“Nothing is more painful to a child of God than knowing his or her unsaved relatives are facing the possibility of an eternity in hell, separated forever from the light, love and presence of our Creator. Seeing them saved should be a desire beating strong in the heart of any serious believer.”
These are the words of author Arni Jacobson in his new book, “5 Keys To Reaching Your Family For Christ”.
I had the privilege of hearing Pastor Jocobson in our church several months ago, when he spoke on this subject, and talked with him briefly about our Moms’ prayer group. As most of you know, praying for our kids’ salvation is the passion of my heart.
I was thrilled when he sent me a copy of this new book last week. I found it to be simple and direct with a very timely message. It is an easy read and you will be blessed and encouraged when you read it.
Do you ever become distracted? Or are you able to always stay focused?
I believe that most of us today have schedules that are too full, causing us anxiety and a lack of focus. I am retired, and I still have too many things to do!
Do you know that the devil delights in keeping us busy and getting us off tract?
Even if everything you do is good, it can still be wrong for you if you are distracted from the things that God wants you to do. You can be so busy, even with church activities, that you have no time to pray or sing praises to God.
Satan will do anything he can to keep us from being obedient to the Holy Spirit. It doesn’t have to be a sin, just something to keep our minds occupied and busy.
Recently I realized that I was not praying with the same intensity or as often as I had been, and I was not posting on this blog as often as I had before. I felt like the Lord was telling me to give up one of my church activities and to use that time to pray more.
I did...but then I became distracted! I have been in the middle of a spiritual battle, but not fully aware of what was happening. When I opened up more time for prayer, the devil immediately filled it with something else. My activities have been good and important, but they were not what God had told me to do.
The meaning of “distract” per Webster’s is: “To divert attention from; to draw towards different objects”. A friend describes distraction like this: to lose traction, or to get off track, losing your direction and moving aimlessly.
Remember the story of Martha and Mary?
“As Jesus and His disciples were on their way, He came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to Him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what He said.
But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to Him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”
“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:38-42
Let us be like Mary, who sat at Jesus’ feet and listened to Him. Our focus should be, building our relationship with Jesus by entering into His presence with worship and prayer. When we are in His presence, we can ask anything in His name, believing, and He will do it for us.
We must have that close relationship with Jesus to learn how to intercede for our family’s salvation. Don’t let Satan win by keeping you distracted!
You will be blessed as you watch this video and join Selah as they sing, “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus”.
(Need to first scroll to bottom of page to mute the music on My Playlist.)
