The bottom-line is the application of what many call the spiritual disciplines (Bible reading, prayer, etc.).
Being in the Bible and praying cannot be overestimated.
The book which helped me in this regard more than any other is "Thy Will Be Done On Earth: Understanding God's Will for You" by Robert Lloyd Russell. It is a phenomenal book for all Christians but especially for someone who wants to "focus on God more than on man." It is full of Scripture and has many supplemental Biblical references for further study. |
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---Lawrence on 9/25/09 |
Read God's Word(the bible) for yourself.Follow the commands and precepts written therein.Don't just go to church,hear a word from the pastor and stop at that. Spend time with God,daily. Fast and pray regularly. Ask God to help you do whatever it is you need to. He will but you must ASK! He will be to You whatever you need Him to be. He(God) is__________________(you fill in the blank). Love |
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---Robyn on 6/16/09 |
Tommy, in the sense that you excluded totally free will and choise out of your first anwerr (this could be due the lack of space we ghet and so we cannot express completally)as in your second and third answerr you included them. bassically We both agree that if God wanted he could turn us in robots, however He does not mess with our free will so we mess up because we do not look for his will or rebel against his will.
PS. the fact that God can take good out of evil, does by no means imply God orchestrated it. as steveg said loving God above all and the neighbnour as yourself wil allready give a big push in doing Gods will |
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---Andy on 5/28/09 |
First, seek ye GOD'S KINGDOM (not man's).
Second, have a "faith FOR FAITH" (Romans 1:17, Hebrews 11:6).
Third, you must want a "more excellent" (1 Corin. 12:31) devotion/relationship based on "the GREATEST of these" (1 Corin. 13:13).
God DESIRES that we LOVE Him ONLY, not "the bible AND Him".
The bible is NOT an "authority" (it did not die on the cross).
OUR character/spirit must yield the "fruit of light" (Ephesians 5:8).
Romans 8:16
"it is the Spirit himself bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God".
You said you want to draw closer, but are you ready to forsake man's kingdom?
Verses from RSV. |
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---more_excellent_way on 5/27/09 |
A christian focuses on God by doing the two commandments spoken of by Jesus - to love God and to love your neighbor. Unfotunately, love has gone out of style as the black and white TV. Sure, everyone knows that they must love, but rarely, if ever, do they know HOW to love.
A christian cannot focus on God without focusing on man also. Our job as christians is to help populate the Kingdom of God and that means having a relationship with both God and man. When we help others to become christians, God looks toward us as his laborors. We are also to help other christians. Do an online KJV bible search for "one another," "each other," and "encourag" because living a christian life is a 24/7 lifestyle. |
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---Steveng on 5/26/09 |
Andy, God's omnipotence doesn't make Him the doer of all things, I know He will not do anything against His character, His omniscience doesn't make Him the thinker of all things, we do choose many things on our own, but God can keep a person from acting in their own will, nor does His omnipresence mean that He is in any unbeliever's heart, but, He is everywhere( at least in our physical experience). If you want to question what God does or where He is/goes then by all means ASK HIM! Oh by the way, how did my 2 replies contradict? |
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---tommy3007 on 5/26/09 |
Tommy, I totally agree that God is omnipressent, but define omniprescence, does his omniprescence imply HE's IN the hearts of unbelievers? omniprescence implies HE's in the Lake of fire? I know that doesnt. We say God is omnipotent, Can God therefore do everything? Can He repent for us? Can He lie? Can God tempt us? i know He doesnt. God knows all. does that imply He decides for us? does that say He messes with our free will? i know He doesnt. His omnis' have nothing to do with the fact of involving GOD in your choise. WE still need TO LOOK FOR HIS WILL AND THEN SUIBMIT OURSELF TO IT. For God does not want anyone to perrish, but all to come to repentance. Submit yourself then to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from You |
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---Andy on 5/26/09 |
Tommy do you realise that your two last blogs contradict one another. however i cannot agree with your secondlast blog the last blog sounbds verry reasonable, and was what i said in the first place.
God is indeed Omnipotent that does not indicate he can do everything. (he can not lie, he also can not make a box that he cannot get out, Again God can not tempt you) ex.
God is omnipressent, (So God is in Hell? God is in the hearts of the unbeliever?)
