ReFocus

Alertness vs. Unawareness
Being aware of that which is taking place around me so I can have the right response to it (Mark 14:38)
Attentiveness vs. Unconcern
Showing the worth of a person by giving undivided attention to his words and emotions (Hebrews 2:1)
Availability vs. Self-centeredness
Making my own schedule and priorities secondary to the wishes of those I am serving (Philippians 2:20–21)
Boldness vs. Fearfulness
Confidence that what I have to say or do is true and right and just in the sight of God (Acts 4:29)
Cautiousness vs. Rashness
Knowing how important right timing is in accomplishing right actions (Proverbs 19:2)
Compassion vs. Indifference
Investing whatever is necessary to heal the hurts of others (I John 3:17)
Contentment vs. Covetousness
Realizing that God has provided everything I need for my present happiness (I Timothy 6:8)
Creativity vs. Underachievement
Approaching a need, a task, an idea from a new perspective (Romans 12:2)
Decisiveness vs. Double-mindedness
The ability to finalize difficult decisions based on the will and ways of God (James 1:5)
Deference vs. Rudeness
Limiting my freedom in order not offend the tastes of those whom God has called me to serve (Romans 14:21)
Dependability vs. Inconsistency
Fulfilling what I consented to do even if it means unexpected sacrifice (Psalm 15:4)
Determination vs. Faintheartedness
Purposing to accomplish God’s goals in God’s time regardless of the opposition (II Timothy 4:7–8)
Diligence vs. Slothfulness
Visualizing each task as a special assignment from the Lord and using all my energies to accomplish it (Colossians 3:23)
Discernment vs. Judgment
The God-given ability to understand why things happen (I Samuel 16:7)
Discretion vs. Simplemindedness
The ability to avoid words, actions, and attitudes which could result in undesirable consequences (Proverbs 22:3)
Endurance vs. Giving up
The inward strength to withstand stress to accomplish God’s best (Galatians 6:9)
Enthusiasm vs. Apathy
Expressing with my soul the joy of my spirit (I Thessalonians 5:16,19)
Faith vs. Presumption
Visualizing what God intends to do in a given situation and acting in harmony with it (Hebrews 11:1)
Flexibility vs. Resistance
Not setting my affections on ideas or plans which could be changed by God or others (Colossians 3:2)
Forgiveness vs. Rejection
Clearing the record of those who have wronged me and allowing God to love them through me (Ephesians 4:32)
Generosity vs. Stinginess
Realizing that all I have belongs to God and using it for His purposes (II Corinthians 9:6)
Gentleness vs. Harshness
Showing personal care and concern in meeting the need of others (I Thessalonians 2:7)
Gratefulness vs. Unthankfulness
Making known to God and others in what ways they have benefited my life (I Corinthians 4:7)
Hospitality vs. Loneliness
Cheerfully sharing food, shelter, and spiritual refreshment with those whom God brings into my life (Hebrews 13:2)
Humility vs. Pride
Recognizing that it is actually God and others who are responsible for the achievements in my life (James 4:6)
Initiative vs. Unresponsiveness
Recognizing and doing what needs to be done before I am asked to do it (Romans 12:21)
Joyfulness vs. Self-pity
The spontaneous enthusiasm of my spirit when my soul is in fellowship with the Lord (Psalm 16:11)
Justice vs. Fairness
Personal responsibility to God’s unchanging laws (Micah 6:8)
Love vs. Selfishness
Giving to others’ basic needs without having as my motive personal reward (I Corinthians 13:3)
Loyalty vs. Unfaithfulness
Using difficult times to demonstrate my commitment to God and to those whom He has called me to serve (John 15:13)
Meekness vs. Anger
Yielding my personal rights and expectations to God (Psalm 62:5)
Obedience vs. Willfulness
Freedom to be creative under the protection of divinely appointed authority (II Corinthians 10:5)
Orderliness vs. Disorganization
Preparing myself and my surroundings so I will achieve the greatest efficiency (I Corinthians 14:40)
Patience vs. Restlessness
Accepting a difficult situation from God without giving Him a deadline to remove it (Romans 5:3–4)
Persuasiveness vs. Contentiousness
Guiding vital truths around another’s mental roadblocks (II Timothy 2:24)
Punctuality vs. Tardiness
Showing high esteem for other people and their time (Ecclesiastes 3:1)
Resourcefulness vs. Wastefulness
Wise use of that which others would normally overlook or discard (Luke 16:10)
Responsibility vs. Unreliability
Knowing and doing what both God and others are expecting from me (Romans 14:12)
Reverence vs. Disrespect
Awareness of how God is working through the people and events in my life to produce the character of Christ in me (Proverbs 23:17–18)
Security vs. Anxiety
Structuring my life around that which is eternal and cannot be destroyed or taken away (John 6:27)
Self-Control vs. Self-indulgence
Instant obedience to the initial promptings of God’s Spirit (Galatians 5:24–25)
Sensitivity vs. Callousness
Exercising my senses so I can perceive the true spirit and emotions of those around me (Romans 12:15)
Sincerity vs. Hypocrisy
Eagerness to do what is right with transparent motives (I Peter 1:22)
Thoroughness vs. Incompleteness
Knowing what factors will diminish the effectiveness of my work or words if neglected (Proverbs 18:15)
Thriftiness vs. Extravagance
Not letting myself or others spend that which is not necessary (Luke 16:11)
Tolerance vs. Prejudice
Acceptance of others as unique expressions of specific character qualities in varying degrees of maturity (Philippians 2:2)
Truthfulness vs. Deception
Earning future trust by accurately reporting past facts (Ephesians 4:25)
Virtue vs. Impurity
The moral excellence and purity of spirit that radiate from my life as I obey God’s Word (II Peter 1:3)
Wisdom vs. Natural Inclinations
Seeing and responding to life’s situations from God’s frame of reference (Proverbs 9:10)

