I don’t know about you, but I know how easy it is to become disconnected and unattached to different things in life. Lately, I feel like I am in one of those phases of becoming easily distracted and forgetting about what really matters. It gets easy to emphasize the minor things instead of focusing on the major stuff when there is vision that is lacking.

I’m at a point where I want to make the main thing, the main thing. I am tired of all the countless distractions that try to throw me off “my game” and ultimately my relationship with God first and others.

One distraction that I have been falling victim to is the element of obligation and fear. The service and energy spent on fulfilling the what ifs in life make one very tiresome. It is easy to dismiss fear and call it concerned. We like to reword things to justify them, at the very least I know that I do.

I’ve been down the road of fear many times. I have also been down the road of bitterness. The greatness of God in all of this, however, is understanding that I will forever be a slave to something. I can either be a slave and servant to righteousness or to the distractions, fears, and senseless obligations. I can also head down the road of bitterness and allow this to impact my life and cripple me for years… Yet this is not the greater good or the greater plan.

God’s ways are the best… Hands down. Anything that might come off and appear to be a good alternative is really a distant second. Unfortunately, I learn this the hard way through life experience, heartache, and hardship.

It’s time to refocus back on the major things. Let’s make the main thing be the main thing and remember the vision and direction of why we do what we do in the first place. Let the how and the what of what we do come second. Let’s be filled with purpose and keep on going after that which truly matters first and foremost.

Keep pressing on! The alternative is not an option. I know that we can do it, but it has to come back to allowing God to make it happen in the first place. Be blessed and go after His greatness!

JT

Some thoughts on Ezekiel 44 and highlighted verses:

Verse 15 – “But the Levitical priests, the sons of Zadok, who kept the charge of my sanctuary when the people of Israel went astray from me, shall come near to me to minister to me. And they shall stand before me to offer me the fat and the blood, declares the Lord GOD.”

Verse 23 – They shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, and show them how to distinguish between the unclean and the clean.

Verse 28 – “This shall be their inheritance: I am their inheritance: and you shall give them no possession in Israel; I am their possession.”

Over the course of the last few days, really this week, I am gently reminded of the reality that ministry comes back to an audience of one. In the end, numbers do not matter. Specific styles of ministry don’t matter. What matters is whether or not the Lord God Almighty is in it in the first place. What matters is the fact of whether or not He is blessing it because it is of Him. What matters is answering the call to do what the Lord has instructed because that is where He is at and what He decides to bless.

I want to minister to an audience of one. Too much is made about the bigger and better programs having the most entertainment or the most kids within them. My desire is to simply be where God is at and minister to Him in the process. It’s not just about going to the right places, but it is really about simply ministering to the Lord. I think that this is where the fear of the Lord comes into play and the starting point of all wisdom.

The priests of verse 15 weren’t instructed to oversee the temple, although how cool this opportunity might have been. The priests of this verse were instructed on how to properly interact with the Lord. They had the opportunity and chance to bring in the appropriate sacrifices and be relational with God. They weren’t just managers on how the people could come into the temple like the other priests of this same passage. What an incredible honor and blessing to be part of this awesome responsibility.

When I think about my family and Infuzion in all of this, I don’t want to just put together good messages and deliver them well. I don’t want to just ask God to bless whatever it is I am doing. I want Him to be in it. I want Him to be the guest of honor. I think that is what ministry is about in the first place. I think that it is about being where God’s anointing is at and ministering to Him first in the process.

Out of this reality and focus will come the understanding of verse 23 that talks about teaching the people that which is clean and unclean. Understanding the difference between what is holy and what is common is a lost characteristic in today’s culture. We have a blurring of lines and that which is holy is being used for common practices. Likewise, common things, too, are being used for sacred practices. God has so much more for us, but we often miss the opportunity because we’re doing our own thing.

It’s similar to the idea of asking God to bless this mess. We don’t have to be doing ministry in a messy way asking God to bless it in the first place when we are walking in obedience to the incredible and mighty King. The fact of the matter, as verse 28 puts it, God is ultimately our inheritance and God is ultimately our possession.

We cannot take anything from this planet with us. We can use things with divine responsibility and also for redemptive purposes. The only thing that we can possess, however, is a solid relationship with Jesus Christ. I still can’t get over the fact that He wants to have a deep walk and relationship with me. He wants to interact and love upon me in all facets of life. He wants to do the same with all people.

God is my possession, I shall have no other possessions. God is my inheritance, for I cannot take anything else with me. God has instructed me to teach the difference between that which is common and that which is holy. The Lord has also instructed and desires for me to teach people the patterns for distinguishing between the clean and the unclean.

So… Teach discernment. To teach it, I must have it. To have discernment, I must live it. To live it means to minister to the Lord in all things. The opportunity is there and my hope and prayer is that I would be faithful with this endeavor. I don’t want to care about numbers like I do, but I want to care about the one that should be there first and foremost, the Lord Almighty. Thanks be to God for His incredible presence and for the chance to minister to the One who made me and sustains my life. May every breath that He gives me be used to give Him glory.

Love you guys! Have an incredible day ministering to the Lord, God Almighty!

Jay