BBD 09.03.10 Hit the Right Target (Classic)

#1 · September 3, 2010, 12:22 am

Quote from Forum Archives on September 3, 2010, 12:22 am
Posted by: wrather <wrather@...>

Visit the Burning Bush websites:

www.theburningbush.net
www.theburningbush.org

The Burning Bush websites have received visits from more than 170 countries. Celebrating 11 years online since January 31, 1998. Since June 8, 1998 the Burning Bush Devotional has been spreading the truth of God's Word to more than 11,000 subscribers across the world.

Please join the Burning Bush Prayer Group. The group began in 1998 and is made up of more than 300 prayer warriors. Send prayer requests and receive prayer requests. To join send an email to: bbpg-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

If you love to send and receive inspirational emails the Burning Bush Inspirational Group is for you. To join send an email to bbinspire-join@welovegod.org

You can now leave comments/feedback about the devotionals at www.theburningbush.net.

The Burning Bush Devotional
(A Devotional Classic from 2004)
Welcome to the 1124 new subscribers since January 1, 2010!!
There were 1367 new subscribers during 2009!!

09.03.10

Hit the Right Target

If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. - Colossians 3:1-2.

Matthew Emmons began target shooting when he was 14-years-old and going into the Olympics in Athens he was thought to be the favorite to win a gold medal. However, something happened to Matthew that had never happened to him before in his six years of international shooting. What happened was that he shot at the wrong target! All he had to do to win the gold was to hit his target and he would win the medal. If Emmons would have only looked through his scope at the number above the target he would have realized he was aiming at another shooter’s target. Because of his error, he dropped from first to eighth with no chance of even winning a bronze medal. Emmons said about his mistake, "I didn't look at the number above the target before the last shot. I usually always look at the number first and then drop down to the target. I was just working on calming myself down and getting a good shot off. I should have looked."

Matthew Emmons will hopefully come back to try again at the next Olympics to win the gold. It is of course a horrendous thing to be that close to your goal and to make a mistake losing all that you have worked so hard to obtain. Matthew failed to win because he was focused on the wrong target. He hit what he aimed at which was the target belonging to someone else. If he had only aimed at the right target, he would have hit it.

The living of the Christian life has much to do with our focus. Is our focus on the wrong thing? The wrong target? If we are focused on the things of this world and how we can gratify ourselves with those things most likely we will be living our lives in the gutter. If we are only concerned with what is best for ourselves and constantly try to do, what is best for ourselves without any concern for those around us or of all what our Lord wants we will find the Christian life to be very hard to live. If we are focused on the opposite of what Christ wants in our lives, we will find life to be very difficult with things becoming progressively worse for us.

How can we live the Christian life in a way that is pleasing to our Lord? The apostle Paul makes this very clear for us. We must put our focus on the right target. We must focus in on the things of God, of what is good and right, of what brings glory to our Lord. Paul says, "Set your mind on things above…." In other words, get your mind and life out of the gutter. Paul also tells us not to even think about the evil things of this world (Romans 13:14). He also tells us some things that we ought to think about instead, "Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy--meditate on these things (Philippians 4:8)."

What target are you aiming at? Are you aiming at what the world, the flesh, and the devil wants? Or, are you aiming, focusing, and setting your mind upon "things above"?

Remember, you will hit the target you are aiming to hit.

Copyright © 2010. Ed Wrather. Permission is given for use of the devotionals on a non-profit basis with source credited. The Burning Bush website has been online since January 31, 1998. On June 8, 1998 the email version of the Burning Bush Devotional was first sent. Ed Wrather began writing devotionals in the early 1990s. The distribution of these first devotionals was primarily through the Burning Bush Newsletter sent to prison facilities throughout the United States and Canada.

Many prayer needs are posted at the Burning Bush website on the Prayer Request page. You can also post your prayer requests there and they will be forwarded to the Burning Bush Prayer Group (Of course, I am always in need of prayer - please pray for me.).

If you are not my friend on facebook or myspace you can be, just add me. The devotionals are posted in my blogs on those two social networks and you can leave comments, feedback about them there. There are other social networks designed just for Christians, however, this is an outreach project to reach those who may not know the Lord or may have wandered away. You can help me reach out to them.

For information about how to hear my testimony in your church visit this link: www.theburningbush.net/pages.asp?pageid=22160

If you enjoy the devotional please recommend it to your friends. They may subscribe by sending a blank email to burningbushdevo-join@welovegod.org

Two videos of my sermons are posted on GodTube (now Tangle) at: connect.tangle.com/Wrather

You can listen to services at my son, Clark Wrather's church (First Baptist Church of Broken Bow, Oklahoma) live on Sunday mornings at 10:55am CST www.kkbifm.com/

There is a complete devotional archive at the old Burning Bush website. Here is the URL: www.theburningbush.org/33.html.

You can unsubscribe to the pure text version of the devotional by sending a blank email to burningbushdevo-leave@welovegod.org and then respond to the confirmation email.

You may subscribe to the html text group by sending a blank email to burningbushhtml-join@welovegod.org and you may unsubscribe by sending a blank email to burningbushhtml-leave@welovegod.org and then respond to the confirmation email. If the link does not work, copy and paste the link.

