30 Days to Live- the Art Of Being There
Acts 16:16-34NLT
Sometimes you’ve got to zoom out and look at the big picture.
That’s what the following college student did in writing this letter:
Dear Mom and Dad,
I have so much to tell you. Because of the fire in my dorm set off by student riots, I experienced temporary lung damage and had to go to the hospital. While I was there, I fell in love with an orderly, and we have moved in together. I dropped out of school when I found out I was pregnant, and he got fired because of his drinking, so we’re going to move to Alaska, where we might get married after the birth of our baby.
Your loving daughter
PS: None of this really happened, but I did flunk my chemistry class and I wanted to keep it in perspective.
Listen to what Bill Gates said about being there and staying focused, “Only through focus can you do world-class things, no matter how capable you are.”
Acts 16:16-34NLT One day as we were going down to the place of prayer, we met a slave girl who had a spirit that enabled her to tell the future. She earned a lot of money for her masters by telling fortunes. 17 She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, and they have come to tell you how to be saved.”
18 This went on day after day until Paul got so exasperated that he turned and said to the demon within her, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And instantly it left her.
19 Her masters’ hopes of wealth were now shattered, so they grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them before the authorities at the marketplace. 20 “The whole city is in an uproar because of these Jews!” they shouted to the city officials. 21 “They are teaching customs that are illegal for us Romans to practice.”
22 A mob quickly formed against Paul and Silas, and the city officials ordered them stripped and beaten with wooden rods. 23 They were severely beaten, and then they were thrown into prison. The jailer was ordered to make sure they didn’t escape. 24 So the jailer put them into the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in the stocks.
25 Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. 26 Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off! 27 The jailer woke up to see the prison doors wide open. He assumed the prisoners had escaped, so he drew his sword to kill himself. 28 But Paul shouted to him, “Stop! Don’t kill yourself! We are all here!”
29 The jailer called for lights and ran to the dungeon and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 Then he brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with everyone in your household.” 32 And they shared the word of the Lord with him and with all who lived in his household. 33 Even at that hour of the night, the jailer cared for them and washed their wounds. Then he and everyone in his household were immediately baptized. 34 He brought them into his house and set a meal before them, and he and his entire household rejoiced because they all believed in God.
Interesting article on focus: A fascinating research study done by Vicki Medvec, a professor at Northwestern University. She studied Olympic medalists and she discovered that Bronze medalists were happier than Silver medalists. Here’s why. Medvec found that Silver medalists tended to focus on how close they came to winning gold so they weren’t satisfied with silver. Bronze medalists tended to focus on how close they came to not winning a medal at all, so they were just happy to be on the medal podium.
Paul and Silas had every reason not to stay focused. Placed in the inner-prison, falsely accused, unjust treatment, beaten, chains on their arms and legs, plus late at night.
You need to know some classified information this morning; “Whatever you face, God will be there; He’s focused in on you!”
Fact: God loves His bride, that’s why He sent a Bridegroom!
Listen to Ephesians 5:25NEV Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,
Sounds like to me, relationships take a major investment.
I love you for the smallest things, Blue-bells on my desk, a pat on the head when I make an awful speech, a cup of tea in the middle of a deadline panic, being the only one to tell me that the green skirt really does make me look like a sack of potatoes. And the big things; Giving me the best things in your life, sharing my joys, Being kind to me in all my failings and giving me courage. -Helen Thompson
We all long to know that we’re worth someone’s total attention. That we are captivating enough or brilliant enough or talented enough to make someone stop everything else and, for just a moment, to be the only thing in their universe that matters.
Maybe you’re thinking- “Wow, there's no way I can stop what I'm doing every time someone talks to me. Of course not.”
Some people you deal with on a surface level, but there are key relationships, such as your spouse, family, and your closest friends that you invest in, giving your all.
Staying fully focused on your relationships isn’t time efficient, but here's the great news, it stunningly effective!
Acts 16:25-26TM Along about midnight, Paul and Silas were at prayer and singing a robust hymn to God. The other prisoners couldn’t believe their ears. Then, without warning, a huge earthquake! The jailhouse tottered, every door flew open, all the prisoners were loose.
Paul and Silas stayed focused.
Multitasking is smart time management strategy in lots of situations, but not in relationships, that special someone, desires to know that you're there solely for them.
One Man said, “When you're in a relationship with someone, don’t expect perfection, because that only comes from God.”
Acts 16:27-28TM Startled from sleep, the jailer saw all the doors swinging loose on their hinges. Assuming that all the prisoners had escaped, he pulled out his sword and was about to do himself in, figuring he was as good as dead anyway, when Paul stopped him: “Don’t do that! We’re all still here! Nobody’s run away!”
Many times in our business, we forget to keep focus on the things that really matter.
Testimony: Jenny and I use to go on vacation and stop maybe once or twice for gas breaks, we lost focus on the importance of the journey- being carefree while enjoying the scenery as we travel. (The norm became staying stressed-out for a day or so, because we didn't enjoy the journey.)
Bishop TD Jakes, if you are looking for someone to be your everything, don't look around, look up! God is the only one who can be everything. By expecting perfection from the flash, you ask more out of someone else than what you can provide yourself. To be married is to have a partner; someone who is not always there or always on target or always anything! On the other hand, should you ever get in trouble and you don't know who to look to for help, you can count on your partner! It is to have someone to curl up against when the world seems cold and life uncertain. It is having someone who is as concerned as you are when your children are ill. It is having a hand that keeps checking your fore-head when you aren't well. To be married is to have someone's shoulder to cry on as they lower your parents body into the ground. It is wrapping wrinkled knees in warm blankets and giggling without teeth. To the person you marry you are saying, “When my time comes to leave this world and that chill of eternity blows away my birthdays and my future stands still in the night, it's your face I want to kiss goodbye. It is your hand I want to squeeze as I slip from time into eternity. As the curtain closes on all I have attempted to do and be; I want to look into your eyes and see that I mattered. Not what I looked like. Not what I did or how much money I made. Not even how talented I was. I want to look into the teary eyes of someone who loved me and see, I mattered.”
Acts 16:29-34TM The jailer got a torch and ran inside. Badly shaken, he collapsed in front of Paul and Silas. He led them out of the jail and asked, “Sirs, what do I have to do to be saved, to really live?” They said, “Put your entire trust in the Master Jesus. Then you’ll live as you were meant to live—and everyone in your house included!”
32-34 They went on to spell out in detail the story of the Master—the entire family got in on this part. They never did get to bed that night. The jailer made them feel at home, dressed their wounds, and then—he couldn’t wait till morning!—was baptized, he and everyone in his family. There in his home, he had food set out for a festive meal. It was a night to remember: He and his entire family had put their trust in God; everyone in the house was in on the celebration.
“God desires that you become focused; that you get a birds eye view for every vital relationship you care about.” P.H.
Try this: you're with someone you really care about, make them the most important person in your world. Just watch how this basic skill transforms your key relationships.
Two thoughts for you this week.
Focus in on your relationship with God.
Focus in on your relationships with important others. Again, “What if you had only 30 days to live?”
Benediction.
