MIND OF CHRIST MINISTRIES, INC.

PASTOR THOMAS E. OGLESBY

P.O. BOX 85

NUTLEY, NEW JERSEY 07110

website: mindofchristministries.net

Phone: 973-818-2750

e-mail: mindofchrist@verizon.net

February 2022

“Keep Your Eyes On Jesus”

Dear Believer(s):

Satan would like nothing better than to get us off course in our Christian walk with God. He wants to get our focus off of Jesus and on to something else. Regardless of what that something else is. It does not have to be anything evil. The devil can use the simplest thing to distract us if we fall for it. He wants to break our focus and get our eyes off of Jesus. Let’s look at Peter in Matthew 14:28-31. Here was a man so committed to trusting Jesus that when Jesus told him to get out of the boat and walk on water, Peter did. Now that’s trust and focus. Here was an ordinary man doing a supernatural extraordinary thing because he was totally trusting and totally focused on Jesus. But then Peter got out of the miraculous and back into the flesh when he let the fear of a simple storm take his focus off Jesus. And when Peter focused on what was going on around him instead of on Jesus, he started to sink. The same thing happens to us when we take our focus off of Jesus. We sink because our focus is totally on our problems. We focus so much on our financial problems, on job problems, on lack, on our sicknesses, on past mistakes, and on all the other cares of life. All of these cares and worries cause us to lose faith and trust in Jesus. But when Peter cried out, “Jesus, save me!” and put his focus on the Lord, Jesus lifted him up out of the mess!

I have good news for you! If you have allowed your focus to be broken by focusing on the wrong things in your life, you can do as Peter did and get your eyes back on Jesus. Isaiah 26: 3 says, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.”  When you focus on the devil’s distractions, you can sink just like Peter did. But when you feed your faith on God’s Word and keep your eyes on Him, that’s when Jesus can lift you up.

The last thing that the devil wants is for a Christian to surrender his or her all to God. When you ask God to take you and use you for His glory, all hell will brake loose. The devil will come against you with all of his weapons that he has. He does not want to see the Spirit of God come alive in you. He does not want you to yield to the power of God in you. Why? Because the Bible says, “Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” (1John 4:4) Greater is the power of God in you than the power of the devil in the world. You and I have power over the works of the devil when we are living in God. This is what the devil fears. It is alright to go to church every Sunday, to sing in the choir, and to pray a little prayer as long as you are not committed to God. But when you are totally committed to God with His Spirit operating in your life, you have power. I mean Holy Ghost Power! You can say in the name of Jesus, satan I bind up your power and the evilness that you are bringing against me. I cancel your assignment against my body, against my family, and against my finances. The enemy has to stop. You have the almighty power of God in you and the storms of life cannot defeat you. Whatever storm you may be faced with right now, the Spirit of God in you can handle it. Just keep your eyes on God.

When we keep our eyes on Jesus, we know that we have no power of ourselves but the power we have comes from God. “Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.”  (Zechariah 4:6)   Sure we will face difficult situations or storms as we walk with God, but He is with us. We must not allow the storms or trouble to break our focus. We must keep our eyes on Jesus.

Do you recall the story of when Jesus told His disciples, “Let us cross over to the other side of the lake” (Luke 8:22), and a great storm struck them? Now Jesus knew that a demoniac was running around naked in the tombs on the other side of the Sea of Galilee. He knew there was a divine mission to be accomplished there.

If Jesus told you, “Let’s get into a boat so we can go over to the other side of the lake because there’s a demoniac over there that I am going to heal,” do you believe you would be in the perfect will of God if you went with Him? Of course, you do! And that’s the safest place for you to be right in the middle of God’s will!

Surely the disciples were in the middle of God’s will when they were out on the Sea of Galilee that day. And yet, without warning, the storm showed up!  Why? A lot of people believe they are out of the will of God when they are blasted by a terrible storm of life.

Of course, it’s always a good idea to examine yourself. But just because you’re in the middle of a storm doesn’t mean that you’re out of the will of God! Besides, the important thing is the way you handle the storm. Do you do what the disciples did? Do you scream and yell, “God, don’t you care that I’m about to perish?” (See Mark 4:38).

When the disciples cried out to Jesus, He stepped to the bow of the boat and rebuked the winds and the waves, and the sea became as still as glass. Then He asked them, “Where is your faith?” (Luke 8:25).

I believe Jesus was telling the disciples they had the power to do the same thing He had done. And God has given you and me the very same power today, through the mighty Name of Jesus! So, when you face the storms of life, remember to look to Jesus. Do not allow your focus to be broken. When you keep your eyes on Him, Jesus will bring you through victoriously.

Let us pray! “Dear God, there is no storm or problem greater than you. Let us look to you in all situations. You are all that we need. You promised never to leave us alone. The enemy wants to destroy us but as long as we remain in your care, we are totally safe. We thank you for being our Father and deliverer. We pray this prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen!

We thank you for your financial support and prayers. Without your help we would not have been able to reach and touch lost souls. I remind you to please continue to support the work that we are doing. I know that God will bless you as you help us with the work of sharing the gospel.

With Love & Prayers,

Thomas Oglesby

Pastor Thomas Oglesby