Avoiding The Distractions

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 16, 2003
(Mark 4:35-41)

As evening fell, Jesus said to his disciples, "Let's cross to the other side of the lake." So they took him just as he was and started out, leaving the crowds behind (though other boats followed). But soon a terrible storm arose. High waves began to break into the boat until it was nearly full of water and about to sink. Jesus was asleep at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. Frantically they wakened him, shouting, "Teacher, don't you even care that we are all about to drown?"

Then he rebuked the wind and said to the sea, "Quiet down!" And the wind fell, and there was a great calm!

And he asked them, "Why were you so fearful? Don't you even yet have confidence in me?"

And they were filled with awe and said among themselves, "Who is this man, that even the winds and seas obey him?"

Avoiding the distractions. Several weeks ago, the Internet was hit with several major viruses that affected millions of users worldwide, took down the mail servers of many smaller ISPs, and cost tens of millions of dollars in damage to computers, loss revenues, and employee down time. Sending out the Daily Devotional to over 1.9 million email accounts worldwide each day, receiving over 40,000 prayer requests by email daily, and sending a personal response to each one, Liveprayer literally operates 24/7/365. Issues like viruses, hackers, and the myriad of technical problems on the Internet are things that we have to contend with each day. It is simply part of being in that world.

Another issue that I have to deal with each day are people in the world that simply hate God, reject Jesus Christ, and think of the Bible as a book of fables. In addition to the over 1.9 million that receive the Devotional directly, it is posted on Liveprayer.com every day, on about 100 other websites that we have given permission to, and forwarded by our subscribers to another 2-3 million daily. Obviously dealing with the real life issues that I do, taking a Biblical stand on those issues upsets many people who read what the Holy Spirit leads me to write each day.

One of my main goals each day is to share the hope and love of Christ with the lost and hurting of this world. We have been successful in doing that both here on the Internet each day and 5 nights a week LIVE on secular television. But one of the prices you pay in taking the truth of God's Word to this lost world is the hateful mail and emails many send. I know that God is watching over me and I fully realize that these people are lashing out at God, not at me.

Add to the technical issues, people that are hostile to the work of God, you also have the financial demands that have to be met, problems in the lives of those who work in the ministry, plus the endless list of daily problems that come out of nowhere. ALL OF THESE THINGS CAN BE A DISTRACTION TO DOING WHAT GOD HAS CALLED ME TO THAT DAY!

You see my friend, one of the things that we MUST do to live a victorious life in Christ, is to keep our focus on HIM at all times. As long as you keep your eyes focused on Jesus, you will be OK despite what the circumstances may be. The reality of this life is that we will ALWAYS have problems. There is no way to live this life without dealing with the day to day problems of life. It is inherent to living in this sin-filled world. But we can never let the problems of this life distract us from what God has called us to do. No matter what, we must always keep our eyes focused on Jesus.

I love you and care about you so much. It hurts me to know that in facing the daily problems of life, many of you have allowed those distractions to keep you from being all God has called you to be. They have kept you from serving Him in the capacity that He has asked you to serve Him. That means you are allowing the distractions of life to keep you from fulfilling your purpose which is to serve and glorify Him with your life.

When we are fulfilling our purpose in life, THAT is when we can know the true joy, the true peace, the abundance that this life can offer. I know many of you today are having major problems with your health, with your job or school, with your finances, with your marriage or other relationships, and with many other very real and pressing issues. I want to encourage you today to not let anything distract you from what God has called you to do for Him today.

I will be praying for you today. Praying not only for the needs in your life, but that God uses this word today to help you not be distracted in your service to Him by what is happening around you. Our purpose is to serve Him, and we can never let anything distract us from fulfilling that purpose. Too many people are like the disciples in today's passage of scripture. They are focused on the storms in their life instead of on the One who can calm the storms. The Bible teaches that if we will be about our Father's business, He will be about ours. Stay focused on Jesus, and don't let anything distract you from what He has called you to do with your life.

In His love and service,
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Bill Keller

If I can help you in any way you can contact me through my personal email at bkeller@liveprayer.com.

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