Text- Hebrews 12:2- “Having our eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith…”
There is always something that gets your attention in Church, be it your home Church, or a Church you are visiting. These attention-grabbers can easily shift your focus away from Christ if you are not careful.
A Church may have a striking architectural design, good interior décor, an amazing choir, an energetic pastor, etc… but we must never shift our focus to any of these things when we go to Church. Christ must remain our focus.
We must be careful not to get caught up in the physical things we see, or the way we feel with certain people or things in Church, so much so that we miss out on the reason why we are there in the first place – to worship and to fellowship with the Lord.
There are two major themes contained in the concept of focus, namely attention and concentration. So then, when we say Christ must be our focus when we go to Church, we mean to say that He must have our full attention, and we must concentrate on Him, and on His word. See what
Paul says in Colossians 1:8
“And He (Christ) is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things, He might have preeminence”
Christ is the head of the Church, and as such should have preeminence in all things – in the worship, in the preaching, in our interactions with one another, in every single thing we do in Church, and most importantly in our individual hearts and minds.
Beloved, as you go to Church today, you must allow Christ to occupy the forefront of your mind; focus on Him so much that He becomes more real to you than the person sitting next to you.
In order to accomplish this, we must give heed to Paul’s admonition in Colossians 3:2 – “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth”
Talking about Stephen, Bible records in Acts 7:55-56: “But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, and said, Behold, I see the heavens opened…”
Beloved, it is those who look steadfastly into heaven; those who set their affection on things above; those who make Christ their focus that will behold the glory of God, have an encounter with Jesus, and experience open heavens. Will you be one of them?
Happy Sunday, beloved! Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus.
PRAYER
As I go to Church today, I resolve to make Christ my focus and set my affection on things above. As I do these, I will behold the glory of God, have an encounter with Jesus, and experience open heavens in Jesus Name.
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