Focus One day a young man was enjoying singing with others during the worship service. Then a woman sang a solo. It was not a popular song. But he thought the song had boring lyrics! Predictable religious clichés! Ah, just give him the good old, Christian easy-listening music. The woman finished and sat down to appreciative applause. Then the worship leader said with deep emotion, “That song never fails to speak to my heart. Thank you so much!” Ouch! By making the worship service about him, he had forgotten that he was supposed to be praising God with other believers—a fantastic privilege! By giving his personal preference the place of honor, he had made an idol of it. He had lost his focus—or rather, he had misdirected it onto himself. At a well in Samaria 2,000 years ago, a woman, no doubt feeling uncomfortable as Jesus put the focus on her (“You have had five husbands . . .” John 4:18), diverted the subject from her lifestyle by asking a divisive religious and political question: “Why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship?” (v.20). Jesus deftly directed the worship focus to His heavenly Father: “Dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem” (v.21). He continued, “True worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth” (v.23). When the woman said, “I know the Messiah is coming,” Jesus brought the focus full circle: “I AM the Messiah!” (vv.25-26). My guess is that as the woman ran into town to tell everyone about this Man she had just met, she also had a new reason to worship. And that worship had the right focus. Do you have the right focus? Who will you focus on this Sunday? John 4:13-26 The time is coming— indeed it’s here now— when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth (v.23). youtube/watch?v=CDpY-2M5dVo
Posted on: Wed, 03 Sep 2014 11:45:46 +0000
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