MEMORY VERSE: And one of the company said unto him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me. And he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you? Luke 12:13-14
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Mark 3-4
Before i gave my life to Christ, one of my hobbies was movies. I would spend a whole weekend – Friday evening, the whole of Saturday and Sunday – watching movies. I stopped all that not because it is a sin to watch movies, but because i no longer have the time. There is Friday evening service to attend, there is church cleaning on Saturday morning, outreach in the afternoon, etc. All these aside, the time i would spend watching a movie could be used to meditate on the scripture, read a book by an anointed man or woman of God, pray or intercede. Also, i have come to realise that most of the movies out there don’t really help my spiritual growth. This is not to say i have not seen a movie in the last five years or so . As i lay on the bed recently, one of the few scenes i saw in a movie came back to my mind. A con-artist was trying to dupe a very rich man. This rich man made his fortune from gambling. He gambles on anything gamble-able (if such word exists). This well prepared con-artist made a bet with this seasoned gambler. The gambler let this con-artist win few bets just to encourage him to continue gambling. Suddenly, the game changed. This seasoned gambler began to win back his money. Within five minutes, he had won 500,000 dollars from this con-artist. As you know, that is a huge amount of money. As every gambler does, the con-artist made a bet of 1 million dollars to get back his 500, 000 dollars. Unfortunately, he lost. By this time, the con-artist started sweating and shaking. His girl friend was begging him to quit so as not to lose his life saving. All this while, the proud gambler was puffing out smoke from his cancer stick i.e. cigarette. In defiance, the con-artist made a bet of 3 million dollars. It was obvious that this con-artist had lost his marbles. To everyone’s shock, the con-artist won the bet and took the 6 million dollars. The drama – the tears, the shouting at each other, and the plea to stop gambling his life savings away- was carefully rehearsed and played out to distract this gambler.
According to Merriam Webster dictionary, a distraction is something that makes it difficult to think or pay attention. That gambler lost vast sums of money because he allowed himself to be distracted by the happenings around him. Friend, what is your focus? What have you set your mind to achieve this year? Be careful not to be distracted. What assignment has God given to you? Be careful not to be distracted. The moment a man loses his focus; such a man has lost his destiny. Despite everything, Jesus refused to be distracted. The enemy offered him power and authority to distract Him from His divine purpose but He refused (Luke 4:5-9). Even when someone brought a land dispute to Him, He refused to be distracted by it. Luke 12: 13 says, “And one of the company said unto him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me.” The response our beloved saviour gave was, “who made me a judge over you?” In other words, I am here to preach the gospel not to get myself involved in land dispute. The essence of ‘distractions’ is to make it difficult for us to either think or pay attention to our God -given goals. Don’t be distracted by beauty, character is what you should look out for especially in the choice of a marriage partner. Beauty does fade away but character does not. Don’t be distracted by the suit or bible exposition given by a brother, the fruit of the spirit is what you should watch out for in a brother. Don’t be distracted by what others are doing or saying, stick to what God has asked you to do and it shall be well with you. Don’t be distracted by the terrible happenings around us, focus on the second coming of Christ.
THOUGH OF THE DAY: Focus on what the scriptures says concerning what God will do in your life and don’t be distracted by your present circumstances.
NOTE: A man who does not have a focus does not have a destination in life and such men will be easily distracted.
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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.
