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Johson Bowie, one of my favorite speakers, at http://www.fusionatl.org/p/12081/Default.aspx in his "Vine" message under "Various Fusion Messages, opens with a story about "fair day" when he was in elementary school. He and his family were playing the ping pong game where you have to get the ping pong ball in a cup and you win a gold fish. He wins several gold fish, gets the keys from his mom and puts the fish on the dashboard of the van. He resumes his day at the fair, but comes back to find a disaster. This is a funny story when he tells it! Have you ever done something that was a real bonehead job? Don't we forget to do things (like forgetting kids in the grocery store) that are extremely important? Doesn't it seem like we get all caught up in this life sometimes and forget the single most important thing in life, Jesus Christ? In Luke 2:41, Mary and Joseph were celebrating Passover by gathering in Jerusalem as was custom. But when they leave, they accidentally leave Jesus behind and have to go back for him. "That had to be a sin", Johnson kids, "Hey, where's the son of God?" What's more, the irony is that they lost him at a religious event!! Isn't that what we do at church sometimes today? We do things and forget why we're doing it. Is our Christianity just a checklist? Johnson was struck by a quote from a Chinese minister. When asked what he was struck most by on his visit to America, he responded, "I'm amazed at all the things Americans can do without God". In the current series of REAL by his mother church, Victory Atlanta, the pastor Dennis Rouse is covering being an authenic Christian. Johnson says as he's been listening, he keeps saying, "Oh yeah, I forgot about that" and "oh yeah, I forgot about doing that too". In the life we live, where we can only spin so many plates, we get to a point where we have to choose what we focus on. Even in our faith, we have to choose where to place our attention. When Jesus was asked what the most important commandment was, he says it is to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. Why is that? On a similar note, why is the first commandment the first commandment? "I am the Lord your God." Is it possible that if we follow God, everything else will fall into place? Remember the story about Martha and Mary, when Jesus came to the house and Mary is at Jesus' feet while Martha is running around cleaning and cooking. When Martha asks Jesus to send Mary to help, Jesus says, "Martha, Martha, you are worried about many things". He basically was telling her that she is paying too much attention to the spinning plates. What's really cool about this story is that one of the following stories is when Jesus teaches the disciples how to pray. He teaches to place God first. This is what David talks about in Psalm 27:4 saying he desires to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of his life. Out of the blue, Johnson then humorously switches to the subject of oranges. How often to oranges appear on the sidewalk for us? How often do we wish for an orange and it pops out? NEVER! It's a process and Jesus identifies the fruit as the product of its being fed by the vine. That is what it's like for us as Christians. We have to stay connected to Christ. All the fruits of the spirit: peace, patience, self control etc... is the fruit, the fruit!! It is not what we are because we do, do, do. It is the product and reflection of our relationship with Christ. If this principle is true about the fruits of the spirit, is it possible that it's true for everything else? So, we can just focus on Christ. Jesus didn't keep saying no to things, he just kept saying yes to God. We should just stop trying so hard. Johnson reflects back on when he finally started taking his faith seriously. He became attached to Christ and, without even trying, those around him started noticing a change in him. But it was when he finally embraced his relationship with Jesus rather than the to dos when it finally started to happen. Psalm 63 is a reflection of how King David desparately clung to God. His words embody the passion and boldness of a love for a Holy God. Another terrific message by Johnson.