Articles Tagged 'Focus'

For over 30 years, Heartlight has shared articles to help people live for Jesus in everyday life. While we are no longer publishing new articles, this enduring collection features relevant pieces throughout the year to encourage faith, offer biblical perspective, and speak to real-world joys and struggles.

Keeping My Eyes on the Prize

Phil Ware continues his series on Jesus and transformation and focuses today on our walking with Jesus each day in the gospels and learning his words and talking with him and taking on on his character and compassion as the Spirit transforms us.

We have to follow the Lord, and Jesus promises to empower our becoming like him through the Holy Spirit.

Let's Go Somewhere Else

Phil Ware talks about spending time in communion with God so that we can know best how to respond to those who need compassion and yet help us keep to our mission.

Why would Jesus leave someone behind?

Your Life in God's Mission

Rubel Shelly talks about using our work and workplace as the place we live out God's mission for us.

Can you visualize your workplace as your mission?

Leaving the Past, Living the Kingdom

Paul Faulkner reminds us that we need to live for the present to help others and keep our focus on the matters of the Kingdom rather than let our lives get filled with regret for the past.

How can I escape my past?

Worship in the Real World

Phil Ware reminds us that there should be no line between sacred and secular for followers of Jesus.

Why is it so easy to draw this line?

Cruciformed Disciple

Phil Ware finishes his four part series on Peter and following Jesus by focusing on Jesus transforming and cruciforming him into a great servant for the Kingdom of God.

If the Lord can transform Peter with his failures, imagine what the Lord can do with you.

The Question

Phil Ware begins a four post series on Jesus' question to the disciples about who they thought he was and Jesus comes and asks us this question personally, so what will our answer be?

When's the last time you thought about life's most important question?

Please, Help Me Learn to Pray

Phil Ware provides a host of resources on prayer and how to grow our prayer lives.

I feel like I am launching my prayers upward, as if I was shooting bbs toward heaven, only to have them hit a metal ceiling and fall at my feet, mocking me with their ineffectiveness!

Leaving the Past, Living the Kingdom

Paul Faulkner reminds us that we need to live for the present to help others and keep our focus on the matters of the Kingdom rather than let our lives get filled with regret for the past.

How can I escape my past?

In the Power of the Spirit

Phil Ware continues his series on the Holy Spirit focusing on Jesus and our need for Jesus to be the transforming presence in our lives.

We can't help it: we live where we look!

Eyes on Jesus

Demetrius Collins and Phil Ware share a powerful virtual worship in Scripture, songs, and communion focused on Hebrews 12:2 and our need to fix our eyes on Jesus to continue with perseverance and endurance as we follow Jesus and seek to become like him.

As human beings, we live where we look: Our lives follow the focus of our hearts.

Finding Jesus' Heart for Ministry: Prayer

Phil Ware looks at Mark 1:35-45 and learning how to touch the broken as Jesus touched them by learning to pray as Jesus

To touch the broken as Jesus did, I must learn to pray as Jesus prayed!

Don't Just Do Something

Phil Ware reminds us that the phrase 'don't just stand there do something' is absolutely wrong: we must pray first, then let the Lord lead us to know what to do!

He was oblivious to the truth that our attempts to live for Jesus will succeed only if we have the power of the Holy Spirit released to us through prayer.

Learning to Dance with the Spirit

Phil Ware shares article three in his four-part series on being transformed to become like Jesus.

To become more like Christ, we must allow the Lord to lead us in the dance of grace to the music of the Holy Spirit.

Keeping My Eyes on the Prize

Phil Ware continues his series on Jesus and transformation and focuses today on our walking with Jesus each day in the gospels and learning his words and talking with him and taking on on his character and compassion as the Spirit transforms us.

We have to follow the Lord, and Jesus promises to empower our becoming like him through the Holy Spirit.

Jesus at the Center

Phil Ware talks about what is most important about the Bible and the focus of Scripture and the answer is simple: Jesus must be the center of everything.

Without Jesus at the center of our faith, we are left with only an empty form of religion.

Please, Help Me Learn to Pray

Phil Ware provides a host of resources on prayer and how to grow our prayer lives.

I feel like I am launching my prayers upward, as if I was shooting bbs toward heaven, only to have them hit a metal ceiling and fall at my feet, mocking me with their ineffectiveness!

ToGather.church for October 18 Is Ready!

Dr. Demetrius Collins and Phil Ware invite you to join us for our Sunday, Verse of the Day focused, home worship guide and videos, called ToGather.church!

You're invited to use our worship guide for your home worship!

One Defining Note

Phil Ware and James Nored remind us that the core of our faith is Jesus, that Christ is our defining note around whom all of us must tune our lives and recognize the grace of being called and transformed to be like him.

Do we realize the grace of getting to tune our lives to Jesus?

Biblical Foundation for Online Outreach Strategies

Phil Ware acknowledges the burnout and frustration in our church leaders from having to do church online and virtually, but at the same time challenges us to go back to the book of Acts and see how using our technologies to share Jesus is essential.

Instead of spending all of our time focused on re-gathering, we need to ask ourselves how we are have been doing the essential things that go with being Jesus' church

Jesus Came to Be One of Us! (SOR 4.1)

James Nored and Phil Ware remind us to push past the glittering lights of Christmas and see that God came to be one of us in the gritty and dangerous birth of Jesus of Nazareth to a virgin named Mary and her faithful to Torah husband to be, Joseph the car

God didn't come to our world as a heavenly tourist with special arrangements to keep him safe and to give him special treatment in his journey through mortality with all its grit and danger.

In the Power of the Spirit

Phil Ware reminds us that by focusing on Jesus and our need for Jesus to be the transforming presence in our lives the Holy Spirit transforms and conforms us to Jesus with increasing likeness.

We live our lives where we place our focus!

Teach Us to Pray Intro: Don't Just Do Something...

Phil Ware begins a series of messages built around the disciples' request to Jesus to teach them to pray with today focusing on our need to pray first.

'I wish I had time just to sit around and pray,' my friend said. He walked away in a huff!

Hanging on Every Word

Phil Ware discovers a verse in Luke 19 that the Holy Spirit uses to confront him about an important question.

The question the Holy Spirit left on my heart after reading this whole chapter was as convicting as it was clear.

Finish!

Phil Ware reminds us that we are called to accomplish the mission God has called us to do so that when our days on earth are over we can say we have finished the work he has given us to do.

As long as there is life, we have a mission and purpose to complete.