God is allknowing (so that indicates he takes away our freewill?) God can take good out of the worst situation (so does that indicate that bad situations are Gods choise, or that they are good? |
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---Andy on 5/25/09 |
Andy, If you think that sounds robotic, I'm sorry to hear that. The God I serve is OMNI-PRESENT, which means He is everywhere all the time and by virtue of that He is involved already in some manner in everything we do. Does that mean He condones or approves of everything we do? Absolutely not. God is at work all around us and HE invites us as christians to become involved in what HE is doing. Even Jesus said that HE could do nothing on His own, but what HE saw the Father doing. We, in our "gotta get busy for the Lord zeal" often miss what God really wants from us and miss out entirely on His many blessings. We would rather decide for ourselves what we want to do "for HIM" and then ask Him to bless what we are doing. |
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---tommy3007 on 5/25/09 |
Tommy, I love your heart for asking this. I am there too!!! God says we will find him when we seek him with all of our heart. And I am constantly asking God to show me exactly what that means. I am just praying daily that God will draw me to Himself, and reading the Scriptures to try to understand Who He really is. I will pray for you too, that you will be drawn close. It feels vague sometimes. |
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---Melinda on 5/22/09 |
Tommy, soGod is allready involved the choises you make before you ask Him? that sounds quite robotic to me. whats the use then of preaching Gods word, in disciplining oneself in anything. since Gods will happens all the time.
if someone abandons wife and children, is that God's plan forYou, if someone ghets mugged an killed in the street we Find God's divine power working there. if someone abandons his faith surely that was The will of God... why sould we even pray(ask) God for his will to happen, since we ccn never be outside of it.To get God involved in your plans is to ask Him what He would do, how he would do it, and then do it. is to pray and believe for his guidance. it is not something JUST LIKE THAT inevitable |
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---Andy on 5/21/09 |
"...there is a way in involving God in everything just by reflecting about how God sees it,"
Andy, We don't "involve" God in anything. He is already involved because He is God. What He wants from us is for us to be involved in Him, by being aware of where He is at work around us and submitting ourselves to His purpose and will and being used by Him to accomplish His desire. In order to be more focused on God than on man, you simply need to spend more time with God, by reading His word and praying with/to Him. Psalm 119:11, "Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee." Psalm 119:105, "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." |
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---tommy3007 on 5/20/09 |
How to focus on God not man - First read and know the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, Second ask the Holy Spirit to open the Bible to you and lead you, Third get intimate with God, Fouth get quiet before God and listen to His voice. You can learn more by getting the books "Romancing the King" by Brian Lake, and "How To Hear God's Voice" by Mark and Patti Virkler. |
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---Leslie on 5/18/09 |
Thanks for the advice. I appreciate it.
God Bless,
Amanda |
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---Amanda on 5/18/09 |
The best thing for me has been to surround myself with Godly people and and spiritual things. We keep the Bible out all the time now, we have put multiple crosses throughout the house, we put a prayer list up on the fridge. For me, my mind works best with daily reminders and Godly people. |
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---TIMOTHY on 5/18/09 |
probably the idea alone will make you to focus more on God then men. there is a way in involving God in everything just by reflecting about how God sees it, andf if itpleases him. for the rest, ghetinvolved in church prayers, church-fast churchoutings etc. |
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---Andy on 5/18/09 |
If you allow the Father's word to become your central focus in life, and allow that word to be the guiding factor concerning your habitual way of acting towards and relating to life, and your fellow man, your focus will remain clear. Recognize, remember, and always maintain a constant awareness of the fact that the old man, whose mind was sensually based, has been put off, with his deeds, and a mentally renewed man has been established. One full of grace and truth, made new in knowledge after the image, likeness, and similitude of He that brought that new man into being. |
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---joseph on 5/18/09 |
How about a spiritual fast?
Got a favorite show? forget it.
Reading a trashy book? Can it.
Love certain food groups? give it up.
Anything that opposes the spiritual part of you, all earthly pleasure, get rid of it.
Eat bread water and the word of God! Just don't get yourself locked in one of those padded rooms, but even that's a nice little prayer closet. |
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---Pharisee on 5/17/09 |
"And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body, and be thankful." (Colossians 3:15) When you wake up, wait for however God has you be and guides you in His peace. Don't allow yesterday's issues and problems with people and desires, etc. take you over to rush you and demand your attention away from God. But in prayer hold out for how God has you submitting to Him and doing what He has you do with Him in His peace. And you have prayer for you to succeed in this, Amanda. God bless you, and of course we have our Father's correction which is not joyful but will improve us in this (Hebrews 13:4-11). |
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---Bill_bila5659 on 5/17/09 |
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