Posted by: wrather <wrather@...>

Visit the Burning Bush websites:

http://www.theburningbush.net
http://www.theburningbush.org

The Burning Bush websites have received visits from more than 170 countries. Celebrating 11 years online since January 31, 1998. Since June 8, 1998 the Burning Bush Devotional has been spreading the truth of God's Word to more than 11,000 subscribers across the world.

Please join the Burning Bush Prayer Group. The group began in 1998 and is made up of more than 300 prayer warriors. Send prayer requests and receive prayer requests. To join send an email to: bbpg-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

If you love to send and receive inspirational emails the Burning Bush Inspirational Group is for you. To join send an email to bbinspire-join@welovegod.org

You can now leave comments/feedback about the devotionals at http://www.theburningbush.net.

The Burning Bush Devotional
(A Devotional Classic from 2004)
Welcome to the 1124 new subscribers since January 1, 2010!!
There were 1367 new subscribers during 2009!!

09.03.10

Hit the Right Target

If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. - Colossians 3:1-2.

Matthew Emmons began target shooting when he was 14-years-old and going into the Olympics in Athens he was thought to be the favorite to win a gold medal. However, something happened to Matthew that had never happened to him before in his six years of international shooting. What happened was that he shot at the wrong target! All he had to do to win the gold was to hit his target and he would win the medal. If Emmons would have only looked through his scope at the number above the target he would have realized he was aiming at another shooter’s target. Because of his error, he dropped from first to eighth with no chance of even winning a bronze medal. Emmons said about his mistake, "I didn't look at the number above the target before the last shot. I usually always look at the number first and then drop down to the target. I was just working on calming myself down and getting a good shot off. I should have looked."

Matthew Emmons will hopefully come back to try again at the next Olympics to win the gold. It is of course a horrendous thing to be that close to your goal and to make a mistake losing all that you have worked so hard to obtain. Matthew failed to win because he was focused on the wrong target. He hit what he aimed at which was the target belonging to someone else. If he had only aimed at the right target, he would have hit it.

The living of the Christian life has much to do with our focus. Is our focus on the wrong thing? The wrong target? If we are focused on the things of this world and how we can gratify ourselves with those things most likely we will be living our lives in the gutter. If we are only concerned with what is best for ourselves and constantly try to do, what is best for ourselves without any concern for those around us or of all what our Lord wants we will find the Christian life to be very hard to live. If we are focused on the opposite of what Christ wants in our lives, we will find life to be very difficult with things becoming progressively worse for us.

How can we live the Christian life in a way that is pleasing to our Lord? The apostle Paul makes this very clear for us. We must put our focus on the right target. We must focus in on the things of God, of what is good and right, of what brings glory to our Lord. Paul says, "Set your mind on things above…." In other words, get your mind and life out of the gutter. Paul also tells us not to even think about the evil things of this world (Romans 13:14). He also tells us some things that we ought to think about instead, "Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy--meditate on these things (Philippians 4:8)."

What target are you aiming at? Are you aiming at what the world, the flesh, and the devil wants? Or, are you aiming, focusing, and setting your mind upon "things above"?

Remember, you will hit the target you are aiming to hit.

Copyright © 2010. Ed Wrather. Permission is given for use of the devotionals on a non-profit basis with source credited. The Burning Bush website has been online since January 31, 1998. On June 8, 1998 the email version of the Burning Bush Devotional was first sent. Ed Wrather began writing devotionals in the early 1990s. The distribution of these first devotionals was primarily through the Burning Bush Newsletter sent to prison facilities throughout the United States and Canada.

Many prayer needs are posted at the Burning Bush website on the Prayer Request page. You can also post your prayer requests there and they will be forwarded to the Burning Bush Prayer Group (Of course, I am always in need of prayer - please pray for me.).

If you are not my friend on facebook or myspace you can be, just add me. The devotionals are posted in my blogs on those two social networks and you can leave comments, feedback about them there. There are other social networks designed just for Christians, however, this is an outreach project to reach those who may not know the Lord or may have wandered away. You can help me reach out to them.

For information about how to hear my testimony in your church visit this link: http://www.theburningbush.net/pages.asp?pageid=22160

If you enjoy the devotional please recommend it to your friends. They may subscribe by sending a blank email to burningbushdevo-join@welovegod.org

Two videos of my sermons are posted on GodTube (now Tangle) at: connect.tangle.com/Wrather

You can listen to services at my son, Clark Wrather's church (First Baptist Church of Broken Bow, Oklahoma) live on Sunday mornings at 10:55am CST http://www.kkbifm.com/

There is a complete devotional archive at the old Burning Bush website. Here is the URL: http://www.theburningbush.org/33.html.

You can unsubscribe to the pure text version of the devotional by sending a blank email to burningbushdevo-leave@welovegod.org and then respond to the confirmation email.

You may subscribe to the html text group by sending a blank email to burningbushhtml-join@welovegod.org and you may unsubscribe by sending a blank email to burningbushhtml-leave@welovegod.org and then respond to the confirmation email. If the link does not work, copy and paste the link.