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Scripture for the day: Isaiah 55:6-9 Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.
Thought for the day: F---O---C---U---S! That’s right; focus. Think about that for a minute. What does it really mean to focus on something; anything? Does it not mean to look so intently at that thing or subject that everything else seems to fade into the background?
Think about the following facts for a moment – I’ll be right back.
1. In 1980, a Las Vegas hospital suspended workers for betting on when patients would die.
2. Thomas Edison was afraid of the dark.
3. "Kemo Sabe" means "soggy shrub" in Navajo.
4. Einstein couldn't speak fluently when he was nine. His parents thought he might be retarded.
5. In Los Angeles, there are fewer people than there are automobiles.
6. You're more likely to get stung by a bee on a windy day than in any other weather.
7. An average person laughs about 5 times a day.
8. Penguins can jump as high as 6 feet in the air.
9. The average person is about a quarter of an inch taller at night.
10. A sneeze zooms out of your mouth at over 600 mph.
11. The Neanderthal's brain was bigger than yours is.
12. A Saudi Arabian woman can get a divorce if her husband doesn't give her coffee.
13. In 1980, there was only one country in the world with no telephones - Bhutan.
14. Pollsters say that 40% of dog and cat owners carry pictures of their pets in their wallets.
15. Bubble gum contains rubber.
16. Only 55% of all Americans know that the sun is a star.
17. The world population of chickens is about equal to the number of people.
18. Every time Beethoven sat down to write music, he poured iced water over his head.
19. It's against the law to catch fish with your bare hands in Kansas.
20. Some toothpastes contain antifreeze.
21. Sigmund Freud had a morbid fear of ferns.
22. Bird droppings are the chief export of Nauru, an island nation in the western Pacific.
23. Most lipstick contains fish scales.
24. Spotted skunks do handstands before they spray.
25. Hypnotism is banned by public schools in San Diego.
26. Most cows give more milk when they listen to music.
Now, what on earth do all these fascinating tidbits of knowledge have to do with today’s devotion? Absolutely nothing; I just wanted to make the point that we can so easily get distracted from what’s really important and focus too heavily on those things that make no real eternal difference. Let me give you one more prime example.
When Jesus and his disciples toured the countryside, preaching and teaching, the Pharisees took great pains to point out every violation of the Law, majoring on the minors to the point of appearing ridiculous. “Why don’t your disciples wash their hands before they eat?” they asked, as if eating with unwashed hands was enough to keep them out of heaven. “Why do your disciples pick grain and eat it on the Sabbath?” they questioned, as if it were more important to keep the smallest prohibition of the Law than to eat and do good.
Paul admonishes us to set aside everything that doesn’t focus on knowing the Lord Jesus better, counting all such things as rubbish. The writer to the Hebrews tells us to lay aside every weight and “the sin that so easily entangles,” in favor of keeping our focus on Jesus, “the author and finisher” of our faith.
The 26 tidbits of useless information I just shared with you might come in handy if you’re ever invited to compete on Jeopardy. Beyond that, I can’t imagine they are of any use whatever. Spending the time in the Word that it took someone to discover and publish these facts just might be a better use of our time, don’t you think?
Now go take on your world. - Bill