When doing laundry have you ever noticed that if you don't put the clothes in the washer and spread them out evenly in the basket the washer will make a terrible noise? The noise comes from the load being unbalanced and you have to go in and rearrange the clothes to get rid of the noise. Is that what is happening in your Christian life? Are you balanced? Are you running smoothly? Or do you just go banging around and making a lot of noise?

The image many people have of a Christian today is of someone who is loud, obnoxious, and intolerant. This is due to a lack of balance. What the church needs, what non-Christians need, and what the world needs are balanced believers who are stable, authentic, and who live their everyday lives with the Spirit of Jesus.

"And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." (Col. 3:17) The person who is well balanced should be revealing Christ consistently.

These words pretty much sums it up! "WHETHER IN WORD OR DEED" That includes everything in life. "Deeds" can be preaching, teaching, exercising, driving, cleaning house, shopping, visiting, working, playing, etc. Our words are everything that passes our lips, even in those unguarded moments. I can hear your minds clicking..... everything?..... Oh my!

Have you ever been around someone who complains about everything? The service was too long, the music too loud, too many old people, too many young people, too many hymns, too much praise and worship, too much scripture, not enough scripture. Well, you get the idea. Then these same people wonder why the church isn't growing. The answer is simple. If they would rearrange their thinking and become balanced and stop banging around making noise, and would start to speak words that give thanks to the Father, then they could see the good that is being done. But, they are so side tracked by negativity they can't focus on God the Father.

Paul urges us to be stable and balanced in our Christian walk. How do we do that? It seems like today we are tugged and pulled from every angle. We have so many individuals preaching and teaching so many different things today, what are we to believe? After hearing this one say there is no hell and that one saying there is no heaven; and this one saying once saved always saved, and that one saying you will lose your salvation if you just cross your eyes the wrong way; and this one saying there is a rapture, and that one saying there is no rapture; etc., it all can become quite confusing if we don't have the Spirit to guide us and lead us into all truth!

I've come to a conclusion. It's all about God and God's love, and God's grace and God's mercy. Period! So how do I stay balanced? I keep my eyes on Jesus. I listen to God. I read His Word. I learn His scriptures. Because I know once I get thrown off balanced it is so easy to give up. I have to seek and search the scriptures and have a relationship with God so that I can discern if someone is trying to indoctrinate me with false teachings.

Today our churches are filled with people who do not want to hear the truth. They want to be fed a consistent diet of fables, lies, and deceits. John 3:20 says; "For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved."

People don't want to hear the truth because they know that it will condemn their ungodly lifestyles. Instead they look for preachers who do not offend their sensibilities. Today our pulpits are being filled more and more with entertainers. Men and women who will tickle the ears of their congregation to keep them happy and the checks coming in.

"For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths." 2Ti.4:3,4

We will soon become like Peter and will sink into troubled waters if we focus on the contradictions coming from our pulpits. There are many things out there to trouble us and make us question salvation, hell, heaven, death, the rapture, etc. There will be many circumstances in life that will challenge our understanding of the scriptures. But do not focus on these things! Because what you are focused on will consume you! You need to stay balanced. So keep your focus on the one who died for your sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus! Because if we are focused on Him, we will not be consumed by the storms. We will rather be consumed with Jesus as He becomes more and more the center of our lives! And when we are focused on and consumed with the central figure of all the ages, we will be balanced!

No longer will we be leaning, or swaying. But, our feet will be steadfast grounded in the Rock Christ Jesus. It's time to stop banging around making noise. It's time to rearrange our lives, focus on God and live the balanced life He has called us to live.

Life is full of things that try to throw us off balance, but GOD IS STILL IN CONTROL! Live your life according to God's Word; keep your eyes on Jesus, put your trust in Him, and your life will be balanced.