I’m currently reading in the book of John and I keep getting pulled back to the below verse:

John 6:27
“But you shouldn’t be so concerned about perishable things like food.  Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that I, the Son of Man, can give you.  For God the Father has sent me for that very purpose.”

With everything that’s been going on in the world and in my own life I started questioning what it means to “live” for eternity?  What does spend my energy seeking the eternal life look like?

The very first thing I did was look up exactly what perishable means.  The definition of perishable are things, especially food, that is likely to decay or go bad quickly.  From a spiritual aspect this is anything…

1 Timothy 6:7
After all, we didn’t bring anything with us when we came into the world, and we certainly cannot carry anything with us when we die.

Matthew goes in deeper about the dangers of focusing on “perishable” things:

Matthew 6:19-21
Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where they can be eaten by moths and get rusty, and where thieves break in and steal.  Store your treasures in heaven, where they will never become moth-eaten or rusty and where they will be safe from thieves.  Wherever your treasure is, there your heart and thoughts will also be.

So, what are some of the “perishable” things in my life or in yours?

-Worried about COVID?
- Worrying about money?
- Finding a job?
- Being able to buy a house?
- Worrying about what others think of you?
- _________________________?

And if we are not to focus on “perishable” things, what does it mean to “spend your time seeking the eternal life” from Jesus?

We find the answer in 1 Corinthians and in 2 Corinthians:

1 Corinthians 5:15
He (Jesus) died for everyone so that those who received his new life will no longer live to please themselves.  Instead, they will live to please Christ, who died and was raised for them.

2 Corinthians 5:9-10
So our aim is to please him always, whether we are here in this body or away from this body.  For we must all stand before Christ to be judged.

The answer is to stop focusing on our circumstances and stay focused on Jesus.  We give our burdens to God, stay focused on Jesus and let God deal with our circumstances.

Hebrews 13:5
For God has said, “I will never fail you.  I will never forsake you.”

How Do I Please and Stay Focused on Jesus?

When mediating on how I can please Jesus as well as stay focused on him at all times for 5 main areas stuck out to me.

1) Reading the Bible

Staying focused on Jesus requires reading and meditating on the Bible every single day. 

I cannot stay focused on Jesus if I don’t have a close relationship with him. 
I cannot possibly please Jesus if I don’t know who he is and how we are to live our lives. 

If I don’t read the Bible every day, I’m telling Jesus that he is not the priority in my life.  In essence, if spending time with Jesus isn’t my number 1 priority then I’m still living to please myself.

Those can seem like harsh words, I mean, we are busy people.  All of us wear multiple hats in a day and if you’re anything like me my to-do list for the day rarely gets completed but gets longer.

The reality; however, is we choose what we accomplish in a day and what we don’t.  We all prioritize based on what we feel is most important.  Is that spending time in the Bible every single day by yourself and also with your family? 

I too have struggled with this but have really come to realize is what could be more important than equipping myself and my children with truth in a world filled with lies and deception?  How can I possibly stand firm if I’m not rooted in God’s Word and how can I prepare my children for what they will face if they too don’t have a firm foundation?

Spending time learning about Jesus is never a waste of time!

2 Timothy 3:16-17
All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives.  It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right.  It is God’s way of preparing us in every way fully equipped for every good thing God wants us to do.

Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is full of living power.  It is sharper than the sharpest knife, cutting deep into our innermost thoughts and desires.  It exposes us for what we really are.

2) Being in Constant Prayer

Along with reading the Bible every day we also need to spend time talking to God, giving Him praise and worship, repenting of our sins and giving our burdens and prayer requests to Him.  This is where we are totally open, vulnerable and sincere as we tell God about our day, what we’re struggling with, what we don’t understand and reaffirming to ourselves who God is.  Our aim should be to be in constant communication with God.

Philippians 4:6
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.  Tell God what you need and thank Him for all He has done.

1 Thessalonians 5:17
Keep on praying.  No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

Colossians 4:2
Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.

Ephesians 6:18
Pray at all times and on every occasion in the power of the Holy Spirit.  Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all Christians everywhere.

Romans 12:12
Be glad for all God is planning for you.  Be patient in trouble, and always be prayerful.

Like a lot of people, this last year has been really rough with multiple problems coming at me at the same time.  Some I’m still dealing with.  I’ve gone through times when I stopped praying.  I didn’t want to pray because I didn’t want to talk or even think about what I was going through.  I realize now by not praying I was keeping my burdens to myself instead of giving them to God.  Thank the Lord, He is patient and merciful with us!

Since God already knows everything about us and what’s going on in our lives, I believe prayer is more for us.  In a way it humbles us and deals with our pride.  We cannot hide anything from God and so we can be open.  When I pray for certain things, I also recite Scripture that aligns with what I’m praying for which gives me assurance, hope and peace that God is always working in my life and those that I love regardless of what my eyes see.

Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust the Lord with all your heart; and do not depend on your own understanding.  Seek His will in all you do, and He will direct your paths.

Prayer brings us close to God and keeps us focused on Jesus.

3) Fellowship with the Body of Christ

There are many Scriptures about the importance of the Body having regular fellowship

Hebrews 10:24-25
Think of ways to encourage one another to outbursts of love and good deeds.  And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage and warn each other, especially now that the day of his coming back again is drawing near.

1 Corinthians 14:26
When you meet, one will sing, another will teach, another will tell some special revelation God has given, one will speak in an unknown language, while another will interpret what is said.  But everything that is done must be useful to all and build them up in the Lord.

We are not to be alone.  The early Church gathered together often.  The Body of Christ is not just a bunch of people that get together on Sundays.  The Body of Christ is a family and should act and behave as such.  We are to pray together, lay hands on each other and build each other up.

Even during these times God has provided a way for the Body to stay connected.  We have the opportunity to connect via online platforms.  We are still lawfully allowed to gather in groups of 10 inside the Church (self-distancing and masks required).  All of us have phones to touch base with our Sisters and Brothers.  Yes, even now we can still act and behave as the Body of Christ and still obey our government (Romans 13:1-2).

Psalm 133:1
How wonderful it is, how pleasant, when brothers live together in harmony!

1 Corinthians 1:10
...Let there be real harmony so there won’t be divisions in the church.  I plead with you to be of one mind, united in thought and purpose.

Fellowship helps us grow and stay in unity which is exactly what Jesus Christ wants.

4) Discipling Our Families

As a parent it’s my obligation to make sure my children continue to grow in Christ till, they are old enough and mature in understanding to be baptized.  And even past that I want to be someone they can come to and continue to be a Christian mentor to them (just like my Mom was with me).

I did this as its own heading because we should not rely or believe that having our children go to Sunday school once a week is enough for their spiritual nourishment.  Growing up in the Church my whole life I can confidently say that most churches do not teach everything and most have compromised on the Word of God.

We are now in a situation where most children that grow up in Church still leave their Christian faith.  We are fast becoming an atheist country!

It’s important to spend time everyday sitting down with our children, reading the Bible and spending time praying as a family.

It’s important to give answers to questions that they will ask, especially if they attend a public school.  Teach them about creation, about what God says about marriage, homosexuality, what it means to grow up in this culture and have to pick up your cross every single day.

On my website I have my main blog (which this post is on) and I also have a Fun and Interesting Facts blog where I write about apologetics.  If you’ve never heard of the word “apologetics” before don’t feel bad- I didn’t till I was in my 30s.  Apologetics is basically having answers for the hope you have.  Apologetics will answer the questions that non-Christians like to throw at us like, if God is loving why is there suffering?  Did God create the world and everything in it in 6 days? Is God real?  Did the resurrection really happen?

These and more, are important questions that you need to be able to answer.  Your kids are going to have them and it’s better to teach them the biblical truth then hear the lies first.

We are fortunate to live in a time when apologetic information is readily available to us.  There are many books, videos and websites around apologetics.

So as not to overload (I’m very passionate about apologetics :)) I’ll just give 3 resources for you to start with.  If you would like more please send me a message!

1) Answers in Genesis (https://answersingenesis.org/)
Is a Christian apologetics ministry, dedicated to enabling Christians to defend their faith and to proclaim the gospel effectively.  They focus particularly on providing answers to questions surrounding the book of Genesis, as it is the most-attacked book of the Bible. They also train others to develop a biblical worldview, and seek to expose the bankruptcy of evolutionary ideas, and its bedfellow, a “millions of years old” earth (and even older universe).

2) Get A Life Ministries (https://www.getalifemedia.com/video/video.shtml)
Billy Crone is the pastor at Sunrise Bible Church in Las Vegas, NV.
He has a great apologetics video series you can check out at the above link.

3) Creation Truth Foundation (https://creationtruth.com/dinosaurs.html)
A ministry that focuses on having a biblical worldview starting from Genesis.

Discipling our children and having a Christ-centered family is essential.

5) Sanctification in My Life

The fifth way we please Jesus and stay focused on him is the process of sanctification.  Sanctification is cutting out of our lives that which is unholy and unrighteous.  Our bodies and our lives should reflect who we belong to.  If you’re not reflecting Jesus then you're reflecting Satan.  This can be your speech, what you have in your house, the movies/shows you watch, habits you have, how you dress etc.

Romans 12:1
Dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God.  Let them be a living and holy sacrifice - the kind he will accept.  When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask?

Romans 12:2-3
Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.  Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect His will really is.

How you behave is a clear indication of what you believe.  Or should I say, what you believe in determines how you behave?  Does everyone around you know that you’re a Christian?  If not, maybe you’re fitting in a little too well?

James 1:22
And remember, it is a message to obey, not just to listen to.  If you don’t obey, you are only fooling yourself.

Luke 21:34-36
Watch out!  Don’t let me find you living in careless ease and drunkenness, and filled with the worries of this life.  Don’t let that day catch you unaware, as in a trap.  For that day will come upon everyone living on the earth.  Keep a constant watch.

Sanctification is necessary for a Christian to grow in maturity.  When we were part of the world we went one way and when we accepted Christ into our lives we stopped, turned around and went the other way.  You cannot have Christ and the world.  You cannot make Jesus follow you.  You are a new creation in Christ Jesus.

Romans 5:15-16
So since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does this mean we can go on sinning?  Of course not!  Don’t you realize that whatever you choose to obey becomes your master?  You can choose sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God and receive His approval.

Sanctification is an integral part of being a follower of Christ.

I hope as we delved into Scripture on what it means to spend our energy seeking the eternal life it’s helped you to understand the importance of keeping focused on Jesus.  When everything is upside down and good is now bad and bad is now good it’s vital as followers of Jesus to maintain the authority of the Bible and how we are to live in this world.  We must always evaluate what we are prioritizing and where we are keeping our treasures.

Your Sister in Christ,

Angela

Founder of Sanctification Day By Day
A Women’s Christian Ministry supporting women in their spiritual growth with Jesus Christ.  To help sanctify and mature so that we, in faith, stand on God’s Word and beat back the enemy that would destroy us and our families.