Tag Archives: keep your eyes on Jesus

October 15, 2025 · 5:46 AM

Storm Of Distractions

If you watched the movie, “Up,” then you remember Doug the dog. Every time someone goes on a rabbit trail or gets distracted, either they say, “Squirrel,” or someone else does. I hear people say it often because we’re a lot like Doug. We get easily distracted. We have our eyes on the prize of where we’re headed and something shiny gets our attention. We try to pray and we start thinking of all we have to do today. When we try to read the Bible, our phone goes off with someone trying to reach us. We live in a world full of distractions, but we must learn to keep our eyes on Jesus.

In Matthew 14 after Jesus fed the 5,000 He put the disciples in a boat to cross the Sea of Galilee. Somewhere in the night, a storm came over the sea and began tossing their boat. At 4:00 in the morning, while fighting to keep the boat afloat, Jesus came walking to them on the water. When they realized it was Jesus, Peter asked to get out of the boat and walk to Him. Verse 30 says, “But when he realized how high the waves were, he became frightened and started to sink. ‘Save me, Lord!’ he cried out” (TPT). Jesus reached out His hand, saved him and walked him back to the boat. When Peter got distracted, he began to sink and became afraid.

Proverbs 4:26-27 says, “Watch where you’re going! Stick to the path of truth, and the road will be safe and smooth before you. Don’t allow yourself to be sidetracked for even a moment or take the detour that leads to darkness.” It sounds simple enough, and it’s easy to pick on Peter, but we all get distracted by things around us or our circumstances. Taking the easy way out has become the norm, but we must stick to the path of truth. We can’t allow ourselves to get distracted so that we make decisions out of fear. We can’t allow distractions to get us off of God’s path. When we find that we are straying or are being distracted, we need to be like Peter and cry out, “Save me, Lord!” Just like He rescued Peter, He will rescue you and walk with you through the storm of distractions.

Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as being distracted, bible study on, bible verses on, christian living, Devotional, devotional on, distractions, having faith, keep your eyes on, keep your eyes on Jesus, stay focused, what does the bible say about

September 17, 2025 · 5:36 AM

Spiritual Recalibration

When I was in my teens I was in a scouting program through my church. When it came time to earn my orienteering badge I had to get a compass. The first thing I remember learning about it was that the little, metal arrow inside was magnetized and that’s how it found north. I went on to learn that it was pointing to magnetic north instead of True North. The North Pole of the earth never shifts. It is a geographic constant, but magnetic north is constantly moving. Because of that, and our reliance on maps in our phones, software companies have to send packets every so often to recalibrate north on our devices so they stay up to date with it.

In Luke 22, after spending up to three years with Jesus, Peter was confronted by a teen girl who accused him of being a follower of Jesus. He denied knowing Jesus just as he had been told he would. Not long after, in John 21, Jesus pulled Peter aside to ask him, “Do you love me?” Then He told Peter to feed His sheep. What Jesus was doing was recalibrating Peter’s heart and directing it back to True North. Once he was recalibrated, we read how he went on to be one of the Early Church leaders, led thousands to Jesus and even became a martyr. It was a significant turn around in his life and for the Church.

Colossians 3:1-2 says, “Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth” (NLT). There are a lot of distractions in this world that take our eyes off of Jesus, Heaven and eternity. It’s easy to take our eyes off of True North and to begin following the magnetic north of this world that is constantly changing. Paul’s reminder to us here is that we need to keep recalibrating our hearts and minds to look beyond this life and to keep our eyes on Jesus. When is the last time you asked Jesus to recalibrate your heart and mind? Today is a great day to reset and refocus on what matters most.

Photo by Aron Visuals on Unsplash

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as bible study on, bible verses on, camping devotional, christian living, Devotional, devotional on, eternal mindset, eyes on eternity, hiking devotional, keep your eyes on Jesus, outdoors devotion, refocus your attention, true north, what does the bible say about

January 28, 2025 · 5:34 AM

Refocusing Your Eyes

I talk to people all the time trying to help them to convert their dreams to goals. I try to help them create a plan that is specific and has milestones along the way so they can see their progress. Everyone starts out with good intentions and they’re excited, but then life sets in. Things start competing for their time, and what was supposed to be used on achieving their goal gets spent on something else. The same thing happens with their energy and other resources. Distractions come in as they’re making progress and takes their attention off the goal. This is the unfortunate end to so many people’s journey to making their dream a reality. They take their eye off the prize and before they know it too much time has passed.

In Matthew 14, the disciples were in a boat headed across the Sea of Galilee following Jesus’ orders. As they were rowing along, headed for their destination, a storm came up and fought against them. While they were struggling to move forward, Jesus came walking towards them on the water. They all saw Him out there and He spoke to them to encourage them in their struggle. Peter then said, “Lord, if it is [really] You, command me to come to You on the water” (AMP). He wanted to get permission to get out of the boat and even asked Jesus to command him to move. Verses 29-30 say, “He said, ‘Come!’ So Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw [the effects of] the wind, he was frightened, and he began to sink, and he cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’” Peter was making progress when he got distracted by the storm and took his eyes off Jesus. He quickly called out for help and Jesus lifted him up and walked him back to the boat.

Hebrews 12:2 says, “[looking away from all that will distract us and] focusing our eyes on Jesus, who is the Author and Perfecter of faith [the first incentive for our belief and the One who brings our faith to maturity], who for the joy [of accomplishing the goal] set before Him endured the cross, disregarding the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God [revealing His deity, His authority, and the completion of His work].” What have you stopped doing for the Lord because you got distracted? Today, Jesus is asking you to fix your eyes back on Him to complete the work. We’re all susceptible to life’s storms and distractions. We’re all guilty of taking our eyes off Jesus at times and stopping our progress. However, like Peter, we can look back to Jesus, call out for help and He will lift us back up to complete the work. It all starts with you fixing your eyes back on Him.

Photo by nikko macaspac on Unsplash

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as accomplishing God’s plan, accomplishing gods will, achieving goals, bible study on, bible verses on, christian living, Devotional, devotional on, fix your eyes on Jesus, goals, keep your eyes on Jesus, Peter got distracted, peter walked on water, what does the bible say about

February 27, 2024 · 5:28 AM

Looking Past Distractions

Apple Vision Pro came out not long ago. If you’re unaware of what they are, they’re goggles in a sense that blend virtual reality with reality. You can watch movies, browse the internet and so much more on virtual screens. The day after they came out, videos started surfacing of people walking down the sidewalk with them on moving screens and interacting with them. A few hours after that, videos of people driving down the road in their Tesla started to emerge taking distracted driving to a whole new level. Most of us are guilty of distracted driving to some degree whether it’s with our phones or being deep in thought. Have you ever shown up somewhere and don’t remember the journey? Distracted driving takes our eyes off of what’s important: the road. We can’t afford to do that.

In Mark 5, a man named Jairus went to see Jesus about his daughter who was very sick. As Jesus was headed to his house, they were distracted by a woman who had been unable to stop her bleeding for 12 years. She was focused and wasn’t going to let anyone keep her from touching the hem of His garment to receive her healing. Once she touched Jesus, He stopped. While Jesus was talking to her, friends of Jairus came up and told him his daughter had died. Verse 36 says, “But Jesus overheard them and said to Jairus, ‘Don’t be afraid. Just have faith’” (NLT). Jesus was telling him not to get distracted from the mission by the news from his friends. Because Jairus kept his attention and faith on Jesus, his daughter was raised to life.

Isaiah 26:3 says, “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you” Have you been getting distracted by reports, circumstances or people and taking your eyes off Jesus? If you don’t have peace in what you’re going through, I want to encourage you to take your eyes off your problem and give your attention to the One who can resolve any situation. Jairus’ daughter was dead and became alive by Jairus’ faith. The woman who, doctors had tried everything on was healed because of her determination and focus on Jesus. What’s impossible for man is possible with God. Trust in Him and keep your thoughts fixed on Him and you will have peace in whatever situation you find yourself in. We must learn to look past the distractions of this world.

Photo by Paul Skorupskas on Unsplash

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as bible study on, bible verses on, christian living, Christianity, Devotional, devotional on, faith, focus on Jesus, Jairus and his daughter, keep your eyes on Jesus, touch the hem of his garment, turn your eyes upon Jesus, what does the bible say about, woman with the issue of blood