If you shaved the back-right corner of many people’s heads, you’d find a small tattooed label that reads “One-Track Mind Inside.” Now if you actually go shave your head to find that label, you’ll probably find a different label there. Seriously, it seems natural to focus on one thing, yet in today’s world we’re lauded for being multitaskers. Many people have 50 irons in the fire, and their attention is spread so thin that they struggle to get anything done with the detail and passion which they want. The more that we can zero in our focus, the better it will be. Maybe you simply need to drop a few or a lot of things. When it comes to your projects, relationships, ministries, and personal devotion to Christ, robbing Peter to pay Paul just doesn’t work so well. You just need to determine prayerfully what are the non-negotiable must-haves in your life. Then do those. Spend time there. Invest in that.
After the kingdom of Judah was defeated by the Babylonians, many of the people were sent into exile to be a part of the Babylonian kingdom. Among them were Daniel and his three friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, better known by their Babylonian names Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Eventually, Babylon was conquered by the Persians. Then another Jewish man rose to some prominence under Cyrus the Persian. His name was Nehemiah, Cyrus’ cupbearer. Nehemiah eventually landed in Jerusalem, overseeing the construction of the wall of Jerusalem. Of course, not everyone was pleased with a new wall going up around the city, so they did a little threatening to Nehemiah and his crew. In a sense, the building crew could no longer be focused on one thing. “When our enemies heard that we knew their scheme and that God had frustrated it, every one of us returned to his own work on the wall. From that day on, half of my men did the work while the other half held spears, shields, bows, and armor. The officers supported all the people of Judah, who were rebuilding the wall. The laborers who carried the loads worked with one hand and held a weapon with the other. Each of the builders had his sword strapped around his waist while he was building, and the trumpeter was beside me” (Nehemiah 4 in The Christian Standard Bible).
It is the same with us today. There is the work which must be done. We are called to minister in the name of Christ, but there is a battle to be fought against our spiritual enemy who doesn’t relent. We must be focused yet be multitasking using a two-track mind. We must be working and warring, serving and sparring, worshipping and walloping. Don’t be caught unaware.
This week you’ll read…
2 Samuel 1-12: Remember that no one is exempt from temptation. Let’s stay on guard. “In the spring when kings march out to war, David sent Joab with his officers and all Israel. …but David remained in Jerusalem. One evening David got up from his bed and strolled around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing—a very beautiful woman. So David sent someone to inquire about her, and he said, ‘Isn’t this Bathsheba…wife of Uriah the Hethite?’ David sent messengers to get her, and when she came to him, he slept with her.” Earlier, David declared when hearing of his friend Jonathan’s death, “How the mighty have fallen in the thick of battle!” Little did David know that those words would ring true about his own moral and spiritual fall with Bathsheba.
Nehemiah 1-5: Nehemiah prayed, “I confess the sins we have committed against You. Both I and my father’s family have sinned. We have acted corruptly toward You and have not kept the commands, statutes, and ordinances You gave Your servant Moses” (Nehemiah 1 in The Christian Standard Bible).
Haggai 1-2: “Now, the Lord of Armies says this: ‘Think carefully about your ways: You have planted much but harvested little. You eat but never have enough to be satisfied. You drink but never have enough to be happy. You put on clothes but never have enough to get warm. The wage earner puts his wages into a bag with a hole in it.’” (Haggai 1 in The Christian Standard Bible).
2 Corinthians 1-7: “So we are always confident and know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. In fact, we are confident, and we would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. Therefore, whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to be pleasing to Him.” (1 Corinthians 5 in The Christian Standard Bible).
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MSG are daily readings linked to The Message Bible on BibleGateway.com.
CSB are daily readings linked to The Christian Standard Bible on BibleGateway.com.
NLT are daily readings linked to The New Living Translation on BibleGateway.com.
Thoughts on Life and Jesus 