It’s 5 days until Easter morning.

In the life of a minister way too much is going on. Multiple worship services place demands on creativity, time and resources. There are also the regular demands of neighbors coming to the door in need of food for their children, gas for their car, a job to make ends meet, and…today…a place to rent because they can’t afford the rent that has risen more than once in the past several months.

There are also the demands that are associated with family, like everyone else. There’s never enough time, never enough money, never enough…of most THINGS.

But you know, demands don’t dictate who I am, or who you are. They are external pressures, they are someone else’s expectation of what you should do or be. Job and relationship demands are partially our own doings, though. We have to accept that we have a responsibility to fulfill our role. But when they cause us stress and disappointment they become DISTRACTIONS from what Easter is all about. Easter…is about LIFE, God given, God blessed, God directed, God forgiven, God empowered.
DISTRACTIONS cause havoc in our life. Distractions act to pull us off focus and urge us to pay attention to issues that have no benefit in our life or our church.

DISTRACTIONS pit person against person and group against group for no better reason than “It’s my way and not yours!”. Our focus must be on OTHERS and not our petty desires.

DISTRACTIONS attempt to move the light from God and Jesus, and place it one trivial issues. God will not bless what does not shine the light on His love for others.

This Easter. Remain Focused. Look at the Rock. easter-empty-tomb.jpg