June 12th, 20

JUNE 13,  FOCUSSED ON THE GOAL

Today’s readings are I Kings 13-14, II Chronicles 12, and Philippians 3.  We are reading from the New Living Translation.

Where’s your focus?  Is it on yourself, your virtues, and the good things you’ve done that you think ought to impress God? It was for Paul – he talks about it in Philippians.  Is your focus on your past?  Are you trying to outrun or compensate for something you’ve done or didn’t do?  It’s so easy to focus on the wrong things and miss what God has for us right now –  the peace,strength, and joy that are ours, in Him.  Paul tells us,

No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. (Phil 3:13-14 NLT)

God is calling you and me to a life of knowing, loving, and living in Him.  That’s what Paul is focussed on.  That’s where he’s going.  He says he considers his past,- all his achievements and virtues – worthless, compared to the infinite value of knowing Jesus as his Lord and his friend.

For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. (Phil 3:8-9 NLT)

Paul discarded everything else – both the things he’d done, that held him back and haunted him, and the things that he thought vaulted him to the front of the line. He counted it all as garbage so that he could gain Christ.  He learned where to focus.  

Where’s your focus?  Is it on you, your past achievements, or maybe your past failures?  Neither one will do.  In order to have that focus you’re going to have to let some things go.  You’re going to have to cling to the one thing that is of infinite value – knowing Him.

This is the goal – the life that we’ve all been waiting for.  We need to keep our eye on the prize, focussed on Him, in order to experience that which is of infinite value – knowing Christ.

Stay focussed.  Set your gaze fully and completely on Him, for he is of infinite value.  Do away with those things that have distracted you.  Throw it all aside.

I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. (Phil 3:14 NLT)

You are loved!