Stay Focused 5

'THAT SPECIAL GIFT...YOU WERE GIVEN...KEEP THAT DUSTED OFF AND IN USE.' 1TIMOTHY 4:14 TM

Paul told Timothy to focus on his strengths. 'That special gift...you were given...keep that dusted off and in use.'
Focused people don't hide their weaknesses or excuse them; instead they focus on their strengths!

There's a story about a couple who decided to build a farm.
Then they began to argue.
The wife wanted to build the house first.
The husband wanted to build the barn first to house the animals.
They went back and forth until finally the man said, 'Look, we have to build the barn first because the barn will enable us to build the house, the garage, the silo, the kid's swing set, and everything else!'

When you focus on putting first things first, everything else is more likely to fall into place.

Anthony Campolo says, 'What you commit yourself to, will change what you are and make you into a completely different person. The future conditions you, not the past. What you commit yourself to become, determines what you are more than anything that ever happened to you yesterday. Therefore, I ask you, "What are your commitments? Where are you going? What are you going to be? Show me somebody who hasn't decided, and I'll show you somebody who has no identity, no personality, no direction."

Focusing on weaknesses instead of strengths is like having a handful of coins, a few made of gold, the rest of tarnished copper, and setting aside the gold coins to spend your time shining the copper ones in hopes of making them more valuable.
No matter how long you spend, they'll never be worth the gold ones are.

So, stay focused on your God-given strengths!

adapted from The Word for Today

Stay Focused 4

'FORGETTING THE PAST.' PHILIPPIANS 3:13 NLT



Notice:

(1) Focused people don't live in the past. Too many of us yearn for the past and get stuck in it. Instead we should learn from the past and let go of it. Elbert Hubbard wrote, 'A retentive memory may be a good thing, but the ability to forget is a token of greatness. Successful people forget. They're running a race. They can't afford to look behind. Their eye is on the finish line. They are too big to let little things disturb them. If anyone does them wrong, they consider the source and keep cool. It's only the small people who cherish revenge. Be a good forgetter...success demands it.'

(2) Focused people don't think about the difficulties, but the rewards. If you dwell on the difficulties too long you'll start to develop self-pity instead of self-discipline. As a result you'll accomplish less and less. By focusing on results you'll stay encouraged.
Make Christ your example. 'He was willing to die a shameful death on the cross because of the joy of the joy he knew would be his afterwards' (Hebrews 12:2 TLB)

(3) Focused people choose their friends carefully.
Here are five types of people you'll encounter:
(a) Refreshers; who strengthen your faith and energize you.
(b) Refiners; who sharpens you and clarify your vision.
(c) Reflectors; who mirror your energy, neither adding to nor subtracting from it.
(d) Reducers; who try to diminish your goals and efforts to their comfort level.
(e) Rejectors; who don't understand you or what God has called you to do.

So, remain focused and you'll stay grounded; the praise of others is less likely to go to your head, and the negative impact of your critics will be minimized.

adapted from The Word for Today.