Text Box: The key to avoiding sin is our choice of focus. While on that roof that evening David could have looked up and saw a glorious sky, full of the wonderful stars. He could have glanced down, seen Bathsheba, turned away, and focused his thoughts and his physical vision away from the temptations of sin. Rather, he could have considered Bathsheba a daughter of God, and allowed his focus to be on what her heavenly Father would want him to do. A great deal of the teachings regarding positive thinking has to do with focus. If you focus on negative things, you become a negative person in your outlook and your attitude. This is also true of sin. If you focus yourself on sin, you will become sinful. The person who is seriously committed to living a Kingdom lifestyle, devoting their entire life to God, will purposefully put their focus on the things of God. When coming across a situation in which sin presents itself, the Kingdom kid, will not focus on the sin, but rather focus on what the will of God is for them at that moment and in that situation. Do you want to avoid sin? Focus on the Savior and His will for your life. Focus on building His Kingdom and He will help you. In His arms,

Text Box: Recently we had some friends visit our home. Among these friends was a teenage girl. While the adults chatted away, this teen was caught up in one of our ‘coffee table top’ books, a book with those pictures that you need to adjust the focus of your eyes to see. Yes, you can see various shapes and colors when you look at the pictures ‘normally’, but as you refocus your eyes to look beyond the picture, while looking at the picture, new images and shapes emerge. In Chapter 11 of the book of II Samuel, is the story of David and Bathsheba. The chapter begins by saying it was springtime, the time that kings went to war. However, David sent out his army with his general, Joab, while he stayed in Jerusalem. One night he went onto the roof of his palace and saw a beautiful woman, Bathsheba, bathing. He became desirous of her, so he sent for her and slept with her. To make matters worse, she was married to one of David’s soldiers. Several times I have heard teaching that David fell into sin because he was not where he was supposed to be. If only he had gone to war with his army, he would not have fallen into sin.

Text Box: Let’s look at this with a different perspective. The reason to take a look from this perspective, is that sometimes we do find ourselves in places that are not, at least seemingly, the right or best place to be. This was the situation David found himself in -- not the right or best place. The real issue for David was not that he was in Jerusalem instead of with his army. The real issue for David was that he allowed his focus to drift away from God. David could have avoided this sin of adultery and the later sin of murder, by having kept his focus on God. Was he wrong to be on the roof? No, being on the roof was not the issue. Was he wrong for having looked down and having seen Bathsheba? No, looking down was not the problem. Was he wrong to allow his physical, emotional, and spiritual focus to be directed on the beauty of Bathsheba? Yes! The opportunities for sin lurk most everywhere. This is our circumstance because we live in a sinful world. Each of us has the opportunity to sin with most every choice that presents itself.

A Simple Plan For Avoiding Sin

by Pastor Dave Bassett

What is the Holy Spirit? What does it mean to be filled with the Holy Spirit? Are these questions that you have pondered? The Holy Spirit is the third person of the trinity. The Holy Spirit is God’s spirit that is at work in the world today. God’s spirit—the Holy Spirit—can live in us, if we ask God to take full control of our life, and fill us with the Holy Spirit.

If you ask God to take control, and you turn your entire life over to Him, He will send the Holy Spirit to live with you and in you, to help you through all the events that make up life in this world.

In Acts 1:8, Jesus said “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Jerusalem was the town where they lived every day. Does God really expect us to witness to those we are around each day?

Yes—I believe He does. He gives us the power to speak the words that He will put in our mouths, and to live our lives so that the people around us on a day-to-day basis will see Christ in us.

[Continued on Page 2]

Text Box: Building God’s
Kingdom Together

September 15, 2007

September, 2007 — Issue #1

Building God’s Kingdom Newsletter

Special points of interest:

Page One —

· A Simple Plan For Avoiding Sin

by Pastor Dave Bassett

· What is the Holy Spirit?
by Judy Bassett

Page Two —

· Tithing Myths—I Do Not Have to Tithe on Returns
by Pastor Dave Bassett

· How’s Utah?
by Judy Bassett

Rev. Dave Bassett is the pastor of Rosewood Lane Church of the Nazarene. See the church’s website at http://www.nazarene.ch/RosewoodLane/ for info on the Rosewood Lane Church in Layton, Utah. We would love to have you visit our church!