September Monthly Dose

Refocus & Recommit

Welcome to the Monthly Dose, where I take about a page’s worth of space to give you a review of our month within the church, celebrate some wins, and share some things the Lord is showing and challenging me with that may also encourage or challenge you.  Thank you for taking the time to read this. I pray it is helpful and encouraging.

September was a good month both in the life of our church and in my own life.  Each year my family tries to take a few days away, and this year we were able to go to the beach with my parents and my brother’s family.  When we go away, I unplug my phone and try to be completely present with Jess and the kids.  It is always a breath of fresh air for my soul.  I seem to appreciate a little more the laughter of my children, the words of my wife, and simply the joy of being present with them.  It is so easy to get caught up in the busyness of everyday life that we lose sight of the people and the time God has given us to invest in and enjoy every single day.  I am grateful to the Lord for some cherished moments and new memories with my family.

We also had a great month in the life of our church as we continued our study through the Book of Luke.  We closed one series and began another, ending Good News for Ordinary People and beginning The King Steps Forward.  Luke has been showing us the kingship of Jesus Christ through the declaration of God at His baptism, His family lineage, and His defeat of Satan’s temptation in the wilderness.  The Word is continually coming alive for me, and I pray that you are learning, growing, and being shaped as a follower of Christ through our study of this incredible book.

On Sunday mornings, I normally leave the house before my kids have even woken up.  Jess will often be reading her Bible while I get ready, and a few weeks ago she took a moment to pray for me before I left.  In her prayer, she quoted Colossians 3:1–4: “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.  For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”

I have pondered both that passage and the fact that my wife prayed it over me because, if I am transparent, I have struggled to seek the things above over the last couple of months.  It was not something I intentionally chose.  It happened slowly.  My attention became divided, my focus shifted, and eventually I began to see the effects of that lack of focus in my own life.  I shared some of this during our Onward Dinners and invited our church to consider the same question: Where have we allowed our focus to drift, and where do we need to recommit ourselves to what God has called us to do?

Speaking of dinner, we had three incredible dinners together in September.  At our Onward Dinners, we took time to celebrate how the Lord has worked over the last five years in so many different areas of our church.  We fellowshipped, laughed, remembered, and spent intentional time praying for one another and for our church. 

I also shared about the temptation I have fallen prey to allowing my focus and affection to be drawn away from what the Lord has called me to.  I share that here because I do not believe I am alone in that temptation.  Distraction rarely announces itself, usually, our focus just shifts a little at a time until we look up and realize we have given a great deal of attention to things that were never supposed to receive our greatest affection.  The enemy would love nothing more than for us to become distracted, divided, and ineffective in accomplishing the mission God has given us.  I am fighting against that in my own life, and I am praying that you will fight against it as well.

God has been incredibly faithful to Mansfield Baptist Church, and He is doing a great work in and through the believers gathered here.  My prayer for us is that we would set our minds on the things above, keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, and refuse to allow lesser things to distract us from the mission He has given us.

Share Christ. Shape Christ Followers.

May we see clearly how God is using us today and remain available for however He desires to use us next.

Pastor Neal

1 Kings 2:3-4