(Taken from Bill Gothard’s seminar)

I have posted this before but this is awesome. It is by Russell Kelfer, a Sunday School teacher who taught in Texas.

“Wait”

by Russell Kelfer

Easter 2009 from Billy Daws on Vimeo.

Jesus Christ arose from the dead victorious over death, hell, and the grave!

It is Saturday of Passion Week.

The followers of Jesus are devastated.  All their hopes and dreams are gone.  This could well be the longest day in history.  Jesus’ body lies wrapped in the grave clothes soaked with the spices and preserving materials.  But Jesus is not in the grave. He was very busy on this important day.

1 Peter 3:18-22 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, [19] by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, [20] who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. [21] There is also an antitype which now saves us–baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, [22] who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him.

What does this mean? It means that right after Christ died, between the cross and His resurrection, He went before the spirits in prison and proclaimed that God’s promise of salvation was fulfilled in Him, the Savior of the world. But who are the spirits to whom He preached?

Scripture says that they were…

· the disobedient who were living upon earth while Noah was preparing the Ark.

· the disobedient toward whom God was longsuffering.

· the disobedient who were not saved during the flood.

This passage definitely says that Christ preached to the spirits of the unbelievers who had lived in Noah’s day and were in prison, that is, the prison of hell. Does this mean that Christ gave them a second chance to be saved? No! It means that Jesus Christ went before them and proclaimed His triumph; that is, He went to vindicate the way of faith—to proclaim that the faith of Noah was victorious. Noah’s life and his proclamation of faith in God were never vindicated in his day. Therefore, Christ Himself went before the spirits of unbelievers and personally proclaimed the victory.

Jesus also was collecting keys.  He picked up the keys to death, hell, and the grave.

A busy day for the Savior.  His followers did not have a clue.  They were in despair.  They did not know that anything was going on.  They were in the dark and they wondered where was God.

All the time God was moving in the most triumphant way behind the scene and in the dark to work the greatest miracle of all time.

For…Sunday is coming!

Think on these things.

Billy and Sheilah Daws

It is Friday.

Jesus was in Gethsemane between 9pm and midnight on Thursday night…the arrest took place after this…the trial was between 3am and 6am Friday morning…then He was bounced back and forth between Pilate and Herod…then back to Pilate.

The death of Jesus on the cross is the most phenomenal event in history; in fact, it is the most crucial focal point in history.  Eternal salvation was secured for man in the death of Jesus upon the cross.  Because Jesus died, man can live forever in a perfect state of being.  Therefore, the events of the cross are all important.  They hold lesson after lesson for the person who seeks the truth of God’s Son.

Jesus was crucified at 9am (the third hour), and darkness swept the land from 12 noon until 3pm (the sixth hour to the ninth hour).

During the course of events Jesus uttered seven sayings from the cross:

Father, forgive them . . . (Luke 23:34)
This day you will be with me in paradise (Luke 23:43)
Woman, behold your son . . .(John 19:26-27)
My God, my God . . . (Matthew 27:46, Mark 15:34)
I thirst.  (John 19:28)
It is finished! (John 19:30)
Father into your hands . . . (Luke 23:46)

Around 2pm He felt the agony of separation from His Father…all the sins of the world had been piled on Him…God the Father could not stand to look upon this hideous sight…so He turned from His only Son…the first and only time that ever occurred.  Jesus responded, “My God, why hast thou forsaken me.” Around 2:30pm He said, “I thirst.”

Finally at 2:45pm…it was completed and He said, “It is finished!”  Notice…He did not say, “I am finished.”  His mission was complete.  Wrath and judgment were satisfied.  The world had a Savior.  At 3pm, Jesus said, “Father into thy hands I commend my spirit.”  The ordeal was over.

Why did all this happen?  Every step Jesus took in His earthly life was leading Him to the place the Hebrews called “Golgotha”; and the Romans called “Calvary”. It was known to all as “The Place of the Skull”. All through the Gospels, Jesus had said this was His destiny, Matt. 16:21; 17:22-23; 20:28; 26:2. The very morning of His death, He told Pontius Pilate that Calvary was the place He was going, “To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world…,” John 18:37.  He came to set men free from the penalty of sin.  Jesus secured a choice for us.  We can live with the penalty of sin and be forever separated from God the Father.  Or we can choose to accept what Jesus did on the cross as full payment for our sin debt and experience an eternal relationship with the Creator of the universe.

At this point the cross was:

A PLACE OF UNBELIEVABLE TORMENT
A PLACE OF UNSPEAKABLE TRAGEDY
So what was going on with the disciples during all of this?  All their hopes and dreams were gone.  Proverbs 13:12  Hope deferred makes the heart sick…  When all is failing and every ounce of hope is gone, there is an empty sick feeling that takes over.  The emotional well being of every person runs on an adequate amount of hope.  The disciples waited through the night hours and watched during the day. They thought that Jesus would do something.  Hope was being depleted with every waiting minute.  They saw the very life drain out of Jesus.  They sought to figure it out…to understand. They invented a thousand ways this was going to be answered and rectified.  They just knew that some great thing was going to happen to prevent…to stop all this.  But eventually all hope was gone.

This sounds a lot like when we are asked to wait…to wait…to wait…to wait…to wait…to wait.  Hope is diminishing. There is no way out.  We expect a miracle…we have a timeline and the timeline runs out. Despair sets in…hope deferred makes the heart sick.  The instrument indicates that the situation has flat lined…there is no heartbeat…and no one comes to the rescue.  The patient is dead…the situation is hopeless.  And ultimately, we utter these words, “God where are you?”

Think on these things.

Billy and Sheilah Daws

Thursday of Passion Week

This will be a full day for Jesus…much will be accomplished.

Mark 14:1-2 begins the final stage of Jesus’ life before He was killed. In dramatic fashion Mark sets the stage for what is coming. In two short verses he mentions the Passover and then he mentions the religionists plot to kill Jesus.

In the midst of the Passover meal, there is strife among the disciples. Jesus shows them His true heart.  The disciples had been arguing over who would hold the leading positions in the government Jesus was about to set up.  The discussion was heated.  They were caught up in the ambition for position, power, and authority.  How the heart of Jesus must have been grieved.  He had so little time left for them to learn that the way to glory is through service and not through position or authority.  How could He get the message across forcibly enough so that they would never forget the truth? It was this that led Jesus to get a towel and a bowl of water and wash the feet of the disciples.  What a picture of service!

In the next few hours, Jesus transformed the Passover into the Lord’s Supper, identified the traitor, gives His parting words, gives the great discourse of John 15 on the True Vine, promises the Holy Spirit to return after He is gone…then He goes to pray that magnificent prayer in John 17.  And then there is the agony of the garden.  Jesus bore the weight of His own cup of suffering.  He said, “Let this cup pass from me:  nevertheless…”  The first act, the first impulse and struggle of His will had come from His flesh; to escape the cup of separation from God.  But immediately, the second act, the second impulse and struggle of His will, came from His Godly nature: not to do as He willed, but as God the Father willed.

Jesus’ surrender to do God the Father’s will in the Garden of Gethsemane was critical.  It was in this decision that He was made perfect and was able to stand before God as the Ideal, Perfect Man.  His righteousness was able to stand for every man.  He was able to bear the cup of God’ wrath against sin.

And then just as suddenly…the betrayal took place…Jesus is arrested…Peter tries to defend and tries to kill one of the guards but misses with sword and cuts the man’s ear off…Jesus being Himself in compassion picks up the ear and puts it back on…healing him.

It has started.  There is no turning back. Friday is coming.  The worst day of agony  in the history of the world.  The best of heaven meets the worst of earth…

Think on these things.

Billy and Sheilah Daws

Wednesday of Passion Week

Again it is a busy day.  On Tuesday, Jesus had been challenged four different times by four different opponents.  He had met each group head on by turning the questions around to teach much needed truth.  Jesus had silenced those who opposed His claim to be the Messiah.

Now it is His turn to question His opponents in Mark 12.   Jesus did not stand against them as an opponent. He questioned them as men who were in error and needed to see the truth.  He was reaching out to them in the hope that some would receive the truth of His Messiahship and accept Him as the Son of God.  He asked them this question, “What think ye of Christ, the Messiah?”

Jesus takes them from the idea that He is a descendant of David, a mere man  to the idea that He is the Lord of David as God Himself.

It is amazing to watch in this His last week, that Jesus continues to teach.

He knew that men need to be warned.  There are some things that especially disturb and arouse anger in Jesus, some things that will result in terrible judgment.  This passage discusses in Mark 12 six of these sins.  All six have to do with pride.

vs. 38  dressing to draw attention
vs. 38  exalting man
vs. 38  being seen of man
vs. 39  seeking front seats to be admired and honored
vs. 40  devouring widows for gain
vs. 40  praying long prayers to show piety

Jesus walked into the Court of women over by the treasury.  The treasury was an area in which there were thirteen trumpet shaped collection boxes where the worshippers dropped their offerings.  He sat down all alone to get some relief and rest from the tension of the past hours.  While resting, He noticed how people cast money into the treasury.  He was deliberately observing, discerning the motives of the people as they made their offerings.  He saw many walk by and drop in sizeable offerings.  Some were apparently quite large contributions.  He could see the large amount of coins and hear them clang against the sides as they slid down the funnel shaped trumpets.  But none attracted His admiration.  Finally a poor widow came along and threw in two mites, which were coins of very little value.  Christ took what He saw and taught what true giving really is.

Real giving is sacrificial giving
Real giving is measured by how much a person has left not by how much a person gives
Real giving seeks to have a need met
Real giving is giving all a person has

It was still early on Wednesday…by the end of the day…He would give a discourse on unbelief, a discourse on the end times, and a discourse on the judgment day.  He would teach about the Parable of 10 virgins and 10 talents.  He had to get this all done because Thursday is coming…what a day that will be.

Think on these things.

Billy and Sheilah Daws

Ps.  There is a lot of good evidence that the day of the cross could have been Thursday.  For our study, we will take the traditional approach that the cross took place on Friday.

Tuesday of Passion Week

This is a busy day for Jesus.  His authority is questioned.  He gives several parables.  He speaks to the issue of tribute money.  He pronounces a woe against the Pharisees.

The Parable of the Wicked Husbandman:  God and Israel (Mark 12:1-12).  This is one of the most interesting parables ever told by Jesus. It is interesting because it is both historical and predictive.  Jesus covered the history of Israel from God’s perspective, just as God sees it.  And then He predicted or revealed exactly what was going to happen to Israel.  They were going to reject God’s own Son and because of their rejection and cruelty, God was going to reject them by giving the Kingdom of God to another people.

What is said throughout this passage is applicable to all people as well as to Israel.  God has entrusted the vineyard of the church and of the world to us, the new nation, the new creation of God.  Every point covered in Israel’s history should, therefore, be a dynamic message speaking to our hearts:

God is generous…He gives us everything we need (Mark 12:1)
God is trusting…He gives responsibility and freedom to govern life (12:1)
God is exacting…He expects payment (12:2)
God is patient…He sends messengers to receive payment (12:2-5)
God is love…He sends His very own Son to the world (12:6-8)
God is just…He shall come and destroy evil keepers (12:9)
God is trustworthy…He fulfills all His promises (12:10-11)
Conclusion…the great tragedy (12:12)

On this day the challenges to His authority had been pressing in ever so heavily upon Him.  First, the chief priests and lay leaders had challenged His authority.  Jesus met the challengers head on and routed them.  But in so doing, His mind had been focused upon His death and Israel’s rejection.  The very thought that Israel in whom God had put so much trust, was failing God by putting His Son to death was bound to be ripping out the heart of Jesus.  Second, the Pharisees and Herodians had attempted to discredit Jesus by pitting Him either against the government or the people.  Again, Jesus had met and routed His challengers.  But the struggle had been tiring and pressuring, hard and heavy.

Now, for the third time, the Lord was confronted and challenged.  And again, it was a different group who tried to out-argue and discredit Him. His challengers were the Sadducees, the religious and political liberals of the day.  As Matthew points out, “They say that there is no resurrection.”  Luke adds, “The Sadducees say there is no resurrection, neither angel nor spirit.”  Their liberal position caused two things:

It caused them to stumble at the spiritual and supernatural.  They ridiculed and scorned both.  Therefore, in their minds, the teachings of Jesus were the teachings of an unthinking and illogical man, lacking philosophical analysis and natural proof.

Their liberal position caused them to feel threatened and to oppose Jesus.  The people were flocking to Jesus and soaking up His teachings.  This meant the Sadducees were losing their grip on the people.  Their position and wealth were being jeopardized; therefore, they were compelled to attack and discredit Him before the people.

It was a tough day for Jesus but He met it and won…He always wins!

Think of these things.

Billy and Sheilah Daws

It’s Monday of Passion Week.

Jesus is fresh from His triumphal entry. Hundreds of people line the streets to welcome Him into the city.  On this day, Monday, Jesus will curse a fig tree.  Why?  He wants to show that the Messiah has absolute power over all the physical universe.  The unfruitful among men symbolized by the fig tree do not have such power.  Jesus alone has the power to judge and to determine fruitfulness and unfruitfulness, life and death, salvation and condemnation.

Today, he also cleansed the temple and He healed in the temple.  Jesus was revealing who He was by cleansing the temple. He was proclaiming to all generations that He had the right to determine how the temple was to be used and to purge it of corruptions.  As God’s Son, the temple was His dwelling place, the place where the worship of God was to be especially known. In cleansing the temple, Jesus was revealing how men were to treat and use the temple of God. Jesus began and ended His ministry by cleansing the temple.  The two cleansings were separate events which marked the opening and closing of His ministry.  The importance of the temple as God’s house of prayer and worship was thereby demonstrated.  Two wonderful things happened when the temple was cleansed of its corruptions:

1.  The worshippers, those in need (symbolized by the blind and lame), were able to come to Christ and worship and have their needs met quietly.

2.  Christ was able to take His rightful position within the temple. He was able to become the prominent figure and to receive the worshippers and to minister to those who had need.

We are now the temple of God.  It is imperative that we keep our temple clean from the impurities of the world.  1 Corinthians 3:16 (NKJV)  Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

It was a long day for Jesus…the cross looms just ahead of Him….there is much to do before then.

Think of these things.

Billy and Sheilah Daws