or follow so they turned and walked away from Him.
Today many Christians are losing their focus for the same reasons. Many of them are losing their focus because they have been drawn away by the lusts of their flesh. Others lose their focus because of many false doctrines which are being promoted today in their churches. Whatever the reasons may be for walking away from Christ, we have to understand people who walk away from Him have not been rooted and grounded in faith.
Many churches make converts but fail to make them disciples. Pastors are more concerned and focused on the social aspect of Christianity than they are “equipping the saints for the work of the ministry.” Many pastors serve their congregations a “watered down gospel” which results in their congregations becoming “thirsty and dry.” It is no wonder Christians run from church to church looking for a fresh drink of LIVING WATER. Unfortunately, “living water,” is hard to find and cannot be found in many churches today because the sermons the pastors preach lack “divine purpose” and “spiritual truths.”
Many fail to become rooted and grounded in faith because they are taught a false gospel which is not rooted and grounded in truth. When the storms of life come, their “spiritual houses” are not built upon a strong foundation and thus their houses will fall. Unless our “spiritual house” is built upon a “firm foundation,” which is Christ Jesus, it will be unable to endure the spiritual “storms of life.”
When we take our eyes off Christ we are treading on dangerous ground. I know and have known many Christians who lost their focus on Christ and ended up falling from the grace of God. Many of them experienced great catastrophes from which they were unable to recover because their “spiritual roots” were shallow. Others ended up losing their lives because of the lifestyles they were living. Sadly, many of them were ministers and many others were lay members. Others were church members who had at one time spent much time in church who were once on fire for the Lord. Many of them unfortunately were Christians who had been hurt by other members in the church.
There are many reasons why people lose their focus and “fall away” from the Church. As Christians we must understand there are many obstacles the enemy will place before us as we walk the pathway of life. The Bible tells us there are many traps set by Satan which are designed to hinder, deter, discourage, and dishearten us in order to keep us from receiving the promises of God. Satan can even appear as an “angel of light” to individuals to deceive those who are not rooted and grounded in faith.
The enemy will use anything, everything, and anyone he can to hinder our walk with Christ. Satan will use wives, husbands, family, friends, co-workers, church members, and even ministers to steal our peace and the promises God has given us. Satan will use anyone or anything he can to draw Christians away from Christ.
Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith. Hebrews, ch. 12, vs. 2.
If we are going to be victorious over “all the works of the enemy” we must “keep our eyes on Jesus “the author and finisher” of our faith. We cannot expect to win battles on the battlefields of life if we are not keeping our eyes on Christ.
It is imperative for us to understand that “we are not battling flesh and blood.” Our warfare is a spiritual one--not a natural one. Natural man is not our spiritual enemy. Our worst enemy is the flesh. The flesh has the propensity to become easily offended. When others around us are “not using wisdom” or “treating us fairly,” some of us have a tendency to “fly off the handle” and allow our fleshly emotions to rule our spirit man. The flesh has the propensity to cause us to lose control.
The flesh causes people to sin when they are drawn away by their lustful desires and erotic emotions. In reality, the flesh can become our worst enemy if we allow it to be. The enemy (Satan) knows our “hot buttons,” and he will place others in “our way” to steal our peace, joy and victory.
If we can control our flesh, we will have no problem handling the devil. When we have learned how to keep the flesh in subjection, the devil will have no place in us. If we can put the flesh under subjection, we will walk in victory even when the enemy uses others to try to discourage and dishearten us along our earthly journey.
We become our own enemy when we reject the counsel of God and refuse to keep our hearts and minds STAYED upon Christ. When we lose our focus on Christ, we lose our discernment. When we take our eyes off Christ, we will be placing our focus on someone or something else which will hinder our walk with the Lord.
If we are not totally focused on Christ, the deceitfulness of riches and the cares of this world will keep us from living victoriously in Christ. The “divine nature” within us will not focus on earthly things but on the things which are above where our life is hidden in Christ. When we are determined to pursue the “divine nature” above everything else, we will be able to control our earthly emotions and attitudes because His Spirit will be dwelling richly within us.