Unbroken FocusSample

DAY 1: UNBROKEN FELLOWSHIP

1“I am the true vine, and my father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every

branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he

prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean

because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also

remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the

vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 5 “I am the vine;

you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear

much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

JOHN 15:1-5

Today’s devotional will focus on building unbroken fellowship with Jesus. If we’re

going to properly develop an unbroken focus, we must begin with unbroken

fellowship. Fellowship with Jesus corrects your focus, and if our focus is going to be

corrected, then our fellowship must first become consistent. You can’t be confident in

anything you’re not consistent in.

John 15 mentions the word “remain” 11 times, and the number 11 represents

transition. I believe John is attempting to convey to us that remaining causes

transitions from perversion to purity, bitterness to forgiveness, anxiety to peace, anger

to calm, and hurt to healed. You see, it’s impossible to remain in Jesus and remain

the same. The presence of God is the cure for every deficiency in our lives. It’s hard

to remain focused when your spirit is deprived of the presence of God. Remember, a

deprived spirit leads to a depraved mind. It’s easy to get distracted when you keep

depriving your spirit of the presence of God. We make the worst decisions when our

deficiencies influence our minds.

As I meditated on the word “remain,” I was provoked to ask, “How can I remain in his

presence if I don’t know how to first enter His presence?” If I’m going to remain, I must

first learn how to enter.

We can’t assume that everyone knows how to get into the presence of God.

Psalms 100 gives us great direction in verse 4 when it reads: “Enter into his gates

with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him and bless his name.”

Psalms 100:4 communicates that thanksgiving is the best way to enter His presence.

If you don’t know how to start a conversation with God, you can start by simply saying,

“Thank you!” Starting your fellowship with thankfulness corrects your thinking and

focus by reminding yourself that your life is full of reasons to be thankful.

Our human nature is naturally negative, and we are constantly FOCUSED on

negativity. Most of our dissatisfaction stems from our tendency to focus on the

negative. Entering His presence with thanksgiving will posture your heart to receive

and be influenced by His nature. Paul tells us, “Rejoice IN THE LORD ALWAYS, again

I say rejoice” (Philippians 4:4). It would be impossible to remain in His presence if you

never remind yourself of the reasons to rejoice. Reminders make remaining

sustainable; remaining in Jesus won’t last without reminders. If you haven’t noticed,

words like “remain,” “rejoice,” and “always” all point to consistency. If your fellowship

is going to remain unbroken, you must devote time to God consistently. Today I want

to encourage you to devote some time out of your day to God, and whatever time that

is, I want you to commit to it. Even if it’s just 10 minutes or 15, set some time aside for

God and do it unwaveringly and consistently.

PRUNED IN HIS PRESENCE

As we conclude today’s devotional, we’re going to pray and ask God to prune us of

anything that may be contaminating our connection to Him. When we remain in Jesus,

the gardener prunes every branch that bears fruit. If we’re going to remain, then there

are some things God must remove. The purpose of pruning is to cut off any dead

branch that can potentially contaminate the others. Pruning leads to purity; God cuts

us to cleanse us. Therefore, the Scripture tells us to: “Seek FIRST the Kingdom of God

and all His righteousness, and then all these things shall be added unto you.” The

presence of God is like a filter, and before we pursue that job, relationship, or idea,

we must first put it through the filter of prayer, the filter of His righteous presence. I

don’t trust anything that didn’t go through God’s filter. Seek Him first, pursue Him, and

remain in His presence today!

LET US PRAY:

Dear God, I come to You with a broken and contrite heart, asking for Your

forgiveness for anything I’ve done to offend You. Lord, I invite You into my heart,

mind, and spirit. Lord, I welcome You into my home, cars, and workplace. God,

today I submit to Your nature, instruction, and plan. Lord, I ask that You sit on the

throne of my heart. Remove anything within me that is poisonous to my purpose and

contrary to Your will for my life! Remove any deceitful relationships that seek to

disrupt my relationship with You. Purify my heart, my motives, and my intentions!

Correct my thoughts and desires. Satisfy my soul, fill the holes in my heart so I will

be complete and lacking nothing. Help me to see what You see; help me to love

how You love; and help me to want what You want, Lord. I pray that whatever breaks

Your heart will break mine. Lord, I pray that I become more sensitive to Your Spirit

and more attentive to Your voice! Speak to me, Lord, and teach me Your will and

Your way! In Jesus’ name I pray, amen!