A week or so ago, I was reading a devotional by Oswald Chambers (as I normally do each morning) and this one hit with great impact--like right between the eyes!  The part of the devotional that really hit me had to do with 'distractions' in life ...

John 20:21 (TEV) says, "Jesus said to them again, 'Peace be with you. As the Father sent me, so I send you.'" According to Chambers, a missionary (and this means all of us, as disciples of Jesus Christ) is one who is sent by Jesus, just as he was sent by God.  He goes on to say that the great 'controlling factor' is not the needs of the people, but the command of Jesus (i.e. to make disciples, etc.  See Matthew 28:19-20)!  The source of our inspiration in our service for God is behind us, not up ahead somewhere...

We have such a tendency, as caring human beings, to let our motivation for serving God come out of whatever need is before us at the moment.  Now, it is important to be aware of 'felt needs,' but that should not be our overall motivation for serving God.  Our motivation should absolutely be ... our relationship to God's Son, Jesus ... and his very specific call on our lives to  'make disciples.'

Lately, the economy that we live in has been a tremendous distraction--to both Christians and non-Christians alike, I believe.  As a distraction to Christians, the state of our ecomony has done at least a couple of things as I have observed my own churches: 1) Christians have begun to live 'out of fear' more than I have ever seen it before in my lifetime.  As Christians, do we not believe that we serve a God who is bigger than any circumstance that we will go through?  Trust seems to be the name of the game.  What this economy has revealed ... is where the trust of many lies.  For many believers, it still lies in the security of money.  As one book put it, that I have read lately, 'Apparently, Christians have decided that they can serve to masters!'  The result of all of this has been a decrease in giving in local churches, less ministry or more stressed ministry taking place, and yet another distraction to take us away from our primary purpose.  Well, let me go on with this: 2) The economy has affected local churches--to the point where, with some, the only conversations taking place any more are ... financial ones.  Jesus had conversations about money, too.  But, to the best of my knowledge, they weren't the kind that we're having today.  Jesus used money as a platform to talk about who we really trust.  If our trust is in our money, we're in trouble.  As I've watched my retirement dwindle and dwindle over the past few months (unlike some who have lost it all), the one thing that I have learned all over again is ... the only place I can trust and be assured of that trust never letting me down ... is in my relationship with God.

Yes, this world has always been full of distractions, but lately ... it seems that money has become one of the worst.  Will we--like much of the rest of the world--be distracted from what really matters?  Will we be distracted from our primary calling, as disciples of Jesus Christ?  As a pastor (and I know that this may seem callous in the face of many, many needs today), my job is to keep the Church--the Body of Christ--on task.  Now, more than ever, is the perfect time to continue to focus on 'making disciples for Jesus Christ.'  It is the freedom that Christ offers humanity, in trusting him for their every need, that is what the world needs today ... in the midst of this lousy economy.  For, in the midst of this lousy economy, we serve a Mighty God ... who will see us through everything, even unto eternity...

Let's not get distracted.  Our greatest opportunity may be before us right now...

Until next week, Rom