Do your daily thoughts impact your relationship with Jesus?

Vikki Waters • May 21, 2017

Focusing on Jesus is the key to a lifestyle of conversation with God.

It goes hand-in-hand with learning to be. As we sit in silence with the Father, the goal is not to empty our minds completely but to fill our minds with nothing but Him.

This is where focus comes in.

Many people exercise little control over their thought lives. They may even think they cannot control what comes into their minds. However, the Bible is full of admonitions to steer our thoughts toward God and the good things of His Kingdom. As Paul says, we must “demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5).

Throughout the Gospels, Jesus taught on the importance of what we choose to set our hearts, minds, and desires on. He said that the object of our attention has a huge impact on our day-to-day living, either for good or bad. In everything He did and said, Jesus showed what it looks like to have a mind continually set toward the Father’s heart.

Jesus, the Spirit-filled man, was continually under the influence of the Father’s tangible presence. One day, when asked why He healed a man on the Sabbath, Jesus answered:

Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed (John 5:19–20).

Jesus only did what He saw the Father doing and heard Him saying while in His presence (see John 8:38) . This is the proper place for doing in the believer’s life. It should always flow from our heart connection with the Father. Continually connecting with the Father was the foundation of Jesus’ life and ministry. For this reason, when He approached the end of His life, He emphasized to His followers the importance of staying connected to the Father through the Spirit of God who would live in them (see John 14–16).

The apostle Paul also emphasized the need to focus our thoughts on Jesus:

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:1–3).

This is an excerpt from  my new book Loved Like Jesus.

I wrote it because I want you to experience the deep love that your heavenly Father has for you. Living from this reality as a much loved son or daughter, you can rest in a confident connection with Him and experience abundant living and lasting freedom.

Order my book today for yourself and an extra copy for a friend, your pastor and/or your small group.

Thanking Him for you,
Vikki

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