Where does your focus lie? Whatever direction holds your focus is the direction your life will be going. If your focus is on Christ, you will be a follower of Christ. If your focus is on anything else, you will be distracted and will soon wander away from God. There are many things that demand our attention. We can be drawn away from God by good things as well as bad. God honors hard work and expects us to provide for our families but if our priorities get out of perspective, our career can be a distraction. Good things with bad priorities will draw us outside of God’s will. Sin also draws us outside of God’s will. Look at Hebrews 12:1-2

1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Where does your focus lie? If it is not on Jesus Christ then you will miss the target. Look at Matthew 7:13

"Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.
14 "Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it."

If the gate is narrow, so should our focus. In John 10:9 Jesus said that He is the door and we must enter by Him to gain salvation. Jesus clarifies this principle again in John 14:6 when He said that He is the way and no one can come to God except through Him. Jesus Christ is the only one who can give us salvation and the only way to heaven. But what about here and now? Once we obtain salvation through Christ, it is critical that our focus remains on Him. How we walk determines our relationship with God. Jesus is not only the author of our faith, but also the finisher of our faith.

Our goal is not to just get into heaven but to enjoy our relationship with God now and to fulfill His will in our lives so that when we stand before Him we will hear, well done good and faithful servant. The promises are only to the faithful. Look at Hebrews 6:11-12

11 And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end,
12 that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

We can only inherit through diligence. Only if Christ is our focus will we have the endurance. I don’t have the strength or endurance by my own strength. It is only through the promise of Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." How we pursue our calling is very important. Religion doesn’t work. Rules and legalism doesn’t work. How we step is not what is important. If we are worried more about carefully going through the right steps, we will go off course. If our focus is on Christ, we will remain on course. We are told to run with endurance and cast off the weights that hold us back while looking to Jesus. I believe when we make Jesus our target, we will see the sins that ensnare us and we will either put them off or choose to take our eyes off Christ. Both can’t co-exist. The key is implementing lifestyle habits that cultivate our walk with our Lord. Without committing to God’s word, Jesus can’t be in focus.

I’ve used this illustration before, but it bears repeating. When I was in the Army we had to qualify regularly with our weapons. Prior to qualification, we had to align our sites. We would shoot at a target that was 25 meters away. The target had a grid and based on the hole where the bullet hit, we had to adjust our sites toward the center of the target. We repeated this process until we were able to consistently hit the center of the target. Then we could confidently go onto the range and hit the narrow targets that were up to 650 meters away. That is what scripture does. Without guidance, we have no way to align our sites so that we are focusing on the Christ. How far off does your focus have to be to miss the target? If my sights were off by one click, I would miss the distant target by a long shot. We are warned throughout scripture to beware of teachers of false doctrines that seek to draw us away. They have smooth words and can even appear as bearers of truth. But the Bible tells us that even if an angel from heaven brings a doctrine that contradicts the scriptures, count him as accursed by God.

Cults always zero in on a select few verses that fit their pre-desired doctrines. Scripture was written to be studied as a whole. Scripture is used to interpret scripture. Only by this can we know that we are not contradicting the word of God. We can’t identify false teaching if we don’t know and study for ourselves. I believe that memorization is best study technique we can adopt. Anyone can memorize one passage a week. Scripture is what aligns our sites on to Jesus Christ and the path He has designed for us. Focus is crucial.

Having a true focus eliminates so many problems that plague the church today. I meet people who refuse to go to church because "there are too many hypocrites in the church". No doubt, there are too many hypocrites in life. Why don’t they quit their jobs as well? I have never seen a company that didn’t have people who try to pass themselves off as better than they are. People are hypocrites because they are afraid of who they are. If you are worried about hypocrites, you are focusing on the wrong target. If you are looking at Christ, a hypocrite will not faze you. If we act like hypocrites, it is just a different symptom for the same problem – our focus is wrong.

God designed us just like we are. Each one of us has been designed perfectly with God’s amazing plan in mind. If we are not walking according to God’s designed plan, we will be unsatisfied with ourselves. Why do so many people run to and fro trying to change themselves? Are you dissatisfied with your looks? You are focused in the wrong direction. Are you unhappy with your personality? You have the wrong focus. Do you feel cheated because you are not athletic, as skilled as others or more intelligent? You are focusing on the wrong things. Look at Psalm 139:

13 For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.
17 How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How great is the sum of them!
18 If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;

If you are angry or disappointed in God, your focus is wrong. It is no accident that you are made the way you are. You are crafted and formed and your days are written in God’s plan for your life. There are absolutely no disabilities in God’s design and no substandard people. If life is leaving you behind or you are feeling inadequate, you are outside of God’s will and not focused on God’s plan. God has created each one of us to fit perfectly into His plan. If we refuse that plan, we will not be a perfect fit anywhere else. Our purpose and our satisfaction can only be found in Him. We are designed to fit into God’s will. If you are outside of God’s design for your life, you will feel like you are a square peg in a round hole. You may be able to force it to fit, but there will always be gaps. God did not create anyone to be self-sufficient. The gaps in our life are designed by God to be filled by God. Only God can fulfill your life. You are designed to fit in perfect harmony in God’s design for your life. Outside of God’s will you will always have those gaps that cannot be filled. If we fulfill God’s will and make Jesus our focus we will be satisfied. We can’t help but to be satisfied. God will not allow us to be dissatisfied in Him.

At any point we can recognize God’s sovereignty and begin to walk in His will. We can never regain missed blessings and we can’t go back for missed opportunities. But we can choose this day to follow Christ and begin the race here. God’s hand is always extended and grace is always offered. I don’t believe there a last chance until we die. I do believe that we can reject God until the point where we no longer care. Grace is still extended, but a hardened heart can’t see it. If you care, you have not gone beyond God’s grace. Today is the day to make that change. If I refuse God’s direction for my life, I also miss the good God has planned for me and I do not have the promise of Romans 8:28 that tells me that all things work together for my good. This promise is only to those who are called according to His purpose and we must answer that call. If I am unwilling to pursue holiness today, I am less likely to commit tomorrow.

Hebrews 3:12 Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God;
13 but exhort one another daily, while it is called "Today," lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
14 For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end.

Sin is very deceitful. That is why my focus has to be on Christ. Jeremiah gives a great description of this deceit. Jeremiah 17:9-10

9 "The heart is deceitful above all things,
And desperately wicked;
Who can know it?
10 I, the Lord, search the heart,
I test the mind,
Even to give every man according to his ways,
According to the fruit of his doings.

Only God can search our hearts and show us the right way. Proverbs 21:2 tells us that "every way of man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the hearts." As I get to know God and draw closer through His word and prayer, God will direct my steps. Many Christians don’t start because they don’t know where to start. It begins with a relationship with Christ. It must begin with a daily relationship by focusing and drawing closer to Christ. Don’t watch your steps, look toward your Savior. As you grow, God will show you areas that need to be changed. Our level of intimacy with God is determined by our willingness to let go and allow God to change us.

About a year ago I made a big change in my life. I had a hobby that completely dominated my spare time. The hobby was not sinful in itself, but it took priority over everything else. God dealt with me and I was unwilling to let go. I decided that I would limit my time on this past time hobby. It wasn’t long before the hobby my priority once again. I had a relationship with God and I knew that I was not growing closer because of this hobby. I tried again and again to make it a lower priority but it was one of those activities that was time consuming. Finally I looked at where I wanted to be spiritually and acknowledge this was a barrier to me getting there. I thought and wondered, in 20 years, which will benefit me the most. Which do I value most, a closer walk with Christ or this particular hobby. I walked away from the hobby and never looked back. It has been almost a year now and I consider that decision to be a big stepping stone in my walk of faith. Hobbies are not bad and enjoyment is a part of life that God wants us to have. The problem arises when the enjoyment becomes more important than the God who provides it. I like to have fun and I have found that everything has greater enjoyment when God is my first love. God will not allow me to be dissatisfied when I am in His will.

John 12:25 "He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
26 "If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.

I would much rather have God’s honor than to go outside of Him for my own honor. I want to close with the picture of honor Jesus foretold to those who follow and obey. Luke 12:35-40

35 "Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning;
36 "and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately.
37 "Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching. Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them.
38 "And if he should come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants.
39 "But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.
40 "Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect."

What a promise! The command is to watch and obey. The man or woman whose eyes are always fixed on Christ, will always be watching. How do you know what God has called you to do? Draw close and make Christ your first love. As you grow in Him, you will have the desire to serve. Psalm 37:4 says "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart". You will desire the right things and God will fulfill them. God provides both the desire and the fulfillment.

One guy told me he was afraid to yield to God’s will because God might send him to Africa. If you don’t want to go to Africa, God isn’t calling you there. And if He is calling you there and you don’t want to go, you probably are not going to be effective. If you make Christ your delight and God is calling you to Africa, you will be begging God for a plane ticket. God gives us the desires of our heart and fulfills those desires when He is our delight. When you do these things, you will know God’s calling because He will give you the desire toward the area in which He is calling.

Revelation 2:25 "But hold fast what you have till I come.
26"And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations—

Focus on Christ and hold fast. Don’t get drawn off target but stay focused and endure until the end.

Eddie Snipes
Exchanged Life Outreach
http://www.exchangedlife.com