{"id":12746,"date":"2015-05-18T09:28:26","date_gmt":"2015-05-18T13:28:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/?p=12746"},"modified":"2015-05-18T11:28:51","modified_gmt":"2015-05-18T15:28:51","slug":"living-simply-yet-focused","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/?p=12746","title":{"rendered":"Living Simply\u2014 Yet Focused"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1 class=\"entry-title\">Look at the birds of the air\u2026.Consider the lilies of the field\u2026 \u2014<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?version=31&amp;search=Matthew+6%3A26%2C+28\" target=\"_blank\">Matthew 6:26, 28<\/a><\/h1>\n<div class=\"entry-meta\"><\/div>\n<p><!-- .entry-meta --> <!-- .entry-header --><\/p>\n<section class=\"entry-content\">\n<div class=\"post-content\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/4Hauks_zKVg\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><br \/>\n\u201cConsider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin\u201d\u2014 they simply are! Think of the sea, the air, the sun, the stars, and the moon\u2014 all of these simply <em>are<\/em> as well\u2014 yet what a ministry and service they render on our behalf! So often we impair God\u2019s designed influence, which He desires to exhibit through us, because of our own conscious efforts to be consistent and useful. Jesus said there is only one way to develop and grow spiritually, and that is through focusing and concentrating on God. In essence, Jesus was saying, \u201cDo not worry about being of use to others; simply believe on Me.\u201d In other words, pay attention to the Source, and out of you \u201cwill flow rivers of living water\u201d (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=John+7:38\">John 7:38<\/a>). We cannot discover the source of our natural life through common sense and reasoning, and Jesus is teaching here that growth in our spiritual life comes not from focusing directly on it, but from concentrating on our Father in heaven. Our heavenly Father knows our circumstances, and if we will stay focused on Him, instead of our circumstances, we will grow spiritually\u2014 just as \u201cthe lilies of the field.\u201dThe people who influence us the most are not those who detain us with their continual talk, but those who live their lives like the stars in the sky and \u201cthe lilies of the field\u201d\u2014 simply and unaffectedly. Those are the lives that mold and shape us.If you want to be of use to God, maintain the proper relationship with Jesus Christ by staying focused on Him, and He will make use of you every minute you live\u2014 yet you will be unaware, on the conscious level of your life, that you are being used of Him.<\/p>\n<p>_______________________________________________________________<\/p>\n<p>May 18 2015<\/p>\n<p>Journal Entry for Today-JDV<\/p>\n<p>Lord, this devotional seems like it was written especially for us to reinforce the\u00a0 most recent lessons you have been providing. <em>If you want to be of use to God, maintain the proper relationship with Jesus Christ by staying focused on Him, and He will make use of you every minute you live\u2014 yet you will be unaware, on the conscious level of your life, that you are being used of Him.<\/em> Lord this sounds like the message You have been giving us for some time; focus and be connected to Jesus, and within the abundant life, You will make use of us. And when You are using us we may not even be aware. Our circumstances may not change or they may remain difficult, we may not know our next steps, but You know and will guide and provide. When we are connected, all we need do is to live in our connection, being immediately unaware of the transformation(s) taking place.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>And God says\u2026\u201d<em>When you consciously and unconsciously understand that Jesus paid it all, there is nothing left for you to do except focus on Jesus, be connected, and live out an abundant life. I can and will then use you. And when you are of the most use to My Kingdom, you will not even be aware. When you focus on Jesus, and are connected to Me, you are part of the vine, and the fruit you bear does not manifest because you are doing heavy lifting and\/or gritting your teeth so you can demonstrate the right discipline and self-control. You do not need to read your Bible, pray or study to get closer to Me. You add not one iota of justification or sanctification as a result of your self-discipline; your study, prayer and self-discipline. These disciplined actions occur as a result of your connection with Jesus. You can do nothing less. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own ways, means and self-control, and I will provide everything else you need. Acknowledge God in all your ways and I will make your paths straight. Do not worry about anything, but pray about everything, and you will experience a peace that passes all understanding.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Look at the birds of the air\u2026.Consider the lilies of the field\u2026 \u2014Matthew 6:26, 28 \u201cConsider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin\u201d\u2014 they simply are! Think of the sea, the air, the sun, the stars, and the moon\u2014 all of these simply are as well\u2014 yet what a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12746"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12746"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12746\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12753,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12746\/revisions\/12753"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12746"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12746"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12746"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}