Elephants are immense; impossible to eat in a single bite. So how do you do it? How do you eat an elephant? You have to start off by being focused on the task at hand. In an incredibly busy world, distractions have become commonplace. Whether it is the beep of your phone, the blip of an email, or the calling of a young child, it is almost impossible to stay focused in today’s noise.
For many years, it has been a badge of honor to be known as a multitasker; one who could do multiple tasks at the same time in a noisy and busy environment. However, subsequent studies have shown that multitasking decreases your level of effectiveness and productivity.
Moreover, you can imagine that this distracted lifestyle is wreaking havoc on our relationship with our Creator. Thirty-second-prayers and one hour Sunday services have taken the place of committed, focused, one on one time with the Lord. (The intent of this directive is not to become religious about this, but rather, to become focused.) However, there is hope. A new trend called monotasking is taking hold: the ability to focus on a single task until finished. New studies are proving that monotasking increases the level of creative ability and allows for more tasks to be completed in a shorter period. So how do we begin to make this shift? Here are three quick tips that will set you on the path so you can stay focused in your life, and more importantly, in your walk with Jesus.
Number one:
Make time.
You must make the time to focus on what's important to you. If you do not take the time to spend with God, one on one, either in worship or meditation, you will not be able to move forward in your walk with Christ.
Number two:
Begin a stop doing list.
A stop doing list is a list of things in your life that are unproductive or impeding your relationship with Christ. Ask for the power of the Holy Spirit to help you stop doing them! Doing so will enable you, and your time, to be focused on what is truly important to Kingdom purposes.
Number three:
Be consistent.
Consistency has been one of my biggest struggles in the business of life. Many people, including myself at times, wait for the big “Ah ha” moment, or for when the Holy Spirit will knock them over, and everything will change. But it is the continual, incremental steps forward that will give us the progression we need to achieve the goals and the calling God has on our lives.
The secret to being able to eat an entire elephant is that you do it one bite at a time. Start with the small things you can do, and increase to bigger ones over time. Without a doubt, there is much more to be said about this concept and its practice, but these three quick steps will help you stay focused and move forward in your relationship with Jesus. Thank you for reading, and God bless.
Why I’m Ok With F-Bombs And The S-Word
My kids attend a private Christian school in our city. On the playground, as it is everywhere with kids, explicit language finds its way out of their mouths from time to time. In describing the situations, my children never use the actual words. They refer to them as F-bombs or the S-word, so as not to say the word they actually heard.
It's interesting to me when I think about the English language and its evolution over time. A friend of mine, a first-generation immigrant from Ireland, informed me that calling a child a little F was, in fact, a compliment! It's intriguing how things can be so different from culture to culture.
I personally think the church needs to use the F-bomb and the S-word more frequently than is presently occurring. I believe if we did this on a regular basis, even daily, we would see a huge influx of people into our buildings. To go one step further, I think church members need to step out into the community and be very cavalier about using the F-bomb and the S-word every place they frequent in the marketplace—whether it be at work, shopping or even at the movies. You should always be looking for the opportunity to use the F-bomb and the S-word. I find that the F-bomb and the S-word work particularly well together. I would even go as far as to say they complement each other. I mean, it is impossible to have the S-word without the F-word. You have to have the F-bomb to get the S-word.
You may have figured it out by now, but without the F-bomb, faith, it is impossible to please God. The S-word, salvation, is something forgotten in many denominations—to the extreme that using them could be considered explicit. We need to be able to go out in faith and lead people to salvation. Salvation needs to become a primary thrust of the local church once again. So, you can tell everybody that I encouraged you to go out and use the F-bomb and the S-word to build the local church!
Thank you for reading and God bless!
How to Get Rid of the Devil "Chinese Style"
With the recent death of Stuart McLean, the host of the vinyl café, I’m reminded of a particular story I first heard on the program. It is a story that tells of an old Chinese restaurant owner dealing with a racist customer.
The customer used to walk into the restaurant every week and sit at the same booth. He would ask for “chickie flight rice,” and make fun of the aged restaurant owner. Rather than snapping back at the customer as the Chinese man’s son wanted him to do, he employed an altogether different tactic. He began to slightly shorten the seat in the booth by about a half an inch every week. As well, the restaurant owner began to alter a painting the customer admired, that hung on the wall of the booth. He slowly added clothing to the women featured in the painting. Bit by bit, he changed the season from summer to winter. Week after week, the seat became shorter and shorter and the picture of the women, who were once on a beach in bikinis, transformed into a mountain scene with women in parkas. The seat became so short that the man, who was once loud and ignorant, became smaller and smaller and quieter and quieter, until one day, he did not come back.
This is a very powerful strategy for us as believers to employ. There are times and situations when we should just cast the enemy out of our lives. But the Bible is also clear that we must resist the enemy and he will flee. Prayer by prayer, with one good decision after another, we can make our dwelling place an uncomfortable place for the enemy to reside. We can make it a place where a loud, obnoxious enemy will become small, silent, and eventually completely removed. This is absolutely a lifelong process, accomplished one positive choice at a time. As with the old Chinese man painting stroke by stroke on the picture or removing a half an inch at a time from the bench, our small, positive choices can amount to big victories! So, resist the enemy one choice at a time and you will win!
God bless and thank you for